Hanoi, 12 November 2026. The A1 Smart Factory Alliance and the School of Mechanical Engineering at Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) co-hosted AI and Data-Driven Manufacturing: From Production Data to Predictive Intelligence at HUST's Building C7. The workshop brought together academia, industry and Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam, with participants attending in person and online.
A1 founder Dr. Kenneth S. Chen presented the A1SS + RapidIS architecture, describing how production data from enterprise resource planning (ERP), advanced planning and scheduling (APS), manufacturing execution systems (MES) and product lifecycle management (PLM) can be brought together for factory-floor applications.
The presentation highlighted on-premise Edge AI and the separation of data and intellectual property. For manufacturers evaluating AI, the architecture raises practical questions about how operational information is structured, who can access it and how sensitive production knowledge is protected.
Why manufacturing data matters for sustainability
Structured data from production systems can help connect factory activity to environmental models. The quality of the resulting assessment still depends on suitable background data, clear system boundaries, appropriate calculation methods and professional review.
This is where digital manufacturing and supply-chain sustainability meet: a stronger production-data foundation can make environmental assessments easier to maintain, explain and update as customer requirements and standards evolve.
Practical priorities for implementation
For SSBTi, the workshop reinforces four priorities for work with manufacturers and supply-chain partners:
- Translate research into usable workflows. Technical capabilities need to fit the decisions and routines of factory teams.
- Build trust into data use. Access rules, security requirements and protection of intellectual property should be addressed from the outset.
- Strengthen source data. Stable, well-documented operational records make downstream modelling and review more useful.
- Coordinate across functions. Production, procurement, IT and sustainability teams need consistent definitions, responsibilities and review processes.
These are SSBTi's implementation priorities and reflections on the connection between manufacturing systems and sustainability practice.
Continuing collaboration in Vietnam
We look forward to working with university and industry partners across Vietnam to connect data-driven manufacturing with traceable, scientifically grounded sustainability management.