Growing importance of IoT in Manufacturing Industry
As a manufacturer optimizing production to grow your business and make your customer happy is imperative. Considering the increasing competition in the manufacturing sector there is a huge demand for continuous cost reduction and maintenance free assets on the shop floor. Also, the end product must add value to its high quality and performance with prompt after service.
Challenge:
Manufacturers are already equipped with the wealth of machine data. Now the challenge is to collect this critical data from the machines and the facility through its integrated controllers and sensors.
Let us divide this challenge into 3 phases for any manufacturing industry:
- Assets / Machines on production lines (Conveyors, CNC machines, Cranes, Forklifts, DG sets): Here the major concern is increasing the efficiency and reduce the downtime
- Supply chain: Here the focus would be to increase visibility, availability of raw materials on time and delivery of finished goods.
- Product and after service: Generating alerts to make the customer aware of the failures. Prompt service for replacement of spares and repair.
The solution with the help of IoT:
Machines are integrated with sensors like temperature, pressure, fuel, rpm etc. These sensors are connected to a machine controller. This controller collects complete data from the sensors and controls the machine with a logic of operation. IoT helps to retrieve this data collected from the controller with a GPRS enabled gateway and store the data on a server. There are different architectures which can use to collect data on the single server platform. One is with a GPRS gateway integrated with each machine controller and other is a wireless RF (Radio frequency) device installed on each machine controller over mesh communication network with a single GPRS enabled DCU (Data concentrator unit). The server can be a locally installed or it can be a cloud-based server. Cloud-based servers (Like Amazon, Azure, etc.) are in demand for real-time monitoring of machines and equipment. This data can be then seen on to your computer screens or mobile phones.
Once the data is collected on to the server the next step is data analytics which plays the important role. Data analytics helps to set the thresholds and parameters of the machines. Real-time monitoring helps monitor production flow in near real-time to eliminate waste, manage equipment’s remotely, setting condition monitoring alerts for preventive maintenance, minimizing downtime and increase throughput.
Use of data as a feedback mechanism for strategic decisions and satisfying customers:
- For company management: CEOs and CFOs of any manufacturing industry have a target of optimizing the systems. With the help of IoT, they get clear visibility on a single dashboard of the production line, operations, energy consumption etc. to recommend adjustments and better manage operational cost.
- For R&D: IoT enables R&D and product development team to implement changes to improve product quality and increase product life cycle with the help of analytics.
- Customer service: For OEM’s especially manufacturers of high-end capital equipment’s like DG sets, Cranes, material handlers, etc. they need equipment data for better customer services. This feedback mechanism helps to raise service calls and spare replacement to avoid customer downtime.
IoT in manufacturing also known as Industry 4.0 is the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. Proper use of real-time analytics and condition monitoring will grow organizations by optimizing production requirements and channelizing right feedback mechanism.
Are you prepared to implement best practices and IIoT strategies? Implementing these strategies will help your business redefine its relationships with employees, clients, and partners. At MosChip, we identify best practices and strategies aligning them with your business goals for a successful IoT implementation. From mobile application development to enterprise cloud development, remove device management, and embedded product development, our solutions are highly secure and easily scalable. Our skilled experts have a proven track record of addressing challenges and providing customized solutions.
Are you interested in discussing the IIoT opportunities for your organization? Contact us at [email protected] and our IoT experts will get in touch with you.
