There’s an influx of information on the internet about smart manufacturing, IoT, and IIoT that makes it difficult to know what publications to pay attention to. At FREEDOM™, we know smart manufacturing – with our Smart Manufacturing Platform we stay up-to-date on industry trends, insights, and publications around these topics. Here are five articles we gathered to help keep your competitive edge.
A Day in the Life of Ms. Smith: How IoT And IIoT Enhance Our Lives
This is an interesting article published by Forbes that takes a look into a futuristic day in the life of Ms. Smith from the time she wakes up, until the time she goes to sleep. In the course of a single day, IoT and IIoT have woken her up, saved energy in her home, eased her ride to and from work with smart cameras mounted on streetlights, while at work the IIoT helps her manage her manufacturing tasks by monitoring and analyzing the machines and assets she works with. This is just a small sample of how the IoT and IIoT will enhance our lives.
Edge Computing and the Promise of Predictive Plants
Edge computing is what we do at FREEDOM™ – it’s where all the actions occur with our FREEDOM™ Smart Manufacturing Platform. As connectivity to more assets and sensors takes place in the factory, the more critical the edge will become due to the networking required for everything to move to the cloud. As you read on, you learn that one of the most significant promises of using edge solutions is delivered through the ability to monitor assets for data that can be used by the maintenance professionals to analyze asset health to perform predictive maintenance. The IIoT is the way of the future for manufacturing and plant operations, and edge computing capabilities are the way of the future for IIoT.
The Multi-Directional Evolution of MES Software
The article discusses Manufacturing Execution System (MES) software that was developed for tracking and control of shop floor operations in larger manufacturing environments. MES software has since evolved into a variety of network configurations that enable them to interface with other IT systems. As MES has evolved, the definition has varied depending on system objectives, integrated features, and the ultimate usage, modification, and extensions added by the end user.
According to Jeff Price, Executive Vice President and General Manager of FREEDOM™ at 5ME LLC (Cincinnati), “The influence of automation and IoT technology has introduced modular technology capable of rapid upward integration. By incorporating interfaces to other data platforms, today’s IIoT solutions not only provide shop floor and production data but, through connectivity to other platforms, can deliver comprehensive analytics. Further, the need for data integration has prompted end-user demand for a more unified data architecture.” The article goes further into this topic by examining complex challenges, how the cloud drives MES, why installations require teamwork, equipment selection, and worker engagement.
Smart Manufacturing Quickens Decision Making
This article addresses smart manufacturing’s ability to easily and quickly deliver data to the decision point. Executives must now view smart manufacturing in a way that eliminates hierarchy both in the organization and in the technology stack and connects and controls the production processes from the plant floor to business planning and logistics. They must also view it as people-oriented in that it helps people do their jobs better. Both of these characteristics promote faster, better decision making. Any company can buy the technology, the critical element to a successful smart manufacturing transformation is people — helping them adapt to the influx of technology, building processes that deliver the data they need when they need it and empowering them to make better and more informed decisions faster.
Want to see more articles like these? Connect with us on LinkedIn or follow us on Facebook.
