Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)

The field technician holding a tablet (a handheld device with an interactive screen) receives a notification to attend to the machine nearby. The tablet displays the detailed instructions of which machine to attend to and what to do. The field technician fixes the machine and enters information in the tablet. The machine needed technician’s attention and it got in almost real-time without causing any disruption to the operations. It reduced production downtime, saved cost and improved operational efficiency.

Similarly, all the assets on the shop-floor can be managed by shifting from corrective maintenance to predictive maintenance. Instead of attending to the machine when it breaks down, the machine can be maintained by monitoring its health and predicting its maintenance. The real-time information about the machines on the factory floor can be collected, analyzed and visualized on handheld devices or on the cloud platform by using emerging technologies. All the assets on the factory floor generate enormous amounts of data which can be used to create business value.?

To collect and use operational data from complex and diverse assets, the operational technology (OT) which fetches data from these assets needs to be converged with the information technology (IT) which allows it to analyze, visualize and send notifications to the field technician. This is where the Industrial internet of things (IIoT) platform comes into picture.

The IIoT Platform bridges the gap between the operational technology and information technology by connecting the assets (machines) to the cloud environment through the different layers. The sensors or actuators placed on the assets feed data over the communication network to the edge device installed on-premises which in turn send data to the cloud over the secure communication network. The cloud application with device, application and network management capabilities allows users to monitor assets and predict asset maintenance and send notifications to field technicians in near real-time.

Decreasing sensor price, smart devices, wireless network, safe cloud computing and data visualization platforms are the major factors driving the growth of IIoT.?

The IDC report predicts that the IoT spending across Australia/New Zealand will achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5% over the forecast period through to 2025. However the major restraints in the adoption of IIoT platforms are lack of common communication standards across platforms, and cyber security. These challenges can be addressed by choosing the right technology partners, embedding security in the design of the devices, implementing standardized solutions, and having the right infrastructure and experience.

The IIoT platforms use cases are commonly implemented by asset-intensive industries such as building automation, agriculture, food manufacturing, automotive, transportation, manufacturing, utilities, oil and gas. The common use cases for IIoT are track and trace of assets, real-time monitoring and analysis of data, predictive maintenance, and remote troubleshooting.?

IIoT platform generates great value when organizations identify priority use cases by aligning the IIoT strategy with the business issues.

References:

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prAP48109021

https://www.capgemini.com/resources/unlocking-the-business-value-of-iot-in-operations/

https://www.automation.com/en-us/assets/ebooks/iiot-smart-manufacturing-insights