5 Benefits of IIoT Solutions for Machine Maintenance
Over the past several years, the COVID-19 pandemic brought uncertainty, and along with it came supply chain disruptions and labor shortages that challenged companies’ growth trajectories. While the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) was growing rapidly before the pandemic, the new challenges organizations face have only accelerated its adoption as organizations leverage IIoT technologies to reduce waste, increase efficiencies, and more.
Even before the pandemic, a December 2019 paper from the Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management explained how the IIoT industry is expected to explode: “The rush of technological change will consolidate the worldwide reach of the internet with more capacity, specifically to control the physical world, including the machines, industrial facilities and frameworks that characterize cutting-edge technology.”
Grand View Research, a market research and consultancy firm, expects the IIoT market to reach $1.11 trillion USD by 2028. So how do IIoT solutions help organizations? For one, they can help organizations grow by increasing the efficiency and reducing the costs of their maintenance programs. An SAP study found that organizations that implemented IIoT solutions were more likely to be industry leaders and saw larger profits than similar companies that did not implement IIoT solutions.
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Definition
IIoT refers to an interconnected network of “things,” such as vibration sensors, that collect and communicate valuable information about equipment, including critical machine health and performance metrics. IIoT devices make machine-level data available and usable when and where it’s needed most.
For example, predictive maintenance is an IIoT application that uses connected sensors to detect conditions including vibration, temperature, and power, that can indicate problems on a machine. By collecting and analyzing this information, maintenance teams can respond to potential maintenance concerns in real time, so problems can be resolved before breakdowns occur.
IIoT Solutions Provide Actionable Data from Anywhere
In addition to providing actionable insights into machine health and performance in real time, IIoT solutions enable remote monitoring from any location. This has become increasingly valuable with more organizations adopting hybrid and remote schedules for their employees.
Monitoring and maintaining critical machines with maintenance and reliability professionals working from home became more common as a result of the pandemic. Companies continue to seek solutions for monitoring asset health, managing teams, and prioritizing maintenance activities remotely. Remote monitoring provides the flexibility to send real-time data to multiple destinations and prioritize work based on an organization’s needs, without needing to be physically present all of the time. Remote monitoring is also beneficial when machines are in locations that are hazardous or hard to reach, allowing maintenance teams to monitor them with less risk for workers.
5 Ways IIoT Solutions Can Help Manufacturers
As maintenance teams implement IIoT solutions, they discover benefits for their organizations as a whole.
The following are five powerful advantages of IIoT solutions for maintenance programs in manufacturing facilities:
1. Easy-to-use Devices. Empower maintenance teams with versatile IIoT sensors that are easy to install, operate, and maintain.
2. Real-Time Visibility into Machine Health. Receive faster knowledge of, and react more quickly to, potential failures with alarm notifications sent to mobile devices.
3. Remote Monitoring. Stay aware of changing conditions with the ability to view data remotely from any location via a computer or mobile device.
4. Actionable Insights. Real-time and historical trending data uncovers patterns in machine health and performance, helping teams discover ways to optimize maintenance efforts and save time and costs.
5. In-Depth Analysis and Reporting. Perform more in-depth analysis and generate reports on equipment by exporting critical data.
Thanks to IIoT solutions and remote monitoring, plant managers, engineers, and technicians can check machine health from their computers or mobile devices no matter where they are. Access to real-time data helps manufacturers make smart, data-driven decisions wherever they’re working.
