The "Internet of things" (IoT) is becoming an increasingly hot topic of conversation both in the workplace and outside of it. It's a concept that not only has the potential to impact how we live but also how we work and communicate. We have seen several changes in manufacturing through the amazing technological advancements that have improved how products are created, how companies understand their products and how consumers interact with them. But what are the specific ways in which the IoT has impacted manufacturing and will continue to do so in the years to come? Let’s look at 5 ways the Internet of Things will change manufacturing. For more helpful engineering advice, news and career opportunities, make sure you subscribe to NewEngineer.com here.

More Customizable Products

As customer demands for products change, manufacturers will have to adjust if they want to remain competitive. Automation and the connected factory produce a wider variety of products and product variations in smaller quantities quicker. This allows them to answer the market’s growing demand for near-custom and highly configured products. Fast, efficient and flexible computerized machines operate with instructions for the exact requirements for each product at each moment of production. This permits a full-scale transformation of the old-style “economies of scale” approach that drove mass-produced consumer goods.

Quality Control

Factory productivity is on the rise as plants produce more and more with ever increasing efficiency and quality. Connected tools and machines remain a key aspect of these gains. The Internet Protocol (IP) torque wrench in the assembly of a complex part is a good example. When connected to the cloud, the IP torque wrench captures the torque applied to a specific part, the specific wrench that was used, when that wrench was last calibrated and the employee who used it. This allows for faults to be detected in real time, and even when they’re missed the cloud can trace every part affected back to the root cause. As a result, both quality and speed can be improved.

Real-time traceability

Outside of the production facility, the shift to cloud-based software systems will allow employees, suppliers and customers worldwide to view the status of an order, work-in-progress, inventory, equipment availability, and much more at any given moment. Visibility doesn’t have to stop when the product leaves the plant. Smart products will not only interact with the customer in new ways but will also remain in contact with the producer for better long-term performance, maintenance, and support. Connecting smart technology and IoT can bring the processes and the products together into a new ecosystem for added customer value.

Faster Time to Market

As manufacturers deploy architectures to support the IoT revolution, they will start reaping benefits from opening up information flows between plant systems and business applications. The elimination of these information silos will result in fewer disconnects between the floor and the business. R&D departments will be able to work in tandem with manufacturing planners, streamlining the introduction of new products. Using dashboards and mobile devices, managers and engineers will react immediately to shifting production needs, operational issues and market scenarios. The result will be an "enterprise-wide decision engine" executing supply chain adjustments faster than before.

Operational Excellence, Improved Productivity

IoT connectivity promotes a new class of operating assets, which are embedded with sensors and actuators that are "self-aware" and capable of communicating with other machines with minimal human intervention. These networks of intelligent machines will be able to adjust automatically to changing operating conditions and alert operators to maintenance needs in advance of malfunctions. This will result in increased equipment efficiency and minimization of downtime declines. The automatic control of costs through proactive maintenance programs will rely on devices, based on sensor data, communicating across industrial networks.

In an industrial enterprise environment where fast, responsive and prolific technology change has rendered the need for changes, there is no doubt the IoT holds great potential.  Given how the Internet of Things has transformed – and disrupted – virtually every aspect of daily life, it’s a matter of years before the manufacturing sector has fully explored everything that technology can do for network protocols, storage, and analytics.

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