It was impossible to imagine years ago that sensors and chips could be embedded in physical objects. It became possible thanks to the Web of Things. In a short time, this tech has become a key concept for many businesses. The Web of Things has significantly changed many aspects of our daily lives, including driving, cooking, or purchasing. And IoT in manufacturing has also become widely used.
A few IoT devices are appearing. The number of IoT-active devices, which excludes smartphones, tablets, and laptops, is expected to rise to 8.3 billion by 2019. In addition, by 2025, there will be 29.7 million Internet of Things devices in various industries.
The IoT’s exposure is striking in terms of numbers.
Many global enterprises have successfully integrated Internet of Things tools into the infrastructures they run. They can increase production, reduce delivery times, and lower their expenditures.
This all means that the IoT market share will increase exponentially in the coming years. Statista is more optimistic about the IoT’s economic impact, estimating that it could be between 3.9 trillion and 11.1 trillion U.S. Dollars by 2025.
The benefits of IoT in manufacturing
All of this being said, it’s no surprise that the Internet of Items (IoT) in manufacturing has many benefits. It allows manufacturers to scale different equipment capable of remote observing and servicing. Companies can thus accurately estimate the needs of their customers.
The Internet of Things is transforming manufacturing into a major business. Many plants already use connected control systems to monitor and control their processes. These are the main benefits of Internet-of-Things solutions:
This will allow you to avoid delays and help you identify the problem.
The industrial unit can improve manufacturing quality and reap the benefits of raw materials and manufactured components by using cognitive operations.
It allows managers to better manage their resources, increase employee skillfulness, and create a safe working environment.
Many IoT projects currently deal with facility and asset management as well as security and operations. IoT is expected to be a major tech trend in 2020 and beyond. Let’s take a deeper dive into the top IoT examples for manufacturing.
Predictive Repairing
Predictive maintenance IoT for manufacturing
You can link IoT-driven gadgets with different sensor issues (temperatures and vibration, voltages, currents etc.) by linking them. IFTTT, cloud/API, or legacy system manufacturers can access essential maintenance data by linking IoT-driven gadgets to other devices. This information can be used to determine the state of machinery and transmit warning signals.
IoT makes maintenance more efficient and faster. This allows for the prediction of a failure to be made far in advance. It also allows for cost savings over traditional preventive measures because the actions are taken when they are needed.
Managers can identify plant machinery that is in need of repair by obtaining valid data quickly. It can also help managers plan maintenance thoroughly and maintain systems online while employees are still doing the job. IoT can prolong equipment life, increase plant safety, and reduce environmental hazards.
In practical terms, IoT can immensely improve your company’s predictive repairing/maintenance capabilities. Medivators, a leading international manufacturer of medical equipment, has successfully integrated IoT solutions throughout their global services. This resulted in a 78% increase in the number of service events and issues, which can easily be controlled and, if necessary, fixed without additional manpower.
Remote Control
You can reallocate your company’s computing resources to a custom-made cloud or link the apparatus to one of the popular BAAS (backend and service) or PAAS cloud computing editions. This allows you to collect large-scale data and analysis necessary to supervise various field devices like switches, valves and other indication elements.
This data is sent to the industrial automation software which allows for a complete control over machinery during manufacturing. Telecommunicationsoil and gas sectors, as well as power generation, have been already reaping the benefits from IoT devices implanted into distant control systems.
Remote production control is a key feature in industrial automation systems. It allows for central supervision of the manufacturing process. Remote control gives you a better and quicker view of the manufacturing process.
It assists the employees in analysing enterprise data. This makes the IoT technology a key tool for ensuring safe automation, tracking employees, and tracking personnel location.
Asset tracking
Manufacturing enterprises are more inclined to adopt asset practices. Internet of Things along with the development of native internet and mobile applications for iOS and Android make it possible to get real-time asset information to help you make informed decisions.
Tracking is primarily about locating and monitoring such critical assets as raw materials, containers and finished goods. These applications are able to optimize logistics, keep stocks of work in advanced, and report thefts and violations.
IoT-based asset monitoring allows producers to calculate the use of movable components. They can then take measures to reduce idle time and increase utilization.