As the industry continues to discuss the ever growing value/opportunity or potential impact of the Industry 4.0 (IoT) segment of manufacturing (now valued at well over $5 Trillion), little attention is being brought up regarding the basic considerations surrounding entrance into a data rich and connected future. We are in the beginning of fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 as it’s more commonly known and this means a great opportunity but also great challenges. Below are 5 things companies should consider when investigating what an Industry 4.0 service can do for their manufacturing operation.
- Security – What sort of vulnerabilities do you currently have? Will the new system and its resulting applications address those data security issues?
- New Business Models – What change will this new system promote or create for your organization? Will you be ready for such a change?
- Value Proposition – What sort of value proposition will this IoT/4.0 solution bring to my current operation? Will it increase my efficiency and improve my equipment utilization?
- Data Analysis – Will the IoT/4.0 solution provide real-time data analysis? Will it offer additional insights into the machine and fleet operations?
- Best Practices – Will the solution provide actionable intelligence for all levels of your organization?
Did You Know – Connecting Old and New
While many companies, organizations and trade industries are touting the advantages and insights of this integration of technology and data on newer plastics manufacturing machinery, most are not talking about bringing the past to the present. Did you know that even aging fleets of plastics machinery can still take advantage of the intersection of connected machines and data analysis? Plastics manufacturing machinery built or deployed in as late as 1980 can still take advantage of new sensory technology, connected data analytics and remote monitoring.
