The industry of manufacturing is gaining rapid popularity due to using advanced equipment and technologies like Machine Learning, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence. Digital advancement has remarkably enhanced the product’s quality and significantly reduced the runtime of machines and processes. However, the industry of automation and the IoT is playing a significant part in this method.
The Industrial IoT has brought immense changes and transformations recently with its great benefits in the applications. It hugely contributes to the improvement of work efficiency and workflow within the factories through real-time management and controlling the process and assets altogether. The benefits that IIoT brings to us could be used significantly to make the industry better.
The benefits or opportunities that IIoT brings include Process Optimization, Automation In Factories, Performance Monitoring, and Intelligent Manufacturing.
IoT Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is an industrial revolution. Its main aim is to make the industry smarter by using advanced IoT technologies like automation, interconnectivity, exchange, and data monitoring in real time. Industry 4.0 is fully devoted to customers, doing its best to help the manufacturers in providing quality customer services and experience. The customer-devoted strategy of IIoT or Industry 4.0 covers product sales, product visioning, assembly, service management, and manufacturing. However, IoT plays a vital role by constantly helping the manufacturer with the needs and demands of the customers.
Evolution of IoT Industry 4.0
IoT is the sole reason for the rapid development of Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 is responsible for making connected everything within a shared network and allows the automation process of all operations, which reduces the effort and time of human resources. Data monitoring in real-time improves the process of decision-making while predictability protects the industry from future dangerous events and supports asset management for workability in the future.
The major stages of Industry 4.0 and IoT evolution includes generating insights, connecting things, innovation, and optimizing process and operations.
The main aim of IoT is to make things way smarter and internet connective no matter if it is home, office, building, hospital, or industry. While Industry 4.0 specializes in Augmented Reality, Cybersecurity, Digital Twin, Autonomous Robots, Connected devices, Big Data, Heavy machinery, and Cloud Computing. However, the primary points of IoT and Industry 4.0 are Heavy machinery, Smart plant grids, and Connected Devices. IoT leads towards the excellence of manufacturing by taking crucial and essential parts in almost all activities of industry and enhancing its efficiency. IoT technology is ideal for industries as it provides beneficial results by combining operational technology and information technology for operations and processes.
From Stream To Sensor: IoT Industry 4.0
· First Industrial Revolution:
The first massive industrial revolution came in Britain in the 18th century. It was the time when it helped in mass production with the help of steam and power rather than using animal and human power. However, the products are manufactured by machines instead of manually by human hands.
· Second Industrial Revolution:
The second wave of the industrial revolution hit after a century. It introduces oil usage, assembly lines, and electric and gas power. Other than these phenomenal power sources, other advanced ease of communication were also introduced, like the telegraph and telephone, which helped in mass production and automation of manufacturing techniques to some extent.
· Third Industrial Revolution:
In the 20th century, the third industrial revolution hit, which brought data analysis, advanced telecommunications, and computers into the manufacturing process. The process of digitization has been introduced in the factories by integrating PLCs into manufacturing machines to advance the automation process and transfer data here and there.
· Fourth Industrial Revolution:
Currently, we are living in a fourth revolutionary era of industries which is also called Industry 4.0. It enables automation of the process of manufacturing, making factories and machines smart, and analyzing the production data, which helps in producing quality and efficient products. With industry 4.0, flexibility is enhanced, which lets manufacturers provide customized products meeting the demands of customers. This leads to efficiency in many sectors. Moreover, combining the operational data of different floors in one system enables the smart factory to make better decisions.
Characteristics Of an IoT Industry 4.0
Data Analysis
Interconnected machinery and integrated sensors generate a considerable amount of information for manufacturing industries. Data analytics aids manufacturers in analyzing historical trends, recognizing patterns, and making reasonable decisions. Smart factories also take data from other areas of industry and their ecosystem of distributors and suppliers to produce deeper insights. By taking a look at data collected through human resources, warehousing, or sales, manufacturers can make decisions about productions solely based on personnel and sales margins. An exclusive representation of operational digitization can be made as a digital twin.
The Benefits Of IoT Industry 4.0
There are various ways of integrating IoT into factories and their manufacturing process. Here are some beneficial points of integrating IoT in the factories.
· Data collection & automation
Automation and Data collection are one of the best features of integrating IoT in the manufacturing factory. IoT gathers data on all aspects of the manufacturing process and provides remote commands. This helps in enhancing production and its efficiency and increases the output while reducing effort, time, and expense.
One best example of IoT is integrating internet connection ability in the PLCs. This analyzes the data of the manufacturing process thoroughly and immediately reports to the producer if anything goes wrong. They also give permission to change parameters remotely at any time, which helps managers to correct the inefficient component in the assembly.
The workflow of the customized motorbike of Harley-Davidson is a real model of how the Internet of Things has developed manufacturing efficiency. In 2016, the manufacturers of this motorbike installed IoT devices and sensors in the machines of their factories to identify the speed limit of work. Well, they gathered data that reduced the time of manufacturing by up to 6 hours. And they saved up to $200 million in this process.
· Data Security
The primary security problem in the management of data for businesses is human error. BakerHostetler’s report back in 2018 shows that humans were the main reason for most cybersecurity incidents that they had managed. Among those incidents, the ratio of cases that were caused by employees was 17% which led to data breaches.
However, integrating IoT in the management of business helps in improving the management and reduces the number of humans managing the data manually. This is because IoT allows one to monitor, send or receive reports remotely through an automatic system without going through reading all emails all day.
In simple words, IoT reduces the time human users interact with data which automatically reduces the risk of human errors.
· Predictive Maintenance
The runtime of one hour of manufacturing machines costs millions. In the manual process of manufacturing, staff members have to look around all the time in search of whether the machine is working properly or not. If not, then find the solution to it, which also adds up to the expense.
IoT applications significantly reduce the downtime of machines by providing predictive maintenance. With smart sensors and AI integrated into all machines, manufacturers can closely look at the health and stability of the machines. It notifies the team of maintenance right away if there is a slight fault that occurs before getting things any worse. This not only helps in reducing the downtime of the machine but also makes it stay longer.
Predictive maintenance helps manufacturers in saving a lot. According to the U.S. Department of power’s data, enforcing predictive measures leads to a reduction of breakdowns by up to 70-75%, maintenance cost by up to 25-30%, downtime by up to 35-45%, and return the investment in ten folds.
· Workplace Safety
By using unique and advanced technologies, IoT also improves the security level at the workplace. Smart sensors integrated at every manufacturing floor provide the manufacturer with constant feedback with the latest details and information. If any incident happens, the alarm system alerts the facility while stopping the machine and dispatches the maintenance team to reduce the risk of injuries.
Wearable devices with IoT also protect the workers. For instance, a smart band consists of sensors for pressures that can warn the workers of areas with a loud noise that can damage hearing. Same as augmented reality spectacles help in analyzing areas that could be dangerous and hazardous for workers.
Smart, hard hats are one of the live examples of this. It is a product of two companies’ collaboration. These hardhats with various features can sense the location of the user, humidity, temperature, and heart rate. These hardhats warn the workers if their vitals get low and if they are near getting heatstroke. Moreover, it also warns users of dangerous areas by vibrating or sound emitting.
IoT Industry 4.0 is Not The Future; It Is The Present
IoT devices are already getting popular among manufacturers, and they will not stop here but grow faster. As it directly benefits efficiency, cost, and risk management, it would be a loss if any manufacturer would not have IIoT in their factories.
