The term “SMART FACTORY” is becoming more popular, and is often related to industry 4.0. SMART factories are critical to achieving Industry 4.0 expectations. The strategic importance of SMART FACTORY is undeniable, as early adopters have reported operating more efficiently and driving more to the bottom line.
According to Deloitte, in the United States alone, 86% of manufacturers believe that smart factories will be the main drivers of competition by 2025.Furthermore, 83 percent believe that smart factories will transform the way products are made.
This post will discuss what a smart factory is, its benefits, how to get started, and how solutions provided by CIMCON can help with the process.
What is a SMART FACTORY
SMART FACTORY is a networked industrial facility that combines data, collecting results from devices, processes, machines, and apps to generate actionable insights. The SMART FACTORY transformation highlight the importance of connectivity,the need to connect assets and data across a range of systems, platforms, and data structures, some of which were never meant to be connected. Once a facility and its assets are connected with the use of Sensors and Edge Devices, they unleash a flood of information to be translated and acted upon.
SMART FACTORY Sensors / EDGE devices can be found in a variety of manufacturing environments. CIMCON provides vibration sensor VIBit and the Edge Platform CIM devices. A vibration sensor is a sensitive and calibrated instrument that detects anomalies in the functioning of real-time equipment (motor, pump, etc.). Vibration sensors can provide a warning, allowing the facility to resolve the problem before there is an accidental shutdown. The CIM device can gather data from numerous devices (wired or wireless), using the appropriate protocol and transforming the captured data into a readable format.
Challenges without a SMART FACTORY
In today’s manufacturing industry, organizations are expected to streamline operations, reduce costs, regularly update product formulas, drive supply chain efficiencies, increase employee productivity and maintain business relationships. With expectations so high, the manufacturing industries cannot afford to run into any issues that may interfere with the productivity. But without the implementation of SMART FACTORY, there are some common challenges that may come up with time.
- Lengthy implementation period
- Costly customization
- Inflexibility
- Siloed data
- Risk of lagging behind new aged technology
The benefit of Smart Factory using CIMCON solutions
Agile production process: SMART FACTORY allows the manufacturer to adapt to changing client needs, budgets, and product quality requirements due to the connectivity of multiple systems, processes, devices, etc., to provide an edge on the delivery of a product.
Enhancing the efficiency and reliability of manufacturing operations: CIM devices and the sensor network will enable the industry to collect data on processes and equipment and provide alerts if there is a deviation. The acquired data is analyzed in near real-time, allowing manufacturers to immediately modify equipment parameters. The analysis of sensor-generated data throughout the manufacturing process aids in identifying trends and scope for improvement. In addition, the likelihood of human error is minimized in production procedures.
Increased visibility into operations on the shop floor: Through IIoT products, SMART FACTORY provides a greater sense of visibility into shop floor operations by providing continuous real-time updates on production operations.
Information safety: In SMART FACTORIES, data priority is necessary. So, the more technologies are involved with sensors and Edge devices, the more secure the factory must be for customers, suppliers and investors.
Predictive maintenance improves uptime: Data regarding the health and performance of equipment is communicated near-real-time to the cloud via IIoT, ensuring advanced planning in maintenance work and boosting machine availability.
Increased worker safety: Sensors are used to communicate information without the physical presence of humans to ensure maximum safety.
Step-by-step instructions for constructing a SMART FACTORY
Establish your goals and needs: To ensure you put your resources in the right places, you must also understand the “WHYs” behind your decision to implement a smart factory.
Get your personnel on board: Legacy systems are still in existence in many production plants, making the deployment of smart technologies difficult. Creating a new solution to replace an existing legacy system may incur costs such as the purchase of a new instrument and the hire of a digitally skilled individual. Because the human workforce is always an important part of the manufacturing process, it must be trained to adapt to changing conditions.
Be cyber secure: In today’s scenario of data-driven technology and usage of increased IIoT devices, data security is a rising concern. Updating security measures should be implemented to provide future-proof security from unwanted threats.
Make a new investment in instruments: To make SMART FACTORY a reality, manufacturing facilities need to invest in IIoT sensors and CIM devices to collect data from legacy machines. IIoT sensors and CIM devices help manufacturing facilities quickly adopt innovative technology for the digital transformation.
Make a new investment in hiring personnel: To adopt the new technology, the manufacturing facility needs to invest in data analysts to turn the data collected into something usable or valuable – one more area to reskill your existing personnel to fulfil the requirement. This is also an area where CIMCON can help provide technical expertise.
Open to change and keep upgrading SMART FACTORY implementation: As you and your staff grow more familiar with innovative technology and its benefits, it will become easier to continue to expand smart technologies to other facility areas. The factory is flexible and responsive and can perform in a dynamic environment.
Implementing smart factory technology with CIMCON’s product and platform
Implementing the SMART FACTORY in any business can be difficult and time-consuming. CIMCON DIGITAL is a company that can provide support for digital transformation in terms of both software and hardware, with vast experience in the development and implementation of automation using various in-house developed products, such as sensors, CIM devices, and so on.
CIMCON devices will address all the issues that will transform the industries and support in converting the factories into smart factories of the future.
Contact us today to begin your smart factory adventure.
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