IoT Trends In Manufacturing

christopher henry
4 min readAug 5, 2019

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Applications of Internet of Things in Industries

Internet of things (IoT) is a technology of connected device which communicates over the centralized storage system without human intervention. Businesses have invested hefty in the technology and embraced it wholeheartedly. Connected devices serve as a great tool for monitoring and data accumulation. The technology already has found firms grounds and now it is spreading its roots in the industry.

Retail Logistics

Incorporating technology in retail logistics has enabled entities to track their delivery vehicles in real-time. Smart sensors leverage owners to restrict logistic vehicles to go off track or at least inform them in such cases. IoT devices also help in compliance with regulations as they can provide accurate readings permitting companies to cut-off extra load as per regulations. Inventory management in retail logistics is also redefined; technology keeps a record of the stock and automatically places the order when required.

Plant Maintenance

Connected devices monitor the parts of machinery and store the data directly into the server for plant maintenance. Information generated through these devices is put to analytics for predicting failures, allowing technicians to carry out the repair even before the failure occurs. IoT gadgets can be installed in places where it is impossible or highly risky for humans to operate.

Smarter Security

The security landscape is also being transformed through IoT. It allows monitoring of all checkpoints through a single system, saving the time of security professionals. The technology can cater businesses of all size for security with the same efficiency. Security breaches can be dealt with in real-time with IoT enhancing the physical security system of industries. Smart sensors are capable to provide all day long security and are much cost-effective than a traditional security system.

Commercial Drones

The advent of IoT has laid the path for commercial drones. Many pilot models have already been tested successfully for various purposes such as delivery, surveillance, and tracking. The drone industry is growing at a rapid pace with the support of connected device technology as they are able to gather accurate data, increasing their precision. Geo-fencing is also possible because of merging IoT with drones.

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Solving Manufacturing Challenges through IoT

The IoT has a greater potential to make manufacturing much smarter and operate with maximum efficiency. However, manufacturers are not able to adapt it into their workflow as they do not know about the processes will be more advantageous and the ones that may bring them losses. To use IoT in manufacturing, a company will need to install sensors and actuators across the infrastructure for detecting humidity, temperature, vibration, noise, and light among other factors. These sensors collect data and transmit it in real-time using a wired or a wireless connection. This data is directly stored in the cloud and will be accessible to the employees of the company. It is also possible to check on these aspects via smartphones or tablets.

The SAS (Statistical Analytical System) is the most trusted automated analytical system that helps in many ways. To measure customer perception of quality, it accesses and analyzes the data from social media forums, traditional news sites, written records or call center systems. Then, it integrates collected data with issues detection to check any warnings and then make corrections. It also helps to detect problems early before they can occur and corrective actions are taken to improve the outcomes as per the predictions. It collects warranty information from different sources and rapidly disentangles its meaning.

Automated quality control estimation combined with checking, following, and reporting saves time and cash by helping a business work on critical mission issues on time. Today, machines are streaming data in real-time through sensors which provide information about operating conditions and other critical parameters. Enterprises today have a repository of the previous failure for the machines, with controlled measurements. These have been combined to perform preventive maintenance of the machines. However, streaming data about the operating conditions combined with the previous failure minimizes downtime for the machines.

With the IoT solutions influencing industries, more devices are connecting, collaborating, and are seamlessly enhancing the manufacturing process. Data is available anywhere, anytime. Thus, decision making is possible faster with data available real-time. In the near future, the industry can expect the machines to send out alerts and notifications to the enterprise which are actionable even before the point of failure.

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