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How to Step into the Age of Automated Information
A factory running 40 different product lines utilizes the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) to create an efficient operation. Hundreds of workers at the Black and Decker Plant in Reynosa, Mexico produce millions of products each year proving that the IIOT is no longer theory. It’s working every day in major facilities processing massive amounts of data.
Take a closer look at how the handling of big data is making for an efficient and profitable operation.
Leveraging Big Data
Despite the sprawling 500,000 square foot facility that Black and Decker operates in Mexico, all of the components used in production have Wi-Fi radio frequency identification tags and tracking them is an almost effortless process.
An article on RCRWireless News, Black and Decker Teams with Cisco for IOT Manufacturing, shows how a smart factory decreases complexity.
Wi-Fi tags integrate with the company’s Programmable Logic Controller, which monitors quality control and delivers its results once the product reaches the end of the line.
Managers equipped with tablets and smartphones are able to easily address slowdowns in the process and see how quickly their employees are completing tasks.
Communication between the machines and the Internet allows management to monitor and control production almost automatically. Defects have been reduced and labor has been better utilized.
Getting Started with Big Data
Global manufacturers are leveraging big data to improve quality and reduce costs, but companies of all sizes can reap the same benefits. The write-up Converting Big Data into Actionable Intelligence on the Motion Control and Motor Association (MCMA) website describes how “discrete” manufacturers will be able “to produce even one more diaper or bottle of laundry detergent per minute [and] make a big difference in profit margin.”
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Implementing the latest technology and strategy can be done incrementally. Don’t drown in data when implementing the IIOT. A pilot program can be kept small with one machine and one production line equipped as a test case.
Just like companies use robotics or machine vision to achieve certain outcomes, set specific goals for the technology. This may be reducing downtime by 20%, beginning predictive maintenance, and cutting energy consumption or costs by 10%.
Establish goals and then conduct an inspection to see which equipped can be used for IIOT. Information from existing equipment may not be as detailed as that from newer machines, but it can still be valuable and show whether or not a machine is functioning well.
The value of big data lies in gathering enough information so that it can be mined to answer the questions that are being asked and reveal the additional questions that still need to be asked.
Learning to Use Big Data
A good way to introduce other staff to the mining of strategic information is to log on to the MCMA webinar archives and watch How to Turn Big Data into Actionable Information.
The IIOT doesn’t stop in the factory. As noted in the article The Business of Automation, Betting on Robots on the Robotic Industries Association website, it’s possible to connect all the way through the supply chain.
Gathering useful data and even obtaining customer feedback turns the production, packaging and shipping phases into a complete learning system.
Use advances in automation to create a stronger competitive advantage. Leverage the many resources available on A3.
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