More and more, the IoT has taken the industrial world by storm. Against this backdrop, security companies are in a unique position to offer solutions that help plants and factory operators meet their needs.
More and more, IoT and manufacturing are intricately tied together, creating what is called the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), whereby all production assets in a plant or factory are connected to help operators lower cost, maximize efficiency, and ensure employee safety. Against this backdrop, security companies are in a unique position to offer solutions that help plants and factory operators meet their needs.
In a field survey conducted by industrial portal industryweek.com, IIoT is expected to do the following: reduce defect rate from 4.9 percent to 2.5 percent; lower unplanned downtime from 11 percent to 5.8 percent; reduce annual energy cost from US$8.4 million to US$6.9 million; and raise overall equipment effectiveness from 73.6 percent to 85.5 percent.
With that, security companies can seize the opportunity IIoT brings and provide the needed solutions for industrial customers. The iiOT by Honeywell solution, for example, focuses on optimizing users’ existing automation investments by leveraging what they already have as opposed to a rip-and-replace approach. In addition, the solution includes the following features: data management and onsite control, analytics, and smart/secure collaboration, to enhance each step of the manufacturing process.
Other companies that have realized the importance of IIoT include Bosch, which has concentrated its activities in the field of networked production manufacturing in a new innovation cluster. “We are pooling our Industry 4.0 expertise in the Connected Industry innovation cluster. This will make us large enough to provide our customers and the 15 Bosch divisions with the flexible and agile support they need to implement Industry 4.0,” said Dr. Werner Struth, member of the Bosch board of management. “The topic of Industry 4.0 is strategically important because it offers Germany a historical opportunity to enhance its competiveness as an industrial location."
Outside security, IIoT solutions providers also seek to deliver value to manufacturers. A report recently released by Lux Research, titled “Defining the Industrial Internet of Things,” identifies several case studies that illustrate this. For example, PINC Solutions’ RFID-based systems have helped Daimler achieve 99 percent trailer yard accuracy and 50 percent reduction in trailer move time in its 1.3 million square foot plant.
Also, in a recent event at CeBIT 2016, Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with KUKA, a global leader in robot technology, to develop smart manufacturing solutions for industrial markets in Europe and China.
According to Huawei, in the new manufacturing era, robots will play an increasingly important role in helping manufacturing businesses remain agile and drive growth. Under the new agreement, Huawei and KUKA will collaborate in the areas of cloud computing, big data, mobile technology, and industrial robots to help manufacturing customers transform and embrace smart manufacturing.
Besides work efficiency improvement, employee health remains a top concern for factory operators. In another case study cited by Lux Research, Equivital demonstrated employee health and safety with a deployment of its IIoT systems at a chemical plant. At the heart of its EQ-02 LifeMonitor is a wearable that workers carry around their chests, which it reports has led to a significant reduction in rate of injury at this plant.
“In cases ranging from wearables to real-time location systems in large yards, vendors are establishing a clear value proposition in the quest to find viable business cases,” said Isaac Brown, Lux Research Analyst and lead author of the report.