Blog- Benefits of IOT to Industry and Manufacturing

 Benefits of IoT to Industry and Manufacturing

Department of Mechanical Engineering

MEA-TY

 (05) Mrunal Ahire  12020098

 (06) Niraj Ahire  11910086

(13) Rohan Arwari  11910498

  (16) Atharva Yewale  11911264

 (20) Harsh Baheti  11910928

 (23) Avantika Bansod  11910437

 Instructor: Prof. Ketki Shirbavikar

Course: Mechatronics

Date: 03/12/2021

What is IoT?

            The Internet of Things, or IoT, is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

How does IoT work?

            An IoT ecosystem consists of web-enabled smart devices that use embedded systems, such as processors, sensors and communication hardware, to collect, send and act on data they acquire from their environments. IoT devices share the sensor data they collect by connecting to an IoT gateway or other edge device where data is either sent to the cloud to be analyzed or analyzed locally. Sometimes, these devices communicate with other related devices and act on the information they get from one another. The devices do most of the work without human intervention, although people can interact with the devices - for instance, to set them up, give them instructions or access the data.

Benefits of IoT to Industry

            Industry 4.0, the revolution of industrial processes through smart technology, is all about wireless automation to enhance performance. Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT) is the application of connected smart devices to monitor, automate, and predict all kinds of industrial processes and outcomes. 

            According to TechTarget, IIoT can be formally defined as “the use of smart sensors and actuators to enhance manufacturing and industrial processes. Also known as the industrial internet or Industry 4.0, IIoT leverages the power of smart machines and real-time analytics to take advantage of the data that dumb machines have produced in industrial settings for years.”

            These technologies offer everything from enhanced worker protections through factory floor monitoring systems to the predictive maintenance possibilities currently revolutionizing the fleet management industry. Widespread implementation of such systems changes the ways manufacturers, supply chains, and warehouse managers function more effectively. With IIoT, data-driven insights power greater results. For many businesses, this can mean:

• Greater energy efficiency
• Reduced costs
• Better quality products
• Improved decision-making potential
• Less equipment downtime

Industrial IoT capabilities require widespread digitization of manufacturing operations. Organizations must include four primary pillars to be considered a fully IIoT-enabled operation:

1. Smart machines equipped with sensors and software that can track and log data.
2. Robust cloud computer systems that can store and process the data.
3. Advanced data analytics systems that make sense of and leverage data collected from systems, informing manufacturing improvements and operations.
4. Valued employees, who put these insights to work and ensure proper manufacturing function.

The innovative potential of IIoT is virtually limitless. However, there are 7 primary categories in which this technology is applied within industries to promising results.

Uses of IoT in Industry

1. Predictive Maintenance

            In the power industry, drones with equipment monitors and sensors are being used to monitor powerline networks and evaluate risks. These drones can anticipate scenarios such as estimating when a tree is likely to fall on a line, resulting in costly maintenance and repair. That way, companies will be informed before the damage is done. In this fashion, predictive maintenance enables cost-effective repairs and intervention before the damage is even done.

2. Remote Monitoring

            Radar-level sensors provide local displays so that operators can easily manage levels through a singular dashboard. These systems make for easy measuring points on moving and rotating machinery, so operators are constantly fed real-time data regarding the equipment’s functionality. This, in turn, gives insights into overall equipment life-cycles and repair needs, allowing for predictive maintenance. 

3. Automation

            One vital use of automation via IIoT is smart irrigation in industrial farming. Water is a precious resource, but farmers typically have to keep a consistent watering schedule to ensure proper plant care. Smart irrigation systems, however, are automating this process while conserving water. The IIoT device reads moisture levels in the soil and reports to the sprinkler system when water is needed. This way, water, money, and time are all saved. 

4. Increase Efficiency

            The biggest benefit of IIoT is that it gives manufacturers the ability to automate, and therefore optimize their operating efficiency. Robotics and automated machinery can work more efficiently and accurately, boosting productivity and helping manufacturers streamline their functions. Physical machinery can be connected to software via sensors that monitor performance on a constant basis. This enables manufacturers to have better insights into the operational performance of individual pieces of equipment as well as entire fleets.

    IIoT-enabled data systems empower manufacturers to improve operating efficiencies by:

• Bypassing manual tasks and functions and implementing automated, digital ones
• Making data-driven decisions regarding all manufacturing functions
• Monitoring performance from anywhere – on the manufacturing floor or from thousands of miles away

5. Reduce Errors

            Industrial IoT empowers manufacturers to digitize nearly every part of their business. By reducing manual process and entries, manufacturers are able to reduce the biggest risk associated with manual labor – human error. This goes beyond just operational and manufacturing errors. IIoT solutions also can reduce the risk of cyber and data breaches caused by human error. 

            A Cyber Security Trend report cited people as the biggest cause of cyber security breaches, with human error being the culprit 37% of the time. AI and machine learning-enabled programs and machinery can do much of the required computing themselves, eliminating the potential for someone to make a simple mistake, and put the manufacturer’s data at risk.

6. Improve Safety

            Integrated safety systems are protecting workers on the floor, on the line, and in distribution. If an accident occurs, everyone in the facility can be alerted, operations can cease, and company leadership can intervene and make sure the accident and incident is resolved. This incident can also generate valuable data that can help prevent a repeat occurrence in the future.

           A newer option some manufacturers are utilizing is the use of wearable technology among their employees. Wearables have been part of IoT since its infancy, and it are just now being utilized in industrial IoT operations.

7. Reduce Costs

            Knowledge is power, and the knowledge provided to manufacturers via IIoT solutions is giving them the tools they need to reduce costs and generate more revenue. Data-driven insights into operations, production, marketing, sales, and more can steer businesses in a profitable direction.

Challenges to IIoT

        

These are the common challenges to wide-spread IoT success:

• Failure to align KPIs with clear business objectives
• Improper organizational alignment
• Lack of IoT experience
• IoT security threats

The dangers of not taking these challenges seriously can have more than just monetary risks. An autonomous machine can compromise employee safety like a vehicle that has been hacked or infected with malware. Overcoming many of these challenges requires running a cybersecurity risk assessment at consistent intervals during the IIoT device’s lifecycle and training staff around the proper implementation.

IoT in Manufacturing

Many factories and manufacturing plants have started investing in creating innovative solutions to remain competitive. Manufacturers that are using IoT integrated machines have already started experiencing improved productivity, supply chain efficiency, and revenue in their business.

IoT integrated equipment provides valuable real-time data that allows manufacturers or machine operators to make informed decisions.

• Sensors collect the data from the machine and send it forward to the cloud
• The data is passed to the quality monitoring system
• The analyzed data is sent to the end-user

Important benefits of IoT for manufacturing:

1. Improved Energy Efficiency

Energy is one of the significant expenses in manufacturing companies. The problem with the current industrial energy infrastructure is that it can only track the high level of energy consumption.

The utility bills you get include the records of energy consumption by the entire factory. There’s no way to break down the energy consumption to device levels and find out the parts with low performance. There are some energy consumption monitoring tools out there, but they have limited data points, and you can’t precisely pinpoint the problem with partial data.

IoT can close this gap by providing energy data on the device level. If there’s an underperforming device in the network, the sensors will detect it and alert you so you can take necessary actions. The technology can give you insights and recommendations on improving energy waste and other opportunities for every saving.

2. Quality Control

In a standard reactive quality control process, manufacturers produce an item, their quality control unit tests it, and they hope to catch and rectify the flaws before the product reaches the market. IoT makes this process proactive with thermal and video sensors collecting complete product data through different stages of a product cycle. The products can also be tested at each manufacturing step to check if their attributes are within specifications. In addition, instrumentation and monitoring of manufacturing equipment help quality control personnel to check if and where equipment calibration diverges from standard settings – such inaccuracies must be thwarted in time to avoid misalignment of products.

3. Faster and Informed Decisions

IoT can significantly improve the decision-making process in the organization. It unlocks critical data about the performance of different equipment in the network and provides insights to appropriate recipients. With this data, managers and field operators can take necessary steps to improve the processes and overall productivity of the plant.

4. Inventory Management

Together with radio frequency identification (RFID), IoT makes inventory management an efficient and seamless process. Every item in the inventory gets an RFID tag, and each tag has a unique identification number (UID) comprising encoded digital information about the item. RFID readers can scan the tags, and the data extracted gets transmitted to the cloud for processing. IoT gives cross-channel visibility to supply chain managers with a realistic estimate of available materials, the arrival of new materials and work-in-progress, optimizing shared costs in the value chain. By tracking the speed of movement and traffic flow of raw materials, manufacturers can be better prepared to receive them. This improves handling times and enables more efficient processing of those materials for production.

5. Digital Twins

Shortcomings and faults in the final product increase expenditure and overburden employees in a manufacturing industry. Digital twins replicate the developing product in a digital form. Whereas, by retrofitting sensors, industries gather data about their product’s entire working mechanism and the output expected from each module. The collected data from the digital replica enables managers to analyze the effectiveness, efficiency and accuracy of the system. They can also identify potential bottlenecks in their product that helps them to create a better version of their product. Lastly, digital Twins streamline operations like asset management and failure management. It supports industries in forecasting the completeness of their baseline and successfully follow their deadlines.

6. Workshop Mirroring

IoT can interlink market-ready solutions (MRs) and the enterprise information management system. It helps industries to automate the control of IoT-enabled manufacturing activities that are executed in workshops. Industries can access, identify and control the manufacturing execution process. It helps in covering all the scenarios from the start of production to the delivery of the final product.

7. Smart Packaging

Smart packaging that directly uses materials with embedded interconnectedness provides advanced benefits of IoT for manufacturers. A prime aspect of smart packaging is that it enables consumers to engage with it, as well as generates data to handle a product more effectively. Smart packaging may manifest itself in the form of recipe videos, beauty tutorials and other demonstrations to explain the product usage.

CONCLUSION

According to reports,

• IoT has enabled manufacturers to increase their average revenue by 28.5%.
• Companies believe IoT and other digital technologies increase productivity by 12% at least.
• The industrial IoT market size is set to reach $124 billion by the end of 2021.

So,

1. Industrial Internet of things (IIoT) can transform the way industries work. 
2. It can create autonomous self-healing machines and enhance inventories using machine-learning.
3. Industries can manage their supply chain using IoT devices and run the production cycle economically. 
4. The interconnectivity along with automation reduces human labour and provides faster time to market.