How IoT Technology Can Improve Industrial Efficiency

In the current context of the Industry 4.0In the current context, improving efficiency is essential to be able to compete in the market.

Thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT), businesses can collect more and more data. It's what we do with that data that will allow us to generate efficiencies and improve productivity.

The Relationship between IoT Technology and Efficiency in the Industrial Sector

IoT allows us to collect a lot of data in real time in a reliable and secure way, and transform it into very useful information for our businesses. This helps reduce resource consumption and improve our efficiency and productivity.

In this sense, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is achieving an increasingly solid position as it evolves, connecting machines and devices in strategic sectors such as energy. In these sectors, the continuous improvement and optimization of industrial processes is crucial. To achieve this, companies must maximize the knowledge they have at every point in their different processes. In this way they can detect inefficiencies, bottlenecks or excessive resource consumption. Thanks to this information, companies can make data-driven decisions that are supported by business.

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Industrial processes affected by IoT

While it is true that processes differ from company to company, there are a number of common patterns in the industrial sector. In this article we focus on processes related to inventory management, manufacturing and distribution. Through sensors located in warehouses, vehicles, machinery, facilities, etc., the following data can be obtained:

● Data for inventory management. Collecting data regarding the internal location of products and the miles travelled by operators allows companies to achieve smart warehouse design. It can also be important to collect data regarding temperature, humidity or sun exposure, as well as warehouse energy consumption to ensure efficient resource management and prevent product damage. In addition, companies will be able to plan orders and make accurate forecasts based on stock levels and their analysis.

Manufacturing data. Having manufacturing time information means knowing how long it takes to start up machines, how long they are running, and how often production is interrupted due to machine problems. This allows companies to know and plan manufacturing better, and to be able to provide faster and better service to customers. When we also measure the number of defects per manufacturing volume, we can avoid costs by being able to implement corrective actions and predictive maintenance. Also, by quantifying the energy consumption in the plant or the amount of waste generated during manufacturing, we can be more sustainable, which is essential to achieve efficiency.

Data for logistics management. If we want to optimize the operation of logistics, especially with regard to the functions of freight transport, it will be necessary to obtain data from the delivery vehicles, such as their location via GPS, their load volume, the time they remain unused and delivery times. If, in addition, we add to this warehouse data such as the internal location of the products, the kilometers traveled by the operators and the number of orders, we will also have an integrated and efficient logistics management.

Recommended reading: 5 uses of IoT in industrial environments.

Once this data is collected and converted into information, companies can take action in the following areas:

● Resource maintenance. Through maintenance alerts based on predictions regarding the average time it takes for a machine or part to fail (this is known as predictive maintenance).

Personnel management. Thanks to the information obtained, decisions can be made regarding how to organize the personnel within the plant, the breaks to be taken, etc.

● Plant organization. By reorganizing goods and products within the warehouse, companies can reduce or optimize as much as possible the kilometers traveled by workers or vehicles.

Saving energy. Turning on lights only in those areas where they are needed, controlling temperature and ventilation, etc.

● Optimization of logistics. By having more information regarding the routes, downtime, number of orders, etc. Decisions can be made regarding the number of vehicles that should be operating at any given time, as well as their maintenance.

These four aspects are examples of how data obtained through sensors located at all points in the value chain can generate efficiencies for companies. However, the possibilities offered by IoT technology in the industrial sector are incalculable.

To explore these possibilities and make the most of them, companies cannot forget to take care of cybersecurity. It is necessary to have an IoT technology provider that can extract all this data reliably and securely, thus avoiding potential security breaches, which could result in huge losses for companies.

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