Applications of IOT in Manufacturing

Applications of IOT in Manufacturing

Abstract

Automation and digitization are elementary to make your business future-ready. IoT or the Internet of Things play an integral part in the entire process. It enables you to invest in future-proof solutions that will help you in the implementation of industry 4.0. Today, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) have become hot buzzwords in technology and business circles. But what do they mean? Are they the same thing? What’s the difference between them?

Why is IoT important?

IoT has evolved over the years and become one of the most important technologies of the 21st century. In the hyper-connected world, IoT has amalgamated hardware and software to form a more technically-driven environment that can record, adjust and monitor each interaction between connected things. Ease of accessibility and low-cost computing has enabled big data, cloud, analytics, and physical data to be shared and collected with minimal human intervention.

IoT important for your business:

The applications of IoT bring quick returns while enabling manufacturers to implement digital transformation in various perspectives: automation, visibility, customer-centricity and reduced time to market. IoT has proven to be profitable in sectors where both faster development and the quality of products are important factors for a higher ROI. As indicated by the results of a Forbes Insight survey, IoT business transformation increased annual profits up to 5% for 45% of the respondents and 5% to 15% for another 41%.

The manufacturing sector leverages the most out of IoT technology. The sector had reportedly invested $178 billion in IoT in 2016. Operations accounted for the main expenditure, followed by production asset management, maintenance and field service.

• > ¾ of businesses face disruption from emerging IoT technology.
  
  75% of time spent by executives on resilience-related challenges.
  85% of executives say that sustainability plays an important role in a value chain configuration.
  < 3 months spent by most smart manufacturing industries on reskilling their workforce for the digital age.
  

This is just a snapshot of what IoT has to offer to your business.
Let us look at a list of the top six beneficial applications of IoT in the manufacturing domain.

Smart Quality Control

The quality control process in a regular manufacturing unit has a particular flow. The manufacturer produces an item, it is then tested in the quality control unit, it is expected that the rectification of flaws if any, will happen before the product reaches the market.

IoT automation makes this process proactive with thermal and video sensors. They gather complete product data throughout the stages of a product cycle. The products are tested at each step to ensure that their attributes are well within specifications. In addition, instrumentation and monitoring of the machinery help quality control personnel to check if and where machine calibration fluctuates from standard settings – such imprecisions must be thwarted in time to avoid the misalignment of products. IoT in Manufacturing Market growing at a CAGR of 14.50% over 2022-2032, at to reach USD 399.08 billion by 2026, Says FMI.

IoT’s backing in monitoring both equipment settings and the results of each production step gives manufacturers a better understanding of the quality problems at the source. As a result, actions for improvement can be taken in time.

RJ Corp, the largest bottler of Pepsi in India, uses IoT sensors to apprehend different data parameters essential to gauge quality on a real-time basis. As the material gets prepared, abnormalities raise a quality concern, and the machine can be stopped for immediate corrective action.

Smart Inventory Management

Applications of IOT makes inventory management a more efficient and seamless process with the help of radio frequency identification (RFID). Every item in the inventory gets an RFID tag, and each tag has a unique identification number (UID) that comprises encoded digital information about the item. The user can scan the tags, and the data extracted gets transmitted to the cloud for processing.

For instance, IoT-based inventory management architecture can assist in calculating the volume of raw materials required for an upcoming manufacturing cycle. The outputs can be used in diverse ways. The automated system can send an alert to the users if any particular inventory item is missing. It can also notify them about restocking the materials. This improves overall inventory management and enables more efficient processing of the entire production cycle.

Smart Predictive Maintenance

In general, manufacturers implement a time-based approach for the maintenance schedules of their machinery. However, according to a study, only 18% of equipment breaks down because of oldness, whereas 82% of failures occur randomly. This may prove to be costly in the long run.

Manufacturers can avoid such inefficiency by leveraging industrial IoT and data science for predictive maintenance by Applications of IOT. For example, steel plants have several furnaces that use water cooling panels to control temperature. Any leakages in the panels can cause safety hazards and production loss. IoT-based predictive maintenance can help plant managers strategically detect irregularities and conduct a root cause analysis to prevent machine failures and delays in production.

More Safety in Operations

IoT can optimize the safety of workers, equipment and operations in a manufacturing plant, with the help of big data analytics. It can be applied to track things like worker absences, machinery damage, vehicle accidents and any other mishaps that affect normal activities.

IoT wearables are critical solutions in this case. The information collected can help business owners improve their compliance structure and reduce insurance costs.

Smart Metering

Smart meters that can monitor the consumption of electric power, water and other fuels. IoT sensors allow organizations to measure the specific use and deploy practices for more effective usage of resources. With customizable end-user dashboards, manufacturers can compare efficiencies, costs and the carbon footprint of alternative resources to integrate better decisions in their manufacturing processes.

Smart Packaging

IoT and packaging work together in different ways that include QR codes, sensors and virtual reality/augmented reality/ mixed reality options. Smart packaging enables consumers to engage with products and generates data to handle a product more effectively. It may also manifest itself in the form of recipe videos, beauty tutorials and other demonstrations to explain the product usage.