Data-Driven Decision Making

References to the Internet of Things (IoT) are everywhere. It’s hard to find anything written in the last few years related to smart manufacturing, supply chain transformation, logistics, transportation, factory automation, data collection, etc. that doesn’t reference IoT or IIoT in some related context.

IIoT is making big waves in the manufacturing industry – primarily on the factory floor. At the heart of many IoT-related solutions utilized by manufacturers are sensors. For those who have yet to implement this technology at your facility, you may be asking yourself: is it best to sense or not to sense? To help determine if your plant is ready to implement IIoT, it’s important to understand why these IIoT manufacturing technologies have taken off. Although there are many, the following four are key reasons why companies are increasingly implementing IIoT-enabled solutions in their factories.

Lower Hardware Cost

Lowering hardware costs has been a pivotal development in the adoption of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Previously, the need for multiple sensors and various hardware devices made large-scale deployments financially unfeasible. However, with mass production, hardware costs have significantly decreased, leading to a surge in demand for IIoT integration. Moreover, apart from the manufacturing cost of IoT devices, the data generated by these technologies typically requires an on-premises physical server for storage. And access to this data was limited to a physical connection to the server via cables. Today, services like multi-cloud have emerged, capable of storing vast amounts of data compared to physical servers. These cloud solutions are accessible remotely, providing manufacturers with a cost-effective alternative to bulky data storage hardware. This shift helps them save significant amounts of money while benefiting from robust data storage and accessibility.

Market Expansion

More IoT-ready devices and sensors with capabilities to measure pressure, proximity, contact, vibration, displacement, location, velocity, temperature, current, etc. are coming to the market daily – all with a variety of inputs such as electromagnetic, photoelectric, optical, radio and other signals.

These sensors can also communicate with various types of ethernet, wireless and Bluetooth protocols. Because of this technology influx, the IoT-device market has become saturated with multiple variations of each type of sensor. Research will play a key part in determining which brand and sensor type will work best for your organization.

Availability of Software Analytics Tools

In many cases, software analytics tools are now available at little or no charge from many sensor OEMs. They vary greatly in overall capabilities, but all provide plenty of potential value. For instance, big data analytics software from sites such as https://kyligence.io/ are able to analyse huge amounts of data, and by utilizing these tools where real-time data is available, it is possible to construct algorithms to predict and monitor real-time scenarios that can then take corrective actions instantly. This is one of the biggest value propositions to using this IoT manufacturing technology.

To avoid data overload, determining key performance indicators at your facility prior to adopting sensor technology will help weed down the information presented after implication. For more information, continue reading the infographic below!

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