The Covid-19 pandemic has forever changed the way we live and work. With reduced staff in the office and the manufacturing floor, companies who wish to keep the pace of production started integrating better automation solutions and smarter remote monitoring tools, thus speeding up the emergence of the Internet of things in the business world, a phenomenon also known as Industry 4.0.
Industry 4.0 and the industrial IoT
Industry 4.0 is a radical change for the manufacturing sector in particular, due to the fact that it allows machines to interact with workers and managers in a more efficient way, even remotely. It is the pinnacle of a fully automated work environment: people and machines do not need to be in the same place to work together anymore.
The idea of a fully functional factory floor that needs no humans to work translates into a streamlined and uninterrupted workflow, regardless of social distancing and other health regulations. As more and more tasks are automated, the cost of production also decreases, making smaller, local and even niche manufacturing operations possible.
In order to make this happen, machines are provided sensors and software so they can be constantly connected and more autonomous. Those industrial connected devices, taken as a whole, embody the industrial IoT. Roles within the organization are impacted by that new trend, the operation of such machinery involving a new set of skills and a proper understanding of digital tools and interfaces.
IoT: automated, predictive… and smarter
This new digital environment makes things simpler for decision-makers. For instance, MOLO17 has created a platform for industrial IoT that can provide a graphical and at-a-glance view of an entire manufacturing process, in real-time as well as in terms of historical output. All this is done via a web interface that can be remotely accessed via secure Internet access.
A custom dashboard helps each user see at-a-glance what is relevant to his role in the process: alarms, status of various machines, and information relative to key performance indicators (KPIs). Managers can integrate the data with the company’s CRM tools, allowing direct association of machines to users, thus simplifying the establishment of permissions based on company roles.
The industrial IoT goes a step further, using the collected data to make predictive analysis regarding efficiency, durability and maintenance for individual machines. This helps better manage output and contributes in minimizing the costs of breakdowns, repairs and unexpected shutdowns.
Connected devices have been helping manufacturers become smarter and more efficient for a while, but the Covid-19 pandemic has now made this long-term goal a short-term requirement. Companies who wish to preserve their levels of productivity and revenue streams need to make it happen right now.
As with most transformative new technologies, companies who are the first to jump on board the industrial IoT revolution will also be the first ones to benefit from its full potential, becoming more efficient, more resilient and more profitable.
If you are interested and want to be a protagonist of this industrial revolution and remain competitive in the manufacturing sector, contact us and tell us about your project. We will be happy to find the solution that best suits your business reality.
