There are many components to the production process involving people, machines, software, and hardware. To add to the complexity, there’s a good chance that most of these components are not located in the same place. It’s a multi-faceted environment and holding it all together is data.
Each component that is connected to the chain needs data to keep everything flowing. Each segment that is human-driven needs this data to inform how they program those components.
The evolution of manufacturing is that more and more of these elements will be digitally connected to the chain. The Industrial Internet of things (IIoT) is moving us towards The Smart Factory,
The Smart Factory will be highly dynamic and responsive. Manufacturing processes will be organized differently, with entire production chains, from suppliers to logistics to the life cycle management of a product, connected to one another. Machines, equipped with sensors, will have a “voice “ in the process as well. From pre-planning to execution, this will provide digitally integrated engineering and horizontal integration across the entire factory, as well as vertical integration and connectivity across all levels of production.
In a Smart Factory, machinery and equipment will not just have a voice, but they will have the ability to further improve processes through self-optimization and autonomous decision-making.
And data is the life source of The Smart Factory.
The amount and quality of this data is growing exponentially. As more and more devices are connected to the internet, it is predicted that the amount of data produced is growing about 40% per year.
With the new information coming from machines, The Smart Factory gains new insights into production.
SEE ALSO: Why Creating a Smart Factory Makes Dollars and Sense
This is the era of Big Data and data analytics.
What is Big Data? It is high-volume data delivered at high speed, which contains a wide variety of information that require innovative forms of information processing enabling enhanced insight, decision making, and process automation.
Big Data, and the analytics needed to thoughtfully process it, will drive how we produce going forward. Imagine having sensors on all machinery in a production center that offer real time visibility into how each is operating. Having advanced analytics can also show quality, performance and training variances by each machine and its operators. This is invaluable in streamlining workflows and keeping production unimpeded by breakdowns on the production floor.
By utilizing Big Data and advanced analytics, all business aspects can be kept in the loop and utilize the data with their own focus in mind. Being able to know to the machine level if the factory floor is running efficiently, production planners and senior management know how best to scale operations. By unifying daily production to financial metrics, manufacturers have a greater chance of profitably scaling their operations.
This inter-relationship between all elements of the production process goes beyond the production chain. As an example, the EPLAN Data Portal, which is built into the EPLAN Platform, provides online access to valuable device data from numerous component manufacturers. This data can then be dragged and dropped into the EPLAN documentation. All products anchored to the EPLAN Platform can access this service. Simply adding the components available to the project reduces configuration work and increases the quality of the machine and system documentation.
The potential that Big Data and data analytics bring to a business has no glass ceiling. Collecting data from every conceivable aspect of production means that there is continuous process improvement. New insights can lead to new understandings of a business’s capabilities both in more efficient operation, as well as a way to find new product initiatives. Customer service, once the product is delivered, takes on new significance when you can monitor those products and proactively provide preventative maintenance recommendations based on the data that is coming from it. Big data and analytics will make the level of recommendations contextual for the first time so customers can get greater value.
This is the promise of Big Data and it is already reshaping the design and manufacturing landscape. That landscape will continue to evolve and it will not be a slow evolution. Businesses that get on board now will be able to best take advantage of this future.
