The 21st century is all about evolving technology, and advanced technologies like IoT (Internet of Things) is continually bridging the gap between the digital and physical world. IoT is expeditiously setting foot in our day-to-day lives, from our homes to workplaces. Not only that, IoT has now commenced the beginning of a new era of Industry 4.0.
Industry 4.0 is a new phase of the industrial revolution where the goal is to achieve maximum productivity by leveraging automation, interconnectivity, and real-time data. The concept and vision of IoT and Industry 4.0 are being accepted globally and have already been adopted by many big organizations. Let us move ahead and understand how IoT and Industry 4.0 will shape the future of industries in the coming time.
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What’s New in Industry 4.0?
We all know that every industrial revolution has brought forward some new innovations and concepts that have become useful for industries in all segments.
- It consists of more automation than ever before.
- The focus is to move from a centralized industrial control system to a smart equipment-based system.
- Studying and analyzing the data is of primary importance.
- Customization of products and equipment as per operational needs.
- Providing value to control systems and closed-loop data models for informed decision-making.
Ultimately, the goal of IoT and Industry 4.0 is to enable industries to use smart products in their machinery that can monitor assets and processes of industries in real-time, automate decision-making processes, and build a distinct network of all connected devices for higher operational efficiency.
IoT and Industry 4.0 Trends
IoT solutions is a unique technology that, when clubbed with Industry 4.0 revolution, can truly transform the industrial processes for higher productivity and efficiency. Here are a few of the IoT and Industry 4.0 trends of 2022 that are gaining huge prominence globally:
- Data-Driven Predictive Technologies
- Remote Monitoring and Industrial Operations
- Innovation and Sensor Advances for Equipment
- Data Analysis at Source
- Health and Safety
- Smart and Connected Factories
- Flexible and Agile Supply Chains
Benefits IoT and Industry 4.0 Bring Forth in the Evolution of Industries
IoT and Industry 4.0 is all about making industries smart to increase their productivity level by utilizing the least company resources. Here are the advantages of adopting Industry 4.0:
1. Predictive Maintenance
Maintenance of the machinery is one of the major tasks in any industrial setup. The maintenance procedures take a substantial amount of time for which the industry faces downtime, and the overall process turns out to be really expensive.
Leveraging IoT systems in machines, real-time information can be generated on the conditions of the machines and other company assets. This could predict the risk of machine breakage and the right time for the machine to get serviced to achieve higher uptime for machines.
2. Efficient Logistics Management
Smarter logistics management is the need of numerous industries, especially those that are in the eCommerce segment. From managing the inventory to internal and external shippings to material handling, efficient logistic routines are required to make the most of the process.
By implementing Industrial IoT solutions, the accuracy and efficiency of logistics of an organization can be hugely enhanced. By enabling IoT systems to provide data on the condition of assets and their real-time location, companies can ensure a faster and smoother logistic management process.
3. Operational Equipment Efficiency
Manufacturers and industry owners consistently search for methods and techniques that could optimize their machine’s power consumption, enhance efficiency, and reduce operations costs.
To achieve this, IoT and Industry 4.0 bring forth the solution of intelligent asset planning and monitorization of production flow visibility across chains, lines, and factory equipment to identify their efficiency and uplift the operational efficiency of the whole unit.
4. Improved Product Quality
One of the major benefits of adopting IoT and Industry 4.0 is that it is highly supportive of amplifying and increasing the quality of products. Machine learning procedures utilize cognitive services to detect the right design changes in the products to enhance their quality and make them more productive and energy efficient.
In addition, IoT leverages various sensors that minimize the errors in the development process and ensure the best build quality for the products.
5. Higher Uptime
Production lines must keep running in an industry to ensure the right progress path. Having the least amount of downtime for machine breakdown and maintenance saves the company plenty of money.
By powering the machinery with IoT-based sensors that collect data in real-time, valuable information about machines can be accumulated, and the maintenance procedures for the machines can be streamlined. This helps managers to identify and solve issues in the machines before it becomes a large problem and save money and time for the business.
6. Big Data and Cloud Computing
The collection of data in real-time is one of the biggest reasons for the adoption of IoT by industries. IoT-based sensors are highly beneficial in gathering the machine data in real-time and analyzing it to derive key insights that could enhance the industry’s performance.
The collected data on the cloud can be used to optimize the production process, manage inventories and make critical business decisions for growth.
Unwrapping the Future of IoT and Industry 4.0
The IoT and Industry 4.0 revolution is already advancing at a high pace, and rightly so. Just like electric cars, this is the future of our industries as it offers numerous positive environmental impacts while saving money for businesses. Though this revolution may take some time for everyone to participate in, sooner or later, it is the only viable choice for the future generation industries. So it is best to jump into this realm sooner and enjoy its benefits.
Read more: A Handy Guide to Manufacturing Industry 4.0 for Plant Managers
Veena is a prolific writer, blogger, and social media enthusiast known for her expertise in crafting engaging guest posts and managing successful blogs across various niches. With a passion for writing and a keen understanding of digital marketing trends, Veena has established herself as a prominent voice in the online community.