The manufacturing sector is facing the biggest challenges ever of production shortage and must find ways to increase it manifold while reducing the cost. None other than having smart manufacturing solutions can help the sector achieve this goal, and for that, implementation of the latest technology is inevitable. 

IoT, the acronym for Internet of Things, is becoming a popular choice among business owners they can use to put manufacturing processes on automation. This will not only reduce the time consumption and human errors but also help in cutting the cost significantly. IoT is going to drive the competition among manufacturing businesses for the next decade. 

Don’t take our word for it, read this data from Statista that shows a significant growth in revenue of the Industrial IoT market worldwide. Statista projects the overall value of this market to US $276 billion worldwide by 2023. With an annual growth rate of 13.73% volume of the Industrial IoT market would be US $523 billion by 2028. These statistics prove that the manufacturing sector is witnessing a rapid adoption of smart manufacturing technologies that revolutionizing the way industries operate and boosting productivity.

Some of the Ways IoT Can Help Manufacturing Businesses

There are many ways IoT can help manufacturing, some of the most useful are as follows:

1. Using IoT technology in machines allows manufacturers to collect data and areas of improvement. For instance, it can help in identifying the machine taking more time to process products that can be reduced.

2. IoT allows owners to monitor production status whenever they want and helps automate the auditing process.

3. By remotely connecting with all the machines and necessary equipment, operators can control the whole manufacturing process without being on the spot. It also allows them to handle multiple machines at once.

4. IoT lets machines communicate with each other which makes the manufacturing process smooth and fast. These can use sensors to understand when to start/stop or signal for any internal error that occurs.

5. IoT manufacturing enables preventive maintenance in the manufacturing industry, which means manufacturers can fix problems before they occur. This removes unexpected delays and unplanned downtime and increases productivity.

IoT, Sensors, and Preventive Maintenance

When it comes to automation, sensors are a significant asset in the manufacturing industry. They not only revolutionized the manufacturing process but also let businesses save a lot of time that otherwise had gone to waste while collecting machine-related data manually. Sensors find the data and allow businesses to deploy their maintenance sources on equipment that is near to breakdown. It saves time, cost, and effort by making it possible to replace the near-defective part before failure.

Sensors can gather data related to – Vibration, Temperature, Voltage, Humidity, and Throughput. This data can be monitored and used to find the real reason behind any possible breakdown. For instance, when we configure a sensor to detect vibrations, it will read them over a period of time and identify a normal range of vibration. Whenever that normal limit exceeds it can raise an alert to a human operator. The operator then can call a technician to repair whatever is causing excessive vibration. In the case of excessive damageable vibrations or uncontrolled machining behavior, the operator, using IoT to operate the machine, can shut it down remotely to prevent catastrophic failures. This saves human lives and potential revenue loss.

IoT is a Game Changer for Industry 4.0

We are living in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution known for implementing the latest technological advancement and automation. Digitalization has changed the whole scenario and reshaped the direction of revolution. Companies are also looking forward to adopting the best technology possible to increase production and reduce costs. There are several ways the Fourth Industrial Revolution can leverage the IoT to speed up the revolution and automate the whole process. Some of them are as follows:

• Predicts Early Malfunctions

As we discussed earlier, IoT can eliminate the unplanned downtime that around 80% of companies face on a regular basis. For companies with enough manufacturing units, it might cost up to $200,000 per hour. Also, it could be dangerous and harm the frontline workers. IoT with multiple sensors (discussed earlier) can help with early warning signs, predict malfunctions, and enhance safety at work.

• Customer Satisfaction

IoT makes manufacturers capable of enhancing product quality helps enhance customer satisfaction and attracts more orders. Having remote control over machines can allow offering live production demos to customers to build trusted relationships and stronger bonds. Early detection of malfunction increases the overall quality of manufactured products that satisfy customers looking for quality.

• Fast Delivery

One of the most difficult challenges manufacturers face is fast service delivery expectations. This is very critical and sometimes next to impossible to reduce delivery time. However, using various ways such as micro-logistics networks manufacturers try to reduce this time but cannot meet the requirements. IoT can help interconnect the supply chain, share real-time data, and accelerate the delivery process. Also, it allows the owner to access the transparent data of the complex logistic network. As a result of that they can make changes when required.

Implementation of IoT in Manufacturing Industry

Automation in the manufacturing industry can take over heavy and time-consuming human labor work and fasten it manifolds. Along with work, it collects data that experts can use to predict the overall production amount and cost. IoT connects machines and lets them build an intelligent network which enhances the overall efficiency of production along with quality. Besides, it allows operators to handle the machine remotely.

Implementations of IoT require connecting sensors to the internet to capture data and store information. It also needs a dedicated server to store and secure collected data.

Once implemented correctly, expert technicians need to check, if:

1. Can manufacturers access, collect, control, and edit the data?
2. Is it easy to assess that products meet quality specifications and need a physical inspection?
3. Is data collection possible at various stages to paint the full picture? As data analysis of raw material and final product combined can tell the efficiency of the manufacturing plant. It can also show room for improvement and allow owners to make informed decisions.
4. Also, Transportation-related data can help identify ways to speed up the process and identify the point responsible for delays.
5. Additionally, the IoT system will provide data on consumer reactions to the product such as how much they consume or use, what is their buying habits, and how they react to quality improvements and discount offers. B2B businesses can get the insights to find and fix business-related problems.

How IoT Helps Planning Production Scheduling?

IoT can be leveraged to do production planning and scheduling by gathering data through real-time monitoring of production lines. It can tell if there is manual inspection needed or not and if needed then to what extent. In most of the cases, quality checks can be made fully automated using IoT. Even in the worst-case scenario, it can reduce the quality check time by up to 80%.

Furthermore, IoT technology (after gathering data over a significant period of time) would be able to facilitate safety and security by monitoring the probability of vehicle mishaps during goods transportation, employee absence rate, injuries during daily operations, etc. IoT can help ensure better safety through real-time insights into these significant areas. After identifying the prime causes companies can take preventive steps and address the issues immediately.

Conclusion

IoT is a game-changing technology that revolutionizing the manufacturing industry. It can address production shortages while reducing costs. Early adopters can leverage IoT to beat the competition as it can help decrease errors and lead to significant cost reductions while improving the supply chain. IoT not only enables manufacturers to make data-driven improvements and real-time monitoring but also helps control the machine remotely and machine-to-machine communication for better production lines with minimum errors and high quality. Additionally, preventive maintenance can make the company out of the competition. If you are a manufacturer looking to understand IoT and its implications or want to develop an IoT app for your business feel free to contact our expert IoT developers. We are always eager to help you.