Transforming Manufacturing Quality Management with Cognitive Twins: A Data-Driven, Predictive Approach to Real-Time Optimization of Quality

In the ever-changing world of modern manufacturing, maintaining product quality is of great importance, yet extremely difficult due to complexities and the dynamic production paradigm. Currently, quality is rather reactively measured through periodic inspections and manual assessments. Traditional q...

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Main Authors: Asif Ullah, Muhammad Younas, Mohd Shahneel Saharudin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2504-4494/9/3/79
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author Asif Ullah
Muhammad Younas
Mohd Shahneel Saharudin
author_facet Asif Ullah
Muhammad Younas
Mohd Shahneel Saharudin
author_sort Asif Ullah
collection DOAJ
description In the ever-changing world of modern manufacturing, maintaining product quality is of great importance, yet extremely difficult due to complexities and the dynamic production paradigm. Currently, quality is rather reactively measured through periodic inspections and manual assessments. Traditional quality management systems (QMS), through these reactive measures, are often inefficient because of their higher operational cost and delayed defect detection and mitigation. The paper introduces a novel cognitive twin (CT) framework, which is the next evolved version of digital twin (DT). It is designed to advance the current quality management in flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) through real-time, data-driven, and predictive optimization. This proposed framework uses four data types, namely feedstock quality (<i>Q<sub>f</sub></i>), machine degradation (<i>Q<sub>m</sub></i>), product processing quality (<i>Q<sub>p</sub></i>), and quality inspection (<i>Q<sub>i</sub></i>). By utilizing the power of machine learning algorithms, the cognitive twin constantly monitors and then analyzes real-time data. The cognitive twin optimizes the above quality components. This enables a very proactive decision making through an augmented reality (AR) interface by providing real-time visual insights and alerts to the operators. Thorough experimentation was conducted on the aforementioned FMS. Through the experiments, it was revealed that the proposed cognitive twin outperforms conventional QMSs by a great margin. The cognitive twin achieved a 2% improvement in the total quality scores. A 60% decrease in defects per unit (DPU) is observed as well as a sharp 40% decrease in scrap rate. Furthermore, the overall equipment efficiency (OEE) increased to 93–96%. The overall equipment efficiency increased by 11.8%, on average, from 82% to 93%, and the scrap rate decreased by 33.3% from 60% to 40%. The excellent results showcase the effectiveness of cognitive twin quality management via minimum wastage, continuous quality improvement, and enhancement in operational efficiency in the paradigm of smart manufacturing. This research study contributes to the field of industry 4.0 by providing a comprehensive, scalable, and adaptive quality management solution, thus leading the way for further advancements in intelligent manufacturing systems.
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spelling doaj-art-973165c01dc4492a8ffc22ccabfb4c082025-08-20T03:43:34ZengMDPI AGJournal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing2504-44942025-02-01937910.3390/jmmp9030079Transforming Manufacturing Quality Management with Cognitive Twins: A Data-Driven, Predictive Approach to Real-Time Optimization of QualityAsif Ullah0Muhammad Younas1Mohd Shahneel Saharudin2Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering and Technology, Topi, Swabi 23640, PakistanSchool of Computing and Engineering Technology, Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen AB10 7QB, UKSchool of Computing and Engineering Technology, Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen AB10 7QB, UKIn the ever-changing world of modern manufacturing, maintaining product quality is of great importance, yet extremely difficult due to complexities and the dynamic production paradigm. Currently, quality is rather reactively measured through periodic inspections and manual assessments. Traditional quality management systems (QMS), through these reactive measures, are often inefficient because of their higher operational cost and delayed defect detection and mitigation. The paper introduces a novel cognitive twin (CT) framework, which is the next evolved version of digital twin (DT). It is designed to advance the current quality management in flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) through real-time, data-driven, and predictive optimization. This proposed framework uses four data types, namely feedstock quality (<i>Q<sub>f</sub></i>), machine degradation (<i>Q<sub>m</sub></i>), product processing quality (<i>Q<sub>p</sub></i>), and quality inspection (<i>Q<sub>i</sub></i>). By utilizing the power of machine learning algorithms, the cognitive twin constantly monitors and then analyzes real-time data. The cognitive twin optimizes the above quality components. This enables a very proactive decision making through an augmented reality (AR) interface by providing real-time visual insights and alerts to the operators. Thorough experimentation was conducted on the aforementioned FMS. Through the experiments, it was revealed that the proposed cognitive twin outperforms conventional QMSs by a great margin. The cognitive twin achieved a 2% improvement in the total quality scores. A 60% decrease in defects per unit (DPU) is observed as well as a sharp 40% decrease in scrap rate. Furthermore, the overall equipment efficiency (OEE) increased to 93–96%. The overall equipment efficiency increased by 11.8%, on average, from 82% to 93%, and the scrap rate decreased by 33.3% from 60% to 40%. The excellent results showcase the effectiveness of cognitive twin quality management via minimum wastage, continuous quality improvement, and enhancement in operational efficiency in the paradigm of smart manufacturing. This research study contributes to the field of industry 4.0 by providing a comprehensive, scalable, and adaptive quality management solution, thus leading the way for further advancements in intelligent manufacturing systems.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-4494/9/3/79cognitive twinquality managementflexible manufacturing system (FMS)industry 4.0predictive analyticsaugmented reality (AR)
spellingShingle Asif Ullah
Muhammad Younas
Mohd Shahneel Saharudin
Transforming Manufacturing Quality Management with Cognitive Twins: A Data-Driven, Predictive Approach to Real-Time Optimization of Quality
Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing
cognitive twin
quality management
flexible manufacturing system (FMS)
industry 4.0
predictive analytics
augmented reality (AR)
title Transforming Manufacturing Quality Management with Cognitive Twins: A Data-Driven, Predictive Approach to Real-Time Optimization of Quality
title_full Transforming Manufacturing Quality Management with Cognitive Twins: A Data-Driven, Predictive Approach to Real-Time Optimization of Quality
title_fullStr Transforming Manufacturing Quality Management with Cognitive Twins: A Data-Driven, Predictive Approach to Real-Time Optimization of Quality
title_full_unstemmed Transforming Manufacturing Quality Management with Cognitive Twins: A Data-Driven, Predictive Approach to Real-Time Optimization of Quality
title_short Transforming Manufacturing Quality Management with Cognitive Twins: A Data-Driven, Predictive Approach to Real-Time Optimization of Quality
title_sort transforming manufacturing quality management with cognitive twins a data driven predictive approach to real time optimization of quality
topic cognitive twin
quality management
flexible manufacturing system (FMS)
industry 4.0
predictive analytics
augmented reality (AR)
url https://www.mdpi.com/2504-4494/9/3/79
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