The transition to smart manufacturing and the associated practice of remote monitoring are spreading throughout factories all over the world. This also holds true for a system of storage facilities used in any production, which is where finished goods are gathered, stored, and distributed. Since many factory floor workers were encouraged to spend less time on-site to lower the danger of COVID-19 infection, the global epidemic hastened the shift toward remote monitoring. Industrial organizations are investing in remote management due to changing market conditions that enable production agility, improve machine availability, and promote quick and inexpensive responses to maintenance- and operation-related events.
Flexible and scalable machine control is required in dynamic industries like food and beverage to enable a simple upgrade to higher-performance platforms for increased efficiency when market conditions change. A crucial component of the updated procedure is the new remote-control capability. More potent PLCs are incorporated into the machines to make it simple to control elements like drives, motion conveyors, and remote I/O.
Future factories will be autonomous and able to conduct the necessary diagnostics to find and fix any problems without stopping the entire manufacturing line. While converting to an Industry 4.0-driven factory is a goal for many organizations, it's not always clear what constitutes a smart factory or how to start this shift. One of the most efficient methods to start the transformation into a smart factory is by adding Internet of Things devices to the production. Businesses must, however, exercise caution to avoid diving in headfirst.
The Upsides of a Real-Time Monitoring System
Through a linked IT/OT ecosystem, it is the integration of decisions and insights made on the shop floor with the rest of the supply chain and the larger organization. This has the potential to significantly alter production procedures and improve interactions with customers and suppliers.
This explanation makes it apparent that smart factories go beyond basic automation. The smart factory is a flexible system that can run complete manufacturing processes autonomously, self-optimize performance across a larger network, and self-adapt to learn from new situations in real or near-real time. The four walls of a smart factory are not their only operating space; smart factories can also connect to a global network of related production systems and even to a larger digital supply network. The following are the benefits associated with real-time monitoring:
Asset Efficiency
Massive amounts of data are produced by every part of the smart factory, and constant analysis of this data reveals flaws in asset performance that may call for some sort of remedial optimization. One of the most apparent advantages of a smart factory is the ability to self-correct, which sets it apart from traditional automation and can result in higher total asset efficiency. Among other potential advantages, increased asset efficiency should result in decreased downtime, optimized capacity, and shorter changeover times.
Quality
The self-optimization inherent to the smart factory can foresee and detect quality defect patterns earlier and assist in pinpointing specific environmental, mechanical, or human sources of subpar quality. This might reduce lead times and scrap rates while raising yield and fill rates. A higher-quality product with fewer flaws and recalls might result from a more optimized quality procedure.
Lower Costs
Process optimization typically results in more cost-effective processes, including those with predictable inventory needs, effective hiring and personnel decisions, and decreased process and operations variability. A better-quality process could also mean an integrated view of the supply network with rapid, no-latency responses to sourcing needs — thus lowering costs further. Additionally, as a better procedure might result in a higher-quality product, it might also result in lower warranty and maintenance expenses.
Safety and Sustainability
Additionally, the smart factory can provide significant advantages for employee well-being and environmental sustainability. There may be a more negligible environmental impact from a smart factory's operational efficiencies than from a traditional manufacturing process, leading to improved environmental sustainability overall. More autonomous processes may reduce the possibility of human error, especially industrial mishaps that result in harm. Certain professions that demand repetitive and exhausting actions will be replaced by the smart factory's relative self-sufficiency. However, in a smart manufacturing setting, a human worker's function may entail higher levels of discretion and judgment on-the-spot, which can increase job satisfaction and lower turnover.
Real-Time Remote Control of Smart Factory Between Korea and Finland
Using 5G technology and an international wired network, a research team from the South Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has shown a method that allows for simultaneous remote control of one factory from home and abroad. The Industrial Internet of Things service, which operates and monitors smart production facilities and robots simultaneously in real time at home and abroad, has been successfully demonstrated, according to the ETRI team.
Ultra-low-latency communication technology is the key to properly presenting the technology. Less than 0.3 seconds separates transmission delays at more than 10,000 kilometers. The researchers showed how easily factory facilities in Gyeongsan, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea, could be managed from the University of Oulu in Finland in real time.
Based on this technology, ETRI connected the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology's smart factory, located in Hayang-eup, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, to Oulu University using both the Korea Advanced Research Network and Oulu University's 5G test networks. In Finland and Korea, real-time remote control and monitoring services with a two-way delay of fewer than 0.3 seconds and 0.01 seconds, respectively, were successfully shown during the tests. With this demonstration, it is anticipated that sharing and collaboration across nations in the manufacturing and production sectors will increase while the likelihood of remote smart-manufacturing services based on consistent communication quality increases.
The Way Ahead for Smart Monitoring of Factories
With the combination of many current and developing smart industrial technologies, Industry 4.0 is already very feasible. As a result, the shift to smart factory technologies is gradual, and it starts by defining the options using a broad perspective. However, implementation can get started with just a few centralized computers and sensors. The benefits of smart manufacturing are enormous because of the first investment's positive return on investment, and smart factories may swiftly adopt more advanced technology in the remote monitoring and management sector.
