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By Paula Livingstone on July 4, 2023, 4:04 p.m.
Tagged with: Big Data Technology IIOT IOT Analytics Industry 4.0 Cloud Manufacturing Cyber-Physical Systems Sensors Smart Manufacturing
The manufacturing industry is on the cusp of a major transformation driven by emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors, and data analytics. This transformation promises to bring unprecedented efficiency, innovation, and optimization to production - but also poses new challenges around managing the sheer volume of data generated.
The rise of low-cost, internet-connected sensors has enabled a massive increase in instrumentation and data collection on the shop floor. Everything from individual machines and conveyor belts to workers, products, and environmental conditions can now be continuously measured and monitored. With each sensor generating a constant stream of data, modern manufacturing facilities have the potential to produce truly vast quantities of data - far more than any traditional database system could handle.
At the same time, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) allows these sensors and data streams to seamlessly connect with each other as well as enterprise systems and databases via the internet. This enables an integrated view of the entire production system, unlocking new potential for optimization, troubleshooting, and automation. However, new architectures and techniques are needed to shop, process, and derive value from this firehose of heterogeneous manufacturing data.
As manufacturing embraces digitization and data-driven decision making, there is a pressing need to find ways to harness this "Industrial Big Data" - to efficiently manage its storage and movement, uncover patterns and insights, and translate these into concrete improvements on the factory floor. The companies that leverage Industrial Big Data most effectively will gain tremendous competitive advantage. However, realizing this potential will require overcoming key integration, security, analytics, and skills challenges around these vast new data resources.
The Rise of Industrial Big Data
The proliferation of smart, connected devices throughout industrial environments has led to an unprecedented rise in data generation on the shop floor. Discrete sensors as well as industrial machines and assets of all kinds are now infused with internet-enabled monitoring capabilities. This has opened the floodgates for vastly greater volumes and varieties of manufacturing data to be captured and utilized.
Whereas in the past, critical production metrics may have been measured in hourly intervals, the same parameters can now be monitored continuously in real-time. As a result, data flow has increased from a trickle to a torrent. While an automotive plant may have generated 10-15 terabytes of data per year in the early 2010s, today that same plant can produce multiple petabytes per year - a 100x increase. The data comes from sensors monitoring everything from temperatures, pressures, and speeds to vibration, power consumption, and chemical composition data.
In addition to time-series sensor data, modern production also generates vast stores of visual data (high-resolution images and video), document-based data (maintenance logs, reports), as well as simulation and CAD data. And of course, transactional enterprise data from ERP, MES, and other systems continues to grow rapidly. Together, these diverse data streams converge to form a massive lake of manufacturing big data.
While the scale of this data presents challenges, it also harbors tremendous potential value. Hidden within the data are insights that can help optimize processes, reduce defects, minimize downtime, increase efficiency, tighten supply chain integration, and guide R&D efforts. However, traditional data management and analytics approaches will need to be re-imagined to tap into the promise of industrial big data.
Transforming Manufacturing with IoT and Sensors
The rise of industrial big data is being driven by the transformation of traditional manufacturing environments into smart, connected cyber-physical systems. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) enables machines, assets, and infrastructure to become enriched with sensing, processing, and communication capabilities.
Machine tools can now continuously monitor their own status, utilization, and performance. Smart conveyor systems can track location and condition of individual products. Sensors monitor everything from temperature in ovens to vibration in motors to air quality on the production line.
Together, these IIoT technologies transform traditional manufacturing into a highly instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent environment. The "digital twin" of the physical factory comes to life via the Industrial IoT.
For human workers, wearables and mobile devices enrich them with augmented capabilities as cyber-physical operators. Workers can access information, share data, collaborate remotely, and receive multimedia training on the job through their connected devices.
This convergence of operations technology with information technology, machine with human, and the physical with the digital promises to optimize production in unprecedented ways. But it also generates vast seas of heterogeneous manufacturing data that need to be skillfully navigated.
Managing and Deriving Value from Industrial Big Data
While industrial big data holds great promise, it also poses considerable challenges. The volume, velocity, and variety of manufacturing data being generated is testing the limits of traditional data management architectures. New scalable and flexible systems are needed to shop, process, and analyse these vast, heterogeneous data streams.
Many companies are turning to cloud-based solutions and distributed databases for affordable large-scale data storage and movement. Edge computing minimizes latency by processing data locally on intelligent devices. Data lakes allow storage of structured and unstructured data in native formats.
Making sense of the data flood requires new analytical approaches like machine learning, deep learning, and AI. Multivariate analysis uncovers correlations between different parameters. Visual analytics using dashboards, graphs, and AR/VR tools provide actionable insights.
Deriving value from industrial big data involves identifying optimization opportunities such as predictive maintenance to minimize downtime, quality control models to reduce defects, energy usage profiling to cut costs, and real-time supply chain alignment to improve flexibility.
However, challenges remain around data standardization, contextualization, governance, and ensuring cybersecurity. The skills gap in data science and manufacturing analytics must be addressed. To tap into the promise of industrial big data, companies will need strategic initiatives to build capabilities and transform processes.
Use Cases and Impact
There are already many compelling use cases that demonstrate the power of industrial big data and IoT to transform manufacturing performance:
- Predictive maintenance - Combining real-time sensor data with maintenance logs helps accurately forecast equipment failures before they occur, minimizing downtime.
- Quality optimization - Identifying correlations between production parameters and product defects allows processes to be continuously tuned to improve quality.
- Energy efficiency - Analytics revealing energy consumption patterns facilitates optimization of energy use on the shop floor.
- Machine utilization - Tracking asset utilization identifies underutilized machinery to improve scheduling and return on investment.
- Inventory management - Sensors tracking material flows allow leaner, just-in-time inventory strategies to be implemented.
The impact of successfully harnessing industrial big data includes increased production efficiency, lower costs, higher product quality, improved flexibility and responsiveness, minimized downtime, and optimized asset utilization. Early adopters are already reporting 10-20% improvements in KPIs including output, defect rates, and OEE.
As analytics models become more accurate and fine-tuned over time, the competitive advantage gained from industrial big data will only increase. Laggard companies that delay adoption risk being left behind.
Key Challenges and Looking Ahead
While great progress has been made, there remain significant challenges to overcome before the full potential of industrial big data can be realized:
- Systems integration - Lack of standards makes connecting disparate data systems and sources difficult.
- Data silos - Data often remains trapped in organizational or technology silos, limiting insights.
- Security risks - Concerns around data privacy, cyber attacks, and intellectual property require robust cybersecurity strategies.
- Skills gap - Most companies lack the data science, analytics, and IT skills to effectively leverage big data.
- Processing overhead - Advanced analytics requires major computational power and resources.
Addressing these challenges will require both technological and organizational change. Companies will need to invest in skills development, focus on digital transformation, and strategically build capabilities in data management, analytics, and smart manufacturing.
Standards bodies have a role to play in promoting common protocols and data formats for interoperability. Cloud computing and managed analytics services can help minimize infrastructure costs. An ecosystem of partners can fill gaps in expertise and labour.
As these challenges are overcome, industrial big data will transition from hype to an established competitive advantage. The future possibilities remain profound, with potential to realise the vision of "Industry 4.0" based on data-driven, intelligent, and connected manufacturing.
Conclusion
Industrial big data represents the convergence of multiple technological transformations - ubiquitous sensors, Internet of Things, advanced analytics, and cloud computing. Together, these innovations promise to revolutionize manufacturing, unleashing new potential through data-driven, self-optimizing production.
However, realizing this vision requires overcoming key integration, security, analytics, and skills challenges around managing the firehose of heterogeneous manufacturing data. Standards, interoperability, and cybersecurity will be critical enablers.
The manufacturers that learn to successfully harness industrial big data will gain sustainable competitive advantage. They will be able to leverage insights from across the value chain to continuously optimize efficiency, quality, flexibility, and responsiveness. Production will shift from reactive to predictive.
We are only beginning to glimpse the transformative potential of industrial big data. As smart, connected technologies proliferate throughout the factory, supply chain, and enterprise, the manufacturing sector will unlock new levels of performance. By skillfully navigating the rising tide of manufacturing data, the factory of the future will materialize.
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