Industry 4.0. technologies are enabling manufacturers to digitize their factories. One of the most important of these technologies is Internet of Things (IoT). Powered by connectivity and sensors, it generates actionable, near real-time data insights about the condition of physical things in the factory and throughout the supply chain. This put together with data analytics, new technologies and a fast network is helping manufacturers better manage their assets and boost efficiency in production.
 
Manufacturers today deal with unprecedented pressure. They must manage evermore complex global supply chains and new logistics models, grab hold of new ways of working, and handle the constant threat of cyberattacks. Customers are demanding more individualized products. Yet, customer loyalty is more hard to maintain as competition intensifies. Plus, all of this is playing out against the backdrop of a growing skilled-labor shortage.
 
To alleviate these pressures, more and more ambitious manufacturing companies are now utilizing faster networks, IoT and other technologies.
 
Here’s some of the ways IoT can help benefit manufacturing companies:
 
Workforce productivity: Manufacturers may use mobile IoT solutions to strengthen their employees. With near real-time factory floor insights, employees can easily locate and manage assets, monitor materials for quality, and develop worker safety.
 
Predictive maintenance: Remotely monitoring equipment with IoT improves ensure machines are correctly adjusted for most effective use and high-quality output. It also implies predictive maintenance. This can help manufacturers save time and money by repairing or replacing equipment before it fails.
 
Supply chain management: Tracking the location of assets in transit permits manufacturers predict when shipments will arrive. Paired with near real-time analytics, fleet solutions can allow end-to-end visibility of goods throughout the supply chain.
 
Near real-time insights: With IoT sensors and other devices set up on the factory floor and across the supply chain, manufacturers can gain near real-time workable insights via data analytics. But this will require an IoT asset management platform that supports multiple devices, communication protocols, networks and cloud environments, and that combines with existing enterprise systems.
 
IoT in Action: Data and Insights on a Global Scale
 
One global manufacturer, for instance, turned to IoT to boost performance in all these areas. As a leader in the design, production and servicing of commercial products, it enclosed connectivity inside the goods and services it brings to market. This combined with a global mobility solution provided entry to near real-time information and insights for the company’s research and development teams and its service technicians in the field. Remote technicians were further backed with a fleet management solution that promoted safety and efficiency. 
 
Back on the factory floor, Wi-Fi coverage and end-to-end network services meant on-demand capabilities. This works the company optimize operations and more perfectly scale capacity up or down to manage with business fluctuations.
 
On the whole, this combination of connectivity and data helped build up a complete view of the company’s assets including manufacturing equipment, inventory, vehicles, installed units and people, also their individual capability and efficiency. Finally, to ensure this information remained a competitive advantage, and not a liability, the total network is secured through the cloud.
 
This manufacturer is both huge and global. It’s not unique in its need for greater insight into operations. IoT solutions can help manufacturing companies of any size to proportion and act in response in near real-time to their operational and market challenges.
 
It doesn’t halt with IoT. We could see other technologies being implemented to increase the manufacturing industry such as 5G, or 5th generation mobile networks.
 
Together with Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Samsung Austin Semiconductor, LLC., we’re working towards the future of Industry 4.0 connected manufacturing. The strategy is to give insights into the future of a smart factory. We're working with each other to explore use cases and technologies such as industrial IOT sensors that monitor for environmental and equipment conditions which include vibration, temperature and speed as well as location services to help develop safety. 5G promises to someday have a major impact on manufacturing by helping to unlock new experiences in augmented reality, powerful machine learning and intelligent robotics.
 
The future of manufacturing is already here through IoT and on-demand, next-generation networking technologies. What creates the shift to Industry 4.0 much more thrilling is that it goes far beyond manufacturing to transform not only how modern factories work, but also how things are designed, used and serviced.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com