The manufacturing industry has been collecting machine data for years to analyze operational processes and optimize processes. Conversely, linking, evaluating, and making these results available across the enterprise is a relatively new but promising trend. 92 percent of manufacturing companies want to establish an Internet of Things technology in their factories by 2019. The Manufacturing Industry Goes Into the IoT: The opinion that the Internet of Things will fundamentally change the manufacturing industry was shared by some respondents.
But what exactly do the experts expect from this new networked factory? And how does industrial IOT solutions work? The IoT is truly going to change our lives forever. There is hardly talk or article on digitization that does not mention the abbreviation IoT.
But What In The World Is The Internet Of Things?
The term can best be explained by the fact that physical objects can automatically provide information about their condition digitally and consequently can be intelligently linked with one another. For example, the lube oil sensor of a wind turbine sends the right time for re-greasing. The utility can act before any damage or failure of the wind turbine. Instead of a costly unplanned ad-hoc use, a planned regreasing can take place. Up to now, scheduled service intervals were customary, regardless of whether the lubricating oil truly had to be renewed.
The maintenance work will be more efficient with the IoT, thus reducing operating and repair costs. In another example, an affixed to a garment indicates how many times the garment has been put on in the locker room and yet has not made it to the cash register. From this, the trade can conclude, cut and color arrive at the buyer. Such state information and the consequences that can be derived from it not only ensure optimized internal processes and thus open up savings potentials. A company can also stand out from the competition, open up new sources of revenue, and offer innovative, customer-tailored services.
Benefits Of Iot Technology For The Manufacturing Industry
Benefit #1.The Iot Will Bring About A Surge In Innovation
The advantages are obvious: 83 percent of the companies surveyed recently, which already use IoT applications, observe significant increases in efficiency in the production process; an equally large number is experiencing a surge in innovation. Eight in ten respondents understand their business better with IoT applications. However, despite all the enthusiasm, it must be clear that this added value does not come about by itself: It requires planning that complies with the requirements of the General Staff.
Where data from individual production machines are still often analyzed in isolation today, it is important to integrate this information into a large hole. Isolated solutions must be abolished and production processes holistically considered. Suppliers must also be involved in this. Networking must, therefore, take place across company boundaries. It involves the integration of data and systems to use them in real time for business processes. A comprehensive data management concept forms the backbone of a successful IoT project.
Benefit #2.The Iot Deliver Information In Real Time
In this scenario, smart machines can be integrated via wireless local area network and thus report on their condition in real time. Especially the networking and the comparison with devices of the same design in locally different factories form an important basis for predictive maintenance. This allows manufacturing processes to be optimized and costs sustainably reduced. But that’s not all: with new technologies such as machine learning, machines learn to do so and can independently reload relevant information to asset management to reduce downtime.
Intelligent systems, for example, simulate the wear of production components and spare parts needed can be ordered in good time. If additional cognitive computing is used, the machines can check the entire production process and independently monitor the production quality. Measures to increase quality are recognized and implemented so quickly. The whole product lifecycle becomes more transparent because the full productions and the operation of machines can be simulated with their digital twins; as a result, operating costs can be calculated very accurately over time.
Benefit #3. Iot-Capable Products Provide Important Conclusions For The Production
If the devices themselves are IoT enabled, they can send usage data to the factories for product improvement. The evaluation of this information allows conclusions on improvement potential and thus contributes to the further development of the products. This can inspire the sales innovations. When companies know how and where their products are used, this data can lead to completely new service models.
For example, if a company offers its customers the ability to optimally tune production equipment for a long period by connecting gauges, the IoT technologies now enable the instrument provider to know exactly where the gauges are and in what condition they are. Based on this information, the company can offer its customers further services for further optimization.
Benefit #4. New Business Models For Manufacturing Companies In The Iot
These new business models are following the trend pay for value and benefits. In the future, companies will increasingly pay for the use and the result, rather than for the product itself. Rolls Royce already offers the option today of not buying expensive aircraft engines, but paying for their use after engine hours. For this, a service contract with the aircraft operators is concluded. Under this agreement, the engines will automatically notify Rolls Royce systems when maintenance is due. That helps save costs – on both sides.
Benefit #5. Different Production Sites Can Be Controlled Using The Iot
In the networked factory, continuous sparking production machines produce huge amounts of information. Existing IT systems quickly reach their limits when processing these materials. However, cloud technology makes it possible to deal with these amounts of data and to provide all relevant information even securely via mobile devices. Even the production at different production sites can be remotely controlled.
This also offers a potential for optimization: Production can be controlled, for example, depending on the current electricity price. This saves energy costs, and the energy provider has to cope with lower load peaks.
In conclusion
Products have evolved from purely software development company and electrical components to complex systems that are increasingly networked with the Internet and with each other. The emergence of these intelligent, connected products in the Internet of Things (IoT) and the infinite variety of functions that result from the automatic interaction between machines (M2M) will create new forms of value creation for manufacturers and their customers.
