Ever wondered what the future of manufacturing looks like? We’re currently in the midst of what is also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Industry 4.0 is not just about technology. It’s a vision that will elicit new business plans. With DeepInsights™, you can make your business an active member of Industry 4.0. Welcome these disruptive changes in technology with open arms.
What is Industry 4.0 exactly? Industry 4.0 combines several technologies and applies them to Industry. In this way, it’s leading to a transformation that’s all about data. Industry 4.0 requires a strategic approach if it has to work. It’s not just about mindlessly collecting data but using it to your business’s advantage. Industry 4.0 sees manufacturing as a series of interconnected nodes. These nodes include people, data, processes, systems, and industrial assets enhanced by IoT and AI. All these nodes work together in complementary ways to generate data. Later, decision makers in the business analyze this data and take informed steps. A real-time platform where data can be visualized is needed to execute the kind of strategic mindset these technologies call for.
EPIC iO has developed a platform to process, visualize, and analyze data in real-time. The name of this platform is DeepInsights™. It can be used to manage entire floors of a factory as a whole rather than as separate systems. This is in alignment with Industry’s 4.0 proposed enhancement of factory floors by conceiving of them as a series of interconnected nodes. Production processes can now be integrated, whereas before, they operated in isolation.
Understanding the Tangible Impact of Industry 4.0
Before Industry 4.0 became a reality, complying with certain parameters of quality needed to get certifications was hard. It was costly and time-consuming. Now, there is technology operating 24/7 to ensure these parameters are followed.
Downtime could generate unforeseen time and money lost and, in some cases, wastage. Now, when there is downtime, the appropriate people get a notification on their phone. In this way, they can take action before it’s too late.
Some repetitive tasks like taking inventory, which could stall the products reaching shelves, are now automated. The employees you do invest in get to use their cognitive powers to solve far more complex issues.
If you were away before Industry 4.0, you had to cross your fingers and trust the employees you had left on site. Now, you can check on your factory in real-time using your phone.
Before Industry 4.0, businesses relied on scheduled technical checkups to ensure the functioning of their manufacturing site. Now, menial decisions related to the proper functioning of machinery are made differently. They can now be made by the machines themselves, whose status can be checked in real-time.
EPIC iO’s solution, DeepInsights™, can be used to calculate OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). It gives decision makers some valuable information on stoppage trends at the production line. In this way, it can be improved. The data is later sent to another platform for storage and further processing.
IoT as a Pillar
The Internet of Things combined with Artificial Intelligence come together to make up what can be compared to having an extra set of hands on site. Of course, it can’t be creative or use common sense. But the combination of IoT and AI is the equivalent to having someone with all five senses up and running on site.
What’s more, this combination is ready to act when certain patterns on, say, the temperature of a machine or a certain level of smoke appear. In this way, it can prevent accidents or the poor functioning of a process. It can even interact with the human nodes by emitting voice recordings with appropriate instructions to avoid accidents.
Connectivity as a Pillar
None of these technologies can operate efficiently without connectivity. EPIC iO is partnered with Broad Sky Networks. This allows our smart manufacturing solutions to work with a reliable wireless network and LTE connectivity (4G and 5G). Thanks to these networks, data can be delivered in real time. The solution operates with a distributed infrastructure. This is so because some decisions must be made at the edge. Connectivity is necessary for these decisions to be made without impediments such as lags or interruptions from network interference.
Being connected not only to the wireless but also to a reliable LTE ensures that some problems are avoided. Not even problems with the wireless can interfere with the proper functioning of this smart solution.
Adopting Industry 4.0 is much more than adopting new equipment. EPIC iO understands this. DeepInsights™ was designed with the vision of Industry 4.0 and the strategic approach it calls for in mind.
With the data at hand in a platform like DeepInsights™, this strategic approach of Industry 4.0 has never been easier to adopt, or felt more like second nature. Technology can be used to create a safer environment for humans to work in. EPIC iO’s Industry 4.0 solution protected the health and well-being of an automotive factory’s employees. By applying its technologies to measure the dust particles present in the air, our solution ensured safe working conditions. In this way, Industry 4.0 can be used to keep human workers in various manufacturing sites safe.
Industry 4.0 can also be used to comply with stringent regulatory requirements. This can save businesses time and help them get their products to market faster.
In short, Industry 4.0 is here to stay. IoT brings an extra set of hands on set that’s smart enough to make decisions that can prevent the loss of money and time. Connectivity ensures the smooth and efficient functioning of every technology. Before Industry 4.0, businesses had to hire human workers for repetitive tasks. They lost time and money during downtime and tried to meet certain protocols. Industry 4.0 fixed many of its problems. It doesn’t need to be perceived as the enemy of human labor. Rather, it can keep human workers safe. It can also free them up for more cognitively and technically challenging and rewarding jobs.
References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_gTcaoVjxshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7M9e3dRbqQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_gTcaoVjxshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7M9e3dRbqQ
