Factories and manufacturing facilities today are far more intelligent than they were a few yearsback and we’ve cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT) to thanks. A variety of specific developments in these technological aspects proved worthy which further give rise to better, well-equipped and futuristic modern facilities that were once a simple imagination.
Innovation facilitated by Cloud Platforms
For survival in a fast-paced and highly competitive industry, progressive smart factories frequently evaluate and improve their operating standards and procedures. A study conducted by Oracle revealed that more or less 60% respondents complained about unyielding IT infrastructure being the biggest obstacle to innovation. Only through corporate-level private cloud deployment, managers of these smart factories can overcome these issues and progress.
IoT Empowered Sensors for on-Time Maintenance
Factory operations are gauged against stricter deadlines and ever-expanding order sizes. Both are severely disrupted in case of an unexpected glitch even if it’s only for mere seconds or minutes. Smart factories on the contrary invest in IoT mostly tap into technology thereby predicting the possibilities of equipment failure and prevention.
Another survey conducted by PwC back in 2016 estimated that technology, if deployed and used sensibly can significantly reduce maintenance cost by five-percent for industrial trucks. The usage statistics and performance is tracked by on-board sensors after which defects are identified and worked upon. The approach is used in well-established data plants as well!
Intelligent Administration through Cloud-Stored Data
Truly smart and well-equipped factories extract data of almost everything that happens within a facility and when the material is stored in the cloud, corporate leaders need not to rely solely on assumptions in new orders or modifications are requested by clients. The actual or real-world data from smart factories helps business leaders in taking wise and informed decisions thus a good use of every function in the facility. Private cloud platform can even process the information almost instantly allowing customers to receive prompt responses.
Efficient Processes by IoT
A few managers in these intelligent factories rely on detailed interfaces which alert them of the supply, products and other inventory location in the facility at any given time. After understanding the data, they’re able to take necessary decisions like speeding up the process or slowing things down a bit based on the amount of workflow.
In huge facilities, details of inventory storage and availability are extremely important. Take for instance a park that spans to almost three-million square feet and you’re actually looking for specific products without any smart technology at the place! Another example can be of a power plant where managers exploit greater operational perceptibility and are determined to remove obstacles. Ultimately, effectiveness and productivity of the labours in the facility surged by almost ten-percent due to the technology!
Scalability in Cloud Computing
People who’re slightly familiar with production process and the industry are well aware that it can fluctuate eventually. Customer demand and industry forecasts are basic factors that can alter production process to a certain extent. Because technology lends to scalability, cloud computing increases prevalence within the intelligent factories! That being said, innovation is easier to achieve with the platform than without it.
Cloud platforms allow scalability which complements to the ever changing needs whether your smart facility takes on emerging technology or simply to expand business operations being a player in the new market. Many of the corporations offer pay-as-you-go services as well and this option is far more appealing to the leaders in the smart factories who’re unwilling to commitments from long-term agreements.
Conclusion
Condensing all that has been discussed above clearly illustrates the importance and growing need of IoT and cloud computing in manufacturing and production industries thereby keeping up with the modern needs.
New opportunities and improvements are achieved which make these technologies ever dominating in years to come. Deployment and using such tech in a smart way guarantees success and a stronger infrastructure that can conveniently manage with change of things.
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