Data is the name of the game these days as more and more manufacturing enterprises are turning to Industry 4.0 technologies to create smart factories. But data is not enough. The potential of intelligence on demand cannot be fully realized without the proper utilization of that data, with true visibility for transformation across the entire manufacturing process.
Why does manufacturing data from smart equipment alone leave over 80% of the process uncovered in the majority of manufacturing facilities, and how can manufacturers get the most out of their factory floor intelligence?
Harnessing Data To Eliminate Manufacturing Blindspots
Factory equipment can generate a high volume of data, but a lack of context can render that data largely useless. Many business leaders do not fully understand what Industry 4.0 technology like the Internet of Things (IoT) can actually do for their business. A large majority of data can end up in storage, rather than being used to empower organizations to take actions that can optimize operations.
Current technologies like ERP, MES, and MOM are generally passive. Merely having access to an overwhelming data stream, it’s all but impossible to understand cause and effect correlations between any number of variables.
How can manufacturers start taking advantage of their data, applying its full value to the production process?
Becoming an Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing enterprise is not just about having smart equipment. Collecting data and creating reports is not enough. What’s required is a greater level of visibility, and realtime, actionable insights that transform the manufacturing process.
Greater visibility means having the full picture of manufacturing operations by translating physical operations into analytical data, measuring:
- Machines for utilization
- Materials and products for status
- People for efficiency
Other Industry 4.0 technologies like Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are instrumental in enabling a material-centric view of operations, correlating data and revealing root causes, yield issues, and cross plant KPIs. Large amounts of data can be processed quickly and contextualized, with algorithms that identify patterns and anomalies, “learn,” and improve operations over time.
Having realtime, contextualized insights into critical activities and events gives manufacturers a more complete vision of their productivity, facilitating better, more informed decision-making. And better decision-making can then lead to meaningful improvements in yield, throughput, safety, quality, efficiency, and a significant increase in bottom line.
Manufacturers needn’t be blind to the majority of events on their factory floor any longer. Fundamentally, a successful Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing digital transformation is possible when manufacturers can make sense of the data from smart equipment, turning facts and figures into a true competitive advantage.
Continuous Visibility, Unprecedented Manufacturing Insight
For a thriving enterprise, manufacturers require a whole new level of visibility — ThinkIQ SaaS Manufacturing cloud-based platform leverages the strengths of the Internet of Things, Big Data, Data Science, Semantic Modeling and Machine Learning, collecting data across manufacturing operations (from existing IIoT sensors) to provide actionable real time insights for superior capability beyond what independent disconnected operating environments can provide today.
And now, ThinkIQ has enhanced its Vision platform, which embraces vision-processing software combined with powerful pre-packaged Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence capabilities, providing unprecedented visibility on the shop floor, eliminating blind spots and increasing productivity and worker safety.
It’s not just data — it’s data contextualized for a true Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing transformation.
Get the most out of your data — Reach out to a ThinkIQ expert to find out how our Transformational Intelligence platform can transform your manufacturing enterprise. We also have a new selection guide eBook, “An Evaluation Guide to Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing,” to help get you started. Download your copy today.
