# Smart Manufacturing Application in Precision Manufacturing
## 4 Discussion
### Environmental Sustainability Impact  
The environmental impact demonstrated in Table 1 is based on the total emissions reduced and the Scope 2 emissions' reduction, related to energy reduction by the company over the three-year period from 2020 to 2022 compared with the base year 2019. Scope 2 emissions were reduced by 50% as a result of energy reduction, which led the total emissions to be reduced by 42% from the base year. The overall emissions' reduction was a significant milestone toward achieving the net zero carbon goal that has been set by the business and achieved through smart manufacturing. The CNC production machines in the factory consumed around 90% of the total factory power consumption, followed by the compressors' consumption of 5%, and the remaining was distributed between the lights, network infrastructure, and other industrial or domestic appliances. The reduction in Scope 2 emissions was mostly due to lowered power consumption. The energy usage data collected from the current clamp sensor that w fitted onto the high-voltage panel board measured the total energy consumed in the factory, which were visually displayed with the condition status of the machines, which all contributed to knowing the following: (a) when the machines were running, (b) when more energy was used during the day/night or the weekend than previously thought, and (c) which machines that had been left on and which were consuming energy, so the engineers could then switch the individual machine off to save on energy and energy cost. This resulted in changed behaviors and better management of the power consumption in the factory, which contributed to the reduced energy consumption and, as a result, reductions in Scope 2 emissions. As can be seen in the Figure 8(b) trend lines, the total emissions reduced by 22% in 2020, with a reduction in the intensity measure of 4%. Both having negative trends means that although production and sales have increased, the total emissions reduced due to reductions in all scopes of emissions, being mostly impacted by Scope 2, with a 27% reduction due lowered power consumption. In 2021, the total emissions were further reduced by 26%, but the intensity measure increased by 11% in the opposite direction, which means that the reduction in the total emissions was mainly due to decreased production and sales due to low machine availability and, as a result, lower power consumption. This was in line with the impact of COVID-19, where machine availability was low due to production orders falling and limited labor resources. However, in 2022, total emissions were very similar to the 2021 figures, but Scope 2 further reduced by 3.5%, and Scope 3 increased by 7% due to the waste generated as scrap because of the rapid ramp-up in new products introduced post-COVID-19. The intensity measure also significantly decreased by 25%,which means that although production and sales ramped up in 2022, the total emissions did not significantly increase from the previous year, with Scope 2 slightly reduced by 3%. This non-significant change in Scope 2 emissions was the result of sustaining the changed behaviors and the better power consumption management. The environmental data also comprised the compressors' status and the temperature of the factory at different locations, providing an instant view of live and historical data. Monitoring such data was significant: it was discovered that production machines had been running for long periods on the backup compressor rather than the main compressor without this being realized; as a result, alerts were set up to notify engineers when the backup compressors automatically turned on when the main compressor was faulty [36]. Monitoring temperature changes and their effect on the quality of the product during machining is also an avenue that is being studied by tracking temperature to see if there is a risk of quality failures.