The Massive Potential of IOT in Manufacturing
Many manufacturers have turned to automation as they reshore operations and build more resilient supply chains. As part of that shift toward technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) has numerous applications in an increasingly automated manufacturing environment.
Industries that rely on equipment for their work such as manufacturing are shifting towards the use of IoT. Internet of Things controls or senses objects remotely across existing network infrastructure, creating opportunities for more direct consolidation of the physical world into computer-based systems.
This results in improved efficiency, precision, and economic benefit with reduced human intervention. For any manufacturing industry, this transformation is important. This helps in improving performance, boosting productivity, and increasing profitability while eliminating unnecessary costs and waste during production.
In fact, IoT is part of the fourth industrial revolution. And this is a big factor. All sorts of benefits can be extracted by manufacturing hubs with the use of IoT. Some of them include:
- Digital/connected factory
- Facility management
- Production flow monitoring
- Inventory management
- Plant Safety and Security
- Quality control
- Packaging Optimization
- Logistics and Supply Chain Optimization
Here are 4 scenarios where IOT can show its prowess in manufacturing-
Energy Savings
Any form of manufacturing uses a large number of resources and energy. It is probably one of the biggest costs involved in the production process apart from the raw materials. The use of IoT results in reduced energy consumption as the systems can proactively manage the work cycles. This can lead to a reduction in costs that can actually be noticed.
It can help to pinpoint the process where the energy leaks happen in the process chain. Every piece of machinery can be tracked and located to manage power consumption in real-time.
Predictive and Preventive Maintenance
Using the Internet of Things approach, monitoring every aspect of a manufacturing operation becomes easier, and leads to greater productivity and safety.
This helps in predicting the problems in advance thus ensuring the supervisors know what their next step would be. It is possible for manufacturers to shift focus from preventive to predictive maintenance. It can also aid in preventive maintenance by conducting automated tests.
When the data of a machine is available at the right moment and place, preventing production delay costs becomes easy. This is one of the many goals of IoT for manufacturing.
Quality Control
When dealing with the manufacturing of critical and precise products, it becomes important to manage the quality. Quality control is an area where IoT plays a big role. When there is data on every step and action, the unit team can actively monitor the quality without much interference.
This active monitoring advantage makes industrial IoT solutions so crucial to implement. Stopping the production process just after a unit goes down can save a lump sum lost due to recalls.
Reduced Downtime
Downtime has many costs, and among those costs is the loss of product during production. In addition, there is also the lost cost of opportunity. With the help of preventive maintenance and predictive, the managers can know when a machine stops working in the middle of a run.
Any form of stoppage, due to machine breakdown, quality issue, or energy inefficiency will lead to downtime. By implementing IoT, manufacturers can save the product from becoming a total loss.
This article was written by Umesh Kumar from TechBullion and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive Content Marketplace. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
