One of the most valuable factors besides separating the stragglers from the leaders in the manufacturing process is increasing operational efficiency and implementing cost-effective devices.

The 4.0 era and Industrial IoT are bringing new opportunities for those businesses that are constantly investing in proper networking infrastructure.

Even when the Industrial IoT movement is in its early stages, numerous benefits within connectivity and security standards automatically improve operational efficiency in any corporation.

Many manufacturers today are leveraging the IoT, most specifically, the Industrial Internet of Things. Recent studies have shown that by implementing Industrial IoT in their manufacturing process, companies have increased 82% in productivity and performance, and reduced 49% of their defects.

For example, General Electric is projecting to produce about USD 20 trillion in savings within the next five years after implementing industrial IoT in its company.

Ecosystem Industrial IoT

In manufacturing industries, IoT is received has an ecosystem that connects many aspects, such as:

  • Production equipment
  • Supply chain
  • Inventory
  • Quality assurance
  • Maintenance
  • Business operations

Combined, these systems can send, receive, and compare data with a wireless network, and no human intervention.

Operational efficiency with IIoT

Production Quality

The implementation of IIoT can help to optimize operability. In this way, many costs can be reduced by incorporating IoT devices into the production process. Incorporating IoT into the production process allows gathering real-time data that can be analyzed to help the company to increase its productivity.

The availability of data and the combination of devices enables monitoring and improving the operations on the factory floor. With this connectivity, factories can experience lower production costs and increased profits.

Reduce Machine Downtime

In addition, Industrial IoT increases operational performance by reducing machinery downtime. This operation facilitates the detection of any breakdown to help workers to stay ahead of any possible failure in the equipment or system.

Without this function in the production process, the plant-floor supervisors need to do daily equipment checks. This is financially consuming for any company. Regular maintenance and fixes are also causes of slow-down production.

As a result, these companies do not shoulder these extra costs, but rather transfers them to the sale price. However, this action has additional complications:

  • Must consider the market and consumer expectations before setting the product’s price.
  • This price still has to be competitive within the competence.
  • This extra cost can influence sales and lower the product’s intake.

However, Industrial IoT enables factory supervisors to track products during the manufacturing process. Meanwhile, defects and irregularities in the factory floor can be avoided.

For example, if machinery does not have device sensors, it is leading to the market of broken or defective products. This mistake causes damages in the sale process. The company would have to recall that line to repair the damage after locating the defect, or even worse, it could be informed by consumers.

By ignoring the condition of machinery causes damage to the production process: creates bottlenecks, and lowers the quality of the products.

This situation is a waste of time, money, resources, and most important: reputation.

With Industrial IoT, organizations can increase their operational efficiency on their plat floors. Tracking with IIoT helps to estimate the performance of machinery and its operational condition, which leads to the quality of its products.

Maximum Transparency

IIoT guarantees maximum transparency and accountability in the manufacturing process. Operators can easily obtain real-time data and monitor processes in any production stage. It is as simple as few clicks o a swipe of a finger.

As a result, workers and production supervisors can immediately check the status of the factory, its machinery, and the quality of the products without wasting time by looking at individual batches.

Apart from evaluating the product quality, Industrial IoT also allows transparency in logistics. This is a benefit in the market since some clients demand transparency in the production process and shipping stages. For instance, utilizing trackers in the shipping process allows knowing the exact location of their cargo, giving them comfort and satisfaction.

Does IoT sound interesting now for your manufacturing business? Contact us!

About the Author

Santiago Picco

Partner @ 4i Platform - Data Driven Innovation Electronic Engineering specified in control automation. Master in Stategic Management of Techology. Data scientist. Industry 4.0. IIoT and Digital transformation.

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