Industry 4.0 is being favoured by the application of many technologies, including the Internet of Things, which has become a key element for its development.
The Internet of Things (IoT) consists of objects having an Internet connection at any time and place. One of the main applications of this technology is in industry with the Industrial Internet of Things.
Industry, thanks to the application of technology, has reached a new level of efficiency that we know as Industry 4.0 that allows an optimization of productivity and efficiency in all industrial processes.
Broadly speaking, the areas of application of IoT in the industrial field are:
- Digital/Connected Factory: IoT-enabled machinery can relay operational information to those involved, such as OEMs and field engineers. This will allow operations managers and factory heads to remotely manage factory units, optimizing automation and manufacturing processes.
- Facilities Management: The use of IoT sensors in manufacturing equipment allows for maintenance alerts based on environmental conditions. There are many critical machine tools that are designed to operate within certain ranges of temperature, humidity, and vibration. IoT sensors can
actively monitor machines and send an alert when equipment deviates from its prescribed parameters. By ensuring the prescribed working environment for machinery, manufacturers can save energy, reduce costs, eliminate machine downtime, and increase operational efficiency. - Monitoring of production flows: The use of IoT in production chains allows real-time monitoring of them from the refining process, for example, in a petroleum production plant, to the final packaging of the products. This allows
operations to be adjusted for better management of operational costs. In addition, it helps prevent potential delays and anticipate maintenance needs. - Inventory Management: Internet of Things applications enable the monitoring of events in supply chains. With these systems, you know at all times where orders for materials, raw materials, and finished materials are and users are notified of any significant deviations from plans. Ultimately, this optimizes supply and reduces costs.
- Safety and security in industrial plants: The combined use of Big Data and IoT can improve the overall safety of workers on the shop floor by monitoring health and safety key performance indicators (KPIs), such as the number of injuries and rates of illnesses, vehicle incidents, and damage or loss to machinery during daily operations, and taking appropriate action when predefined alarms occur.
- Quality Control: IoT sensors collect aggregated product data and other parameters during the various stages of a production cycle. This data can refer to the composition of the raw materials used, the temperature or other characteristics of the environment, the waste produced, the impact that transport may have, etc. In addition, if IoT is used in the final product, the IoT device can provide data on how the end customer uses it. All of these inputs can be analyzed to identify and fix quality issues.
- Packaging optimization: By using IoT sensors in products and/or product packaging, manufacturers can gain insight into usage patterns and product handling by customers. Smart tracking mechanisms can also track product spoilage during transport and the impact that environmental variables may have on it. The data collected can be used to redesign products and packaging to improve both the customer experience and its cost.
- Logistics and supply chain optimization: IoT can provide access to real-time supply chain information by tracking materials, equipment, and products as they move through the supply chain. This information can feed into the management systems implemented such as ERP, PLM, etc. By connecting plants with suppliers,
all stakeholders in the supply chain can track interdependencies, material flow, and manufacturing cycle times. This data helps manufacturers predict problems, reduce inventory, and reduce logistics costs by optimizing receiving and delivery routes and procedures.
As we can see, the biggest driver of this type of solution is what we said at the beginning, improving productivity and efficiency.
If you want to know more about the current impact of the IoT , click here.
