How AI is Being Used in Other Industries – Production Management
By, Piers Lee, Managing Director, Novema Pte Ltd.
November 2025
As Novema researched the application of AI in consumer insight, it was useful to compare how AI is being used in other industries, e.g. to assess whether similar opportunities and challenges are encountered. Hence, we interviewed firms in several other industries where AI is currently being used.
All the companies interviewed for this research using AI in their own firms, and all have dedicated departments to optimize the use of AI within their organisations, although sometimes this is part of a larger ‘digital team’ looking at a range of tech applications.
They all recognize the need to have these departments for fear of being ‘left behind’, i.e. they are all acutely aware of how transformative AI will be for their industries and need to be at the forefront of these technological developments or at least try to!
Production management
The manufacturing industry continues to serve as a cornerstone for many economies, frequently leveraging technology to enhance production efficiency in terms of both cost and time. Beyond the longstanding adoption of robotics and automation, several emerging AI applications are now transforming this sector:
- Product design, including AI-driven generative designs, simulated testing, and tailored customization.
- Process optimization, encompassing production scheduling, quality assurance, inventory control, demand forecasting, energy consumption optimization, identifying inefficiencies, and staff training and skill enhancement.
- Predictive maintenance, which utilizes sensor data to anticipate maintenance needs, thereby minimizing downtime.
- Health, safety, and security, through the use of video analytics to detect and alert on hazardous activities, support safety audits, and monitor security breaches, especially for distributed assets like pipelines.
Additionally, AI is being applied to industry-specific challenges, such as oil and gas exploration, where it analyzes data from geological and geophysical surveys to improve outcomes.
Predictive maintenance is one of the fastest-growing applications of AI. Traditionally, maintenance has been a labour-intensive process, relying on numerous site inspectors manually recording data. Nowadays, sensors continuously monitor equipment conditions.
Critical parameters are analyzed to predict potential equipment failures that could significantly disrupt production. AI examines various data points for irregularities, such as temperature, pressure, flow rates, vibration, and even acoustic signals, including unusual or excessive machinery noise.
Technology firms are capitalizing on this demand by offering AI-driven predictive maintenance solutions, such as GE Vernova Asset Performance Management (APM) Software.
Manufacturers face challenges in retrofitting legacy facilities and managing resistance from employees concerned about job security. It often falls to management to demonstrate how AI can enhance workforce skills and safeguard employment in the long term.
Security systems can also generate false alarms, for instance, due to wildlife intrusions, requiring careful calibration, though this adjustment can sometimes undermine the system’s effectiveness.
In conclusion, where there is data there can be AI! Within production management AI is taking robotics and automation to the next level, and creating efficiencies with reduced human input, and hence lower costs.
