An Interview with TBM Prior to the American Manufacturing Summit 2019, Generis Group spoke with TBM Consulting to discuss merging digital technologies in manufacturing and the industry’s labor shortage. In this Q&A, we discuss how manufacturers prepare for, evaluate and implement digital solutions, the digital collection issue, machine maintenance programs, and the manufacturing industry’s labor shortage and leadership gap. This is an excerpt from the interview we did with TBM Consulting: “Emerging digital technologies are upending production and supply chain practices and promising a range of new capabilities for manufacturers. How should manufacturers evaluate and implement such solutions?
Read More →Disrupt or Be Disrupted: Navigating your IoT Digital Transformation Journey to Mitigate Risk and Deliver ROI
In a world of connectivity, the future of industrial automation is now. Over the last 20 years, automation in manufacturing has transformed factory floors and opened up a new era in manufacturing – one in which humans and machines increasingly work side by side. Between 2018 and 2020, the number of connected devices in the manufacturing industry will double, market analysts say, disrupting every part of the production process from development to supply chain management. Prior to the American Manufacturing Summit, we spoke with Shoplogix to discuss this disruption, the effects of automation on manufacturing, and the future of the industry. In this eBook, we explore how industrial automation is changing the manufacturing landscape; what manufacturers need to do to unlock the value of data from the production floor all the way up to the C-Suite; how organizations can leverage IoT to create a more efficient manufacturing process; and the benefits of implementing a performance management solution. Industrial automation is changing the manufacturing landscape with digital leading the road to transformation. Industrial automation takes investment. Starting down the path of digital transformation can help manufacturers justify capital investment by identifying the amount of lost production and the potential capacity increases they need to justify the automation projects they so desperately want to deliver. Having an IoT Smart Factory platform can help justify these projects and ensure they are acquired for. Click through to access the full e-Book here.
Read More →Driving Digital Destiny: Digital Reinvention in Automotive
Automotive firms need to rethink their organizations from the ground up through a process which IBM calls Digital Reinvention. The global automotive industry is at the vanguard of a digital revolution. Digital technologies are changing how people and businesses interact, creating unprecedented levels of industry dislocation and changing business economics. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers are reconceiving driving experiences through a prism of anywhere, anytime mobility. As a result, automotive firms need to rethink their organizations from the ground up. As the birthplace of traditional production chains, the automotive industry is transitioning from a vehicle-centric view to a state of deep, sustained customer centricity through a process called Digital Reinvention™. This requires automotive organizations to establish a new focus, new expertise, and new ways of working.
Read More →Digital Transformation, End-to-End Visibility, and the “Data Problem”
Given the macroeconomic climate and the “Amazon effect,” many companies are looking to digitally transform their businesses. For decades, businesses have largely derived efficiency and profitability through scale. This led to a focus on larger store footprints, warehouse space and buffer stock, and the ability to transport goods on mega vessels for unit cost savings. In the last few decades, however, customer expectations have gone up, largely dovetailing off the service that Amazon provides. Retailers and manufacturers have been forced to modernize and deliver with much higher reliability and timeliness. Many executives are now looking to transform their supply chains from a reactive cost-center to a strategic advantage.
Read More →3 Critical Components for a Full Industrial IoT Solution
As manufacturers have likely heard again and again, there are many benefits to implementing Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions. Though no two environments are the same, there are some key benefits that all manufacturers will appreciate: new revenue streams, cost savings, flexibility, and increased visibility, which enables better decision making. In rapidly changing markets, the IIoT allows companies to stay relevant, giving them data to guide decisions and make a business case for innovation, allowing them to put out products faster and at a lower cost. But many manufacturers are still hesitant to implement a full IoT Solution. Some are held back by budget concerns; more still are held back by fear of the unknown. It’s hard to know where to start. Technology changes so quickly that one can get overwhelmed and fear the risk of making the wrong decision. Most lack in-house knowledge and hiring a whole implementation team can be an expensive, risky, and time-consuming proposition.
Read More →Fog Computing and Industrial IoT
The Internet of Things (IoT) promises to enable many new business models. In industrial markets, the concepts of IoT, or Industrial IoT (IIoT), are already gaining traction. At the simplest level, for example, IIoT provides the ability to more closely monitor a production line in near real time, or manage buildings and their associated plants more efficiently. IIoT also offers the ability to radically change your whole business approach. While it is easy to grasp the basic concepts behind any IIoT implementation, if you dig a little deeper there are a significant number of decisions to make in the way it will operate. For example, a cloud platform might well be able to establish trend lines on how often a motor is switched on/off to activate a conveyor belt, but does it need to rely on the cloud platform to tell it when to turn on or off?
Read More →Top 3 Ways IIoT Enables Business Outcomes in Manufacturing
According to IoT solutions company relayr, the manufacturing industry, as a whole, is the least digitally advanced industry today. It is also the industry with the most to gain from the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). With shrinking margins and increasing pressure to deliver better, faster, and cheaper, manufacturers are looking for ways to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and open up new revenue streams, none of which can be accomplished without embracing the IIoT. The key areas in which the IIoT is poised to help manufacturers achieve their target business outcomes are: Asset Services – the continual monitoring and analysis of production line and/or supply chain data points that are most influential to a manufacturing enterprise. This data can be used to trigger automated responses in the machines, alert employees, track production and inventory in real time, and even enable custom product manufacturing Predictive Maintenance – the ability to conduct “just in time” maintenance, drastically reducing costs related to unplanned downtime as well as unnecessary preventative maintenance visits for healthy equipment. Through advanced analytics and anomaly detection, predictive maintenance capabilities only grow smarter over time through AI capabilities, to continually refine and improve manufacturers’ maintenance performance. Device Management – the functionality delivered by the ability to connect, retrieve data, and take action at the device (equipment) level. This interoperability is only achievable through a solid foundation of an IIoT middleware platform, connected hardware, and a solid device management software component. …
Read More →The Adaptive Machine: Cultivating a ‘green patch’ in your brownfield
Despite the well-documented advantages of digital transformation and smart factories, it can be overwhelming to know where to begin. Cultivating a green patch in your brownfield can be a good way to start. A green patch is bigger than a pilot project, because it is a full-scale production system, but it is a small investment than a greenfield. Typically, the project scope would be one line or cell. We talked with John Kowal, Director of Business Development at B&R Industrial Automation, a global supplier of advanced machine control solutions, about adaptive machines and how to cultivate a green patch within a brown field.
Read More →IoT Enables Predictive Maintenance
Over the past ten years or so there have been many smart manufacturing initiatives that have promoted the need for production facilities to become much more efficient and effective through the use of technology. The concept of the connected factory, achieved through the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), is being implemented, which is significantly driving up operational effectiveness, resource utilization and a digital visibility of production and process metrics never before thought possible.
Read More →How Robotics Will Drive the American Manufacturing Renaissance: An Interview with Jay Douglass, COO, The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute
Jay Douglass is COO of The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute. ARM’s mission is to secure our national interests home and abroad by asserting U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing, democratizing advanced manufacturing and creating and sustaining valuable, new jobs. Previously Jay worked at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. His focus was on developing business opportunities for technology development and technology transfer with commercial organizations. He most recently managed the SEI’s business in Europe. Jay has worked with a wide variety of software development and quality technologies. We are thrilled to have Jay join us at the American Manufacturing Summit. In addition to being Chair of our Process Strategy Stream, Jay will host a Lunch and Learn on “Fostering the Growth of National Manufacturing through Novel Robotic Technologies,” and participate in a panel discussing “The Next 10 Years, 3.4 Million Jobs Available: Avoid the Skills Shortage and Attract Top Talent.” “ARM believes that the United States is in the early states of a significant manufacturing renaissance. Our nation’s ability to leverage new technologies, such as robotics, combined with the desire to provide a better quality of life for all Americans, is driving this renaissance.”
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