Increased demand for personalization, rising consumer expectations, and the complexity of the global supply chain all motivate firms to develop new, more inventive methods to stay competitive. Businesses use digital transformation to boost productivity and create new ways to improve manufacturing and supply chain operations.
Adoption Of IOT In Manufacturing
The primary drivers of Industrial IoT solution adoption include the following:
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Cost Savings
Improved asset and inventory management (lower inventory carrying costs and search times), decreased machine downtime, more flexible operations, and better energy utilization cut operating costs and provided new revenue sources. For example, smart, linked devices allow experience sales — product usage and post-sale services.
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Reduced Time To Market
Shortening product cycle times require rapid production and supply chain improvements. For example, Harley-Davidson utilized IoT to rebuild their York, Pennsylvania facility, cutting manufacturing time from 21 days to six hours.
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Customization In Large Quantities
Extensive customization increases SKU variety, necessitating a significant rise in manufactured SKU variation. Producing 20 SKU X units and then ten SKU Y pieces increases production complexity. Keeping track of materials and production becomes time-consuming. For intelligent forecasting, shop floor scheduling, and routing, the IIoT provides real-time data.
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Increased Security
The IIoT helps worker safety. With wearable devices, IIoT can monitor employee health and potentially risky behaviors. Along with employee safety, the IIoT addresses risks in potentially harmful situations. For example, IIoT is utilized in the oil and gas industry to monitor gas leaks in pipelines.
Three Aspects Of The Influence Of IoT In Manufacturing
Industrial systems are being transformed by the Internet of Things, bringing three significant benefits to the digital transformation process:
- Visibility into the shop floor and field activities is the first dimension.
- Visibility into the industrial supply chain is a second dimension.
- Visibility into distant and outsourced activities is the third dimension.
The following sections will go further into each digital transformation aspect and examine them through the lens of IIoT application.
Chances For Small And Medium-Sized Businesses
IoT offers equal transformative prospects for small and medium-sized businesses by driving business and industrial process improvements.
A medium-sized company with affiliates in Illinois and Texas, for example, has the same distributed manufacturing difficulties as a big firm with affiliates in both countries. Because IoT relies on cloud computing and ubiquitous, generally open-source software, it allows SMEs to become digital.
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IoT In Manufacturing Adoption Roadblocks
According to a 2016 BCG poll, the most significant barriers to launching IoT-enabled digital transformation efforts in the United States are uncertainty about the ROI, data security and privacy concerns, a shortage of trained people, and integration with old systems. Additionally, there are significant worries about the impossibility of conducting rapid tests and the absence of IoT standards.
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Significant Investment Requirements And Uncertainties Over The ROI
Multiple investment categories apply to IoT initiatives: hardware (sensors, gateways), connection, cloud storage, administrative labor, and technical assistance. Businesses must examine the speed with which they can deploy new solutions and the time required for a solution to generate money.
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Concerns About Data Security
58% of IIoT adopters say the Internet of Cyberattacks is becoming more common due to these developments. With the proliferation of IoT devices, IoT security risks are projected to grow. Gartner forecasts that 25% of assaults would target IoT devices, with $547 million spent on IoT security.
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Inadequately Qualified Personnel
According to Inmarsat, 72% of firms lack individuals with IoT expertise at the management level. Another 80% indicate a lack of IoT implementation skills among staff. Another study identified critical skills gaps, including analytics competence and experience in big data, embedded software development, embedded electronics, information technology security, and artificial intelligence.
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The Integration Of Operational And Legacy Technology
It is challenging to connect IT and OT without data loss or security inconsistencies in industrial contexts. It isn’t easy to merge IT and OT systems since they were built utilizing different technologies and networks. Now that machines are starting to accept Ethernet protocols and web-based user interfaces, the process of integration is becoming easier but not effortless.
Conclusion
Industrial IoT enables industrial businesses to increase productivity by maximizing uptime, lowering costs, and eliminating waste. Manufacturers may better know production and supply chain operations, improve demand forecasts, accelerate time to market, and improve customer experience by using IoT data. BlockNize can provide you with the overall guide of IoT manufacturing.
