How Internet of Things Improves the Industrial Efficiency in Manufacturing Sector?

‘Internet of Things’ has indisputably a vibrant future. By 2021, there will be more than 25 billion connected devices in use, as per a report by Gartner. That means an enormous volume of data will be produced to support business-driven decisions. It will open a big door of opportunities for the industries to enhance their efficiencies and boost profits.

IoT has already made a significant impact on the manufacturing sector. Industrial Internet of Things helps in monitoring different processes, reducing wastes, improving safety, etc. It brings together complete ecosystem of communication between different devices and equipment for capturing data and generating analytics. In this article, we will see how integrating IoT practices can benefit the industries in various ways.

Industrial Internet of Things and its benefit to manufacturing companies

Manufacturing companies that have digitalized their processes and used IoT technology found the following results (As per a survey conducted by American Society for Quality (ASQ), a knowledge-based global community):

• 82% rise in efficiency
• 49% decrease in product defects
• 45% increase in customer satisfaction

These numbers show that IoT is influencing industries in a big way. Connected assets and aggregated data allow the manufacturers to conserve resources, manage inventory, save energies and optimize productivity. They enable predictive and preventative maintenance in the companies. They enable the prevention of asset failure and downtime. The data gathered from various sensors and other intelligent devices gives enhanced visibility of accurate facts.

Let us run through some of the benefits to know how IoT helps manufacturing companies to work smarter and improve overall efficiency.

Saving Energies
IoT devices help companies to use the resources very efficiently and reduce unnecessary expenses. For instance:

• Activating the lights only when needed using smart lighting systems
• Using control units to control temperatures
• Using thermostats for saving energies spent on air conditioning and heating

For example, in a Smart Grid, where energy conservation is of utmost importance, smart meters and appliances are utilised for energy efficient operations.

Better collaboration and workforce management
Adopting the industrial Internet of Things allows the employees to work remotely. They don’t need to be physically present at the same place where the devices are. Real time data can be gathered by the devices in each stage of development like design, testing, or production and sent to the employees directly on their systems. It leads to accurate and pro-active management of tasks. The workforce can collaborate and manage the tasks well. Real-time monitoring enables to track the analytics data efficiently thereby improving the productivity of employees.  

Better utilization and maintenance of resources
IoT allows manufacturers to optimize production schedules, determine off-hours consumption, etc. and get insights to utilize the resources properly. IoT devices monitor the machines to track the information like how long does the machine takes to start, how long it remains in operation, etc. It helps to prevent them from damages and maintain them. There are alert-based systems that help to track the performance of the machines and predict failures.

Other benefits
Industrial Internet of Things helps to maintain a safer workplace by predicting chances of failure in advance and monitoring health state or risky activities of workers. It minimizes injury of the employees. It also allows inventory management by the use of RFID tags.  IoT solutions help in gathering information about routes with the use of geo-location tracking, especially for trucking and transportation industries. All these benefits of IoT play a significant role in quality-control and result in cost reduction in the manufacturing companies.

Key Takeaways:
The Internet of Things has brought technological and organizational advancements in industries. It has optimized the manufacturing processes at a fast pace. The vital data gathered using IoT devices helps the decision-makers to take quick actions and make profit-conscious decisions. Thus, IoT is simplifying everything that the industries need.

Are you looking for employing IoT solutions in your manufacturing company? Biz4Solutions is a leading IoT solution provider, based in Texas. We have developed software apps connected with various sensors, wearable devices, instruments, Bluetooth-enabled devices, etc. We have a huge experience in industry-focused IoT app development. Reach us to know more!