As Industry 4.0 continues to blaze footprints through the first quarter of the 21st century, it is crystal clear that the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) is the next industrial revolution. By realizing foreseen benefits of IoT in manufacturing, global manufacturers are heavily investing to interconnect equipment to upgrade the existing factories to smart factories.
A study indicates that by the end of this year, manufacturers will invest $70 billion in IoT technology and IoT solutions, a sharp accretion from $29 billion in 2015. It has been realized that within 3-4 months of implementation, manufacturing units have improved their overall equipment efficiency by 24%, reduced product defects by 16%, increased labor utilization by 12 points, and increased the production line output by 10%.
There are hundreds of use cases of IoT people talking over the internet. But, the following are the 4 key IoT use cases early adopters are considering implementing in the manufacturing industry:
Asset Utilization
In the world of IIoT, future predictions and technology applications are comprehensive; risks are unclear and standards haven’t been established yet but selected business applications have been raised as drivers for near-term adoption. One such driver is enhancing asset utilization. According to an Industrial Internet Survey by the World Economic Forum, maximizing asset utilization ranked the top reason to adopt IoT technology. 79% of the respondents cited the reason “extremely important” or “very important” for early adoption.
Product Development
Faults and shortcomings in the final product upsurge expenditure and overburden employees in the manufacturing process. To mitigate these issues, manufacturers can utilize the IIoT features and one such is Digital Twins. It replicates the developing product in a digital form. By retrofitting sensors, manufacturers gather data about their equipment’s entire working mechanism and the expected output from each unit. The data, ingested from the digital replica, enables managers to analyze the efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy of the system. It also helps in identifying potential bottlenecks in their product which helps managers to create a better version of the products.
Supply Chain Management
IoT devices track and trace the inventory state in real time. Manufacturers can monitor their supply chain by having real-time insights into the available resources. It includes information related to the Work in Process, equipment collection, and the delivery date of required raw materials. Some of the IoT vendors also provide the integration of their IoT solutions with the existing ERP systems of manufacturers which eliminates the need for manual documentation for operations. It avails the facility of cross-channel visibility into multiple departments and helps the stakeholders in examining the undergoing progress which in return reduces the expenditure due to mismanagement and lack of analysis in the organization.
Predictive Maintenance
Keeping equipment up and running significantly decrease operational expenditures, saving manufacturers millions of dollars. By using sensors, cameras, and data analytics, managers in the range of various production lines are now able to determine when a piece of machinery will fail before it actually does. IoT-enabled systems can sense warning signs by using data which helps managers create maintenance timelines and schedule equipment service before any problem occurs.
So, are you looking for IoT Solutions in your manufacturing business, contact us today!