Manufacturing industry analysts often tout the need for digital transformation. But many of the technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and enterprise connectivity that need to be adopted on the journey to digital transformation can deliver significant efficiency improvements in day-to-day operations and benefit the bottom line as they are implemented.
The bottom line is that while industry experts preach the need for digital transformation, factory owners, plant managers, and front-line workers can make use of IoT and enterprise connectivity to embrace data-driven decision making immediately. And in doing so, they can implement new approaches to manufacturing operations like predictive maintenance, production line optimization, downtime reduction/elimination, and more.
Driving the need for data-driven operations
Manufacturers currently face a variety of challenges that span economic, technological, and operational areas.
According to Deloitte, economic uncertainty and supply chain disruptions continue to plague manufacturers. Compounding those problems, manufacturers face skilled labor shortages. In fact, almost three-quarters manufacturers feel that attracting and retaining a quality workforce is their primary business challenge. So, they must do more with fewer talented people.
Additionally, customers are demanding better value and higher quality products at lower costs. At the same time, governments around the world are passing regulations to reduce manufacturing waste, energy consumption, and water use. So, manufacturers must find ways to manage spending and navigate through the many economic and regulatory challenges.
Many see technology as the industry’s savior. But the rush to deploy new technology can lead to new (different) problems and added costs. Thus defeating the purpose of using such technology. So, many in the industry find identifying the right technology and ensuring compatibility with existing systems represent significant hurdles.
To that point… while new technologies like IoT, artificial intelligence, and more offer immense potential for efficiency gains and operational improvements, integrating them into existing processes and systems remains a challenge.
How IoT helps manufacturers
The manufacturing sector was an early adopter of IoT. Why? IoT, and especially Industrial IoT (IIoT), offers many benefits to manufacturers by enabling a more interconnected and intelligent manufacturing environment.
IoT devices can monitor and optimize manufacturing operations in real time, leading to increased efficiency. For instance, sensors can track the performance of machinery, allowing for predictive maintenance that prevents downtime and extends the life of equipment.
IoT technology also allows manufacturers to monitor the quality of products throughout the manufacturing process. Sensors and connected devices can detect defects or deviations from standards early, ensuring that only products meeting quality criteria move forward in the production line.
Additionally, an IoT platform that combines IoT devices and IoT connectivity helps make data available for many other efforts. Some application areas include:
- Predictive maintenance: Predictive maintenance can optimize processes and help ensure equipment is ready for use. Typically, IoT data about assembly line equipment is analyzed to identify operational anomalies and potential faults in equipment and processes. With such information, manufacturers can resolve issues before they impact operations.
- Supply chain optimization: IoT provides visibility into the supply chain, offering real-time tracking of materials and products. Such visibility helps manufacturers manage inventory levels more effectively, reduce lead times, and respond more quickly to supply chain disruptions.
- Asset tracking and management: IoT facilitates the tracking and management of physical assets throughout the manufacturing floor and across the supply chain. Such capabilities can be leveraged to ensure better asset utilization, reduce loss, and improve logistical efficiency.
These and other uses of IoT data are becoming increasingly common thanks to modern IoT platforms that aggregate the data and the widespread use of data analytics throughout the industry.
Another relatively new factor that allows for expanded use of IoT data is low code development technology. Specifically, low-code development platforms open the door to many new types of applications in manufacturing. With low-code development, non-IT people and those without extensive developer training can build applications.
How enterprise connectivity helps manufacturers
Data is the lifeblood of modern manufacturing. But data is only useful if it can be easily and securely accessed.
Unfortunately, manufacturers traditionally have maintained discrete and siloed systems. On one side of the house, there were numerous operational technology (OT) systems, many of which produced data in proprietary formats and used proprietary communications protocols to share that data. On the other side of the house were the enterprise and IT systems, including ERP, CRM, and other systems. These systems communicate using IP, TCP, FTP, and other networking and communications protocols to share and move data.
That is where enterprise connectivity comes in.
Enterprise connectivity allows manufacturers to meld OT and IT systems by using open-source communication protocols to enable software and machinery from different manufacturers to communicate and share data. With a standardized enterprise connectivity layer, data siloes are overcome, and factories can realize several key benefits.
Specifically, enterprise connectivity standardizes data access. With the right connectivity solutions in place, different systems and machines can easily share data. Standardized access to data makes critical information available to any engineer or department that needs it.
With enterprise connectivity, machines are able to provide data they have inside of them. That allows manufacturers to identify bottlenecks and other places where improvements need to be made.
Enterprise connectivity also lets manufacturers automate operations, leading to a more efficient production process that can increase yields, improve product quality, and reduce waste. With enterprise connectivity, manufacturers can capture and analyze data from their operations, leading to actionable insights. This data-driven approach enables optimization of production and cost reduction.
Finally, in factories that make use of enterprise connectivity, IT and OT systems can share data in real time. Such data availability is essential when integrating enterprise applications (like ERP) with shop floor data. That level of integration can spawn new applications like an intelligent supply chain and smart factories.
Hidden consequences of enterprise connectivity
Once enterprise connectivity is in place, manufacturers must take data management and data quality issues into account. Why? Any manufacturer that connects equipment and devices via an enterprise connectivity solution will be collecting large volumes of data.
It is not just a matter of how many pieces of equipment or sensors are deployed, modern IoT devices often take multiple measurements, and many make those measurements in sub-second intervals. Needless to say, data volumes can quickly add up. If too much data is produced, that may result in storage issues and can make it challenging to identify and extract meaningful insights from the data.
What’s needed is an enterprise platform that lets a manufacturer work with the large amounts of data that can be generated by today’s sensors and IoT devices. Such a platform should take advantage of modern databases and datalakes for data storage and analysis.
Bringing IoT and enterprise connectivity together
Combining IoT with enterprise connectivity offers many synergistic benefits on top of the benefits each can deliver separately. By using both, manufacturers can enhance operational efficiency and innovate faster.
Some of the key benefits of integrating these technologies include:
- Enhanced data collection and analytics: IoT devices generate a vast amount of data from various points in the manufacturing process and throughout a plant. When integrated with enterprise connectivity solutions, this data can be transmitted, processed, and analyzed more efficiently in real time. This leads to actionable insights for improving operational efficiency, predictive maintenance, and decision-making processes.
- Improved operational efficiency: IoT devices can monitor and manage the performance of machines and equipment, while enterprise connectivity ensures this information is readily available across the organization. This integration can lead to automation of routine tasks, optimization of production processes, and reduction of downtime through predictive maintenance.
- Scalability and flexibility: As businesses grow, their operational and data needs evolve. Combining IoT with robust enterprise connectivity allows for scalable solutions that can adapt to changing business needs without significant infrastructure changes. This flexibility supports innovation and allows businesses to respond quickly to market changes.
- Enhanced security: With the increasing number of connected devices in an IoT ecosystem, security becomes a paramount concern. Enterprise connectivity solutions often include advanced security features that can help protect data transmitted across networks. Integrating IoT with these solutions can enhance a manufacturer’s overall security posture by providing end-to-end encryption, secure access controls, and continuous monitoring for threats.
- Cost reduction: IoT can help identify inefficiencies in the use of resources, such as energy consumption, while enterprise connectivity ensures that this information leads to actionable changes. Additionally, predictive maintenance can reduce the costs associated with unexpected equipment failures and downtime.
In summary, integrating IoT with enterprise connectivity offers manufacturers a comprehensive view of their operations, enhanced by real-time data and analytics. An integration of the two supports smarter decision-making, improves efficiency, enhances security, reduces costs, and more. As manufacturers evolve in an increasingly digital world, the combination of IoT and enterprise connectivity will be crucial for staying competitive and meeting the demands of the future.
Building blocks for the future
Today, manufacturers can realize many benefits by using IoT and enterprise connectivity solutions together to improve operations. In the long term, the two technologies will be essential elements of broader, loftier industry efforts.
For example, combining IoT and enterprise connectivity with cloud computing, artificial intelligence, digital twins, and more can form the basis for a smart factory and Industry 4.0 effort.
The integration of these technologies can be used to increase efficiency, improve the quality of products, enhance manufacturing flexibility, and decrease production costs. Industry 4.0 represents a transformation in the way goods are produced, moving away from traditional manufacturing processes to more intelligent and interconnected operations. Specifically, the use of real-time IoT data, machine learning, and analytics in Industry 4.0 can lead to smarter production processes and a more significant degree of automation.
Beyond the manufacturing floor
As more sensors and IoT devices are integrated into manufacturing equipment and enterprise connectivity enables data collection and analysis, manufacturers can do more than improve operational efficiencies. Enhanced sensor technology and connectivity will lead to the creation of smart products that can provide data throughout their lifecycle, from manufacturing to end-user interaction, enabling continuous product improvement.
Digital twins and AI will complement such efforts, yielding even more benefits. But all of this will only be possible if manufacturers act now and embrace IoT and enterprise connectivity.
