Introduction to IoT (CBS3008): Manufacturing Applications

This report delves into the transformative impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) on the manufacturing sector, highlighting its potential to drive an 'Industry 4.0' revolution. The report examines several key applications of IoT within manufacturing, including proactive quality control through sensor-based data collection, efficient inventory management using RFID technology, and predictive maintenance strategies leveraging sensor data to anticipate equipment failures. Furthermore, it explores the role of IoT in enhancing worker safety, optimizing smart metering for resource management, and enabling smart packaging solutions. The report also discusses the benefits of IoT in asset utilization, product development through digital twins, and supply chain management, emphasizing real-time insights and cross-channel visibility. By integrating these IoT solutions, manufacturers can improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance overall productivity. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of cloud support and strategic BYOD policies to address potential security concerns.

INTRODUCTION TO INTERNET OF
THINGS (CBS3008)
APPLICATIONS OF IOT IN
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.
21/01/2022
APPLICATIONS OF IOT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a key component of global industrial
transformation, and the manufacturing sector leads in leveraging this
technology.

Analysts expect manufacturing to retain that leading position until at least
2020 for multiple reasons. IoT has the potential to bring another industrial
revolution – Industry 4.0 – with applications that bring rapid returns while
enabling manufacturers to adopt digital transformation in various
perspectives: automation, visibility, customer-centricity and reduced time
to market.
Some of the uses, applications and advantages of IoT in the manufacturing domain are the
following:
1. Quality Control
In a standard reactive quality control process, manufacturers produce an item, their quality
control unit tests it, and they hope to catch and rectify the flaws before the product reaches
the market.
IoT makes this process proactive with thermal and video sensors collecting complete
product data through different stages of a product cycle. The products can also be tested at
each manufacturing step to check if their attributes are within specifications. In addition,
instrumentation and monitoring of manufacturing equipment help quality control personnel
to check if and where equipment calibration diverges from standard settings – such
inaccuracies must be thwarted in time to avoid misalignment of products.
IoT’s support in monitoring both equipment settings and the outcomes of each production
step gives manufacturers a stronger assurance of detecting quality problems at the source.
Measures for improvement can, therefore, be taken in time.
RJ Corp, the largest bottler of Pepsi in India², uses IoT sensors to capture different data
parameters required to gauge quality on a real-time basis. As the material gets prepared,
deviations indicate at a quality concern, and the machine can be stopped for immediate
corrective action.
2. Inventory Management
Together with radio frequency identification (RFID), IoT makes inventory management an
efficient and seamless process. Every item in the inventory gets an RFID tag, and each tag
has a unique identification number (UID) comprising encoded digital information about the
item. RFID readers can scan the tags, and the data extracted gets transmitted to the cloud
for processing.

The role of industrial IoT here involves transforming the data acquired by RFID readers into
useful business insights. It creates a record of the location of inventory items, their statuses
and their movements in the supply chain and gives users comparable results. For instance,
as per the data on inventory quantity and location, IoT-based inventory management
architecture can help calculate the volume of raw materials required for an impending
manufacturing cycle. The outputs of IoT-based inventory management can be used in
diverse ways. The system can send an alert to the users if any individual inventory item is
missing and can notify them when they must replenish the materials.
IoT gives cross-channel visibility to supply chain managers with a realistic estimate of
available materials, the arrival of new materials and work-in-progress, optimising shared
costs in the value chain. By tracking the speed of movement and traffic flow of raw
materials, manufacturers can be better prepared to receive them. This improves handling
times and enables more efficient processing of those materials for production.
3. Predictive Maintenance
Traditionally, manufacturers have employed a time-based approach for planning the
maintenance schedules of their machinery and equipment. However, according to the ARC
group study³, only 18% of equipment fail on account of age, whereas 82% of failures occur
randomly. This proves that a time-based approach is not efficient and may prove costly in
the long run.
Manufacturers can avoid such ineffective maintenance routines by leveraging industrial IoT
and data science for predictive maintenance. By using IoT sensors (on the equipment), they
can monitor its operating environment and perform analytics using related data in the cloud
to evaluate the actual wear and tear. Prompt service and repair enable more efficiency in
the maintenance process, better allocation of work to field technicians and avoidance of
downtime along with more significant cost savings.
As an example, steel plants have several furnaces using water cooling panels for
temperature control. Any leakages in the panels can result in safety issues and production
loss. With IoT-based predictive maintenance, plant managers can strategically identify
anomalies and conduct a root cause analysis to prevent machine failures and delays in
production.
4. More Safety in Operations

In combination with big data analytics, IoT also optimises the safety of workers, equipment
and operations in a manufacturing plant. It can be used to track KPIs like worker absences,
vehicle mishaps, machinery damage and any other mishaps that affect normal activities.
IoT wearables are critical solutions in this case. Employees using these devices can also be
monitored continuously for their health metrics while working in factories and fields. It
helps to understand their exposure to fumes produced in a process, stress levels, heart rate,
fatigue and general movement. The information gathered can help business owners
improve their compliance structure and reduce insurance costs.
If there are disparate suppliers and security protocols and no standardisation, IoT can cause
security concerns. To prevent their assets from getting targeted by malicious attackers,
manufacturers leveraging IoT must link their operations technologies and IT infrastructure.
They should also strategise their BYOD policies to regulate the interaction of personal
devices with manufacturing operations. Support from the cloud and IoT services vendor is
critical in this regard.
5. Smart Metering
IoT has also introduced the manufacturing sector, utilities and other industries to the world
of smart meters that can monitor the consumption of water, electric power and other fuels.
IoT sensors allow organisations to gauge the specific use and deploy practices for more
effective usage of resources.
With customisable end-user dashboards deployed by IoT services vendors, manufacturers
can comprehensively analyse the results of smart meter monitoring. They can also compare
costs, efficiencies and the carbon footprint of alternative resources to incorporate better
options in their manufacturing processes.
6. Smart Packaging
Smart packaging that directly uses materials with embedded interconnectedness provides
advanced benefits of IoT for manufacturers. A prime aspect of smart packaging is that it
enables consumers to engage with it, as well as generates data to handle a product more
effectively. Smart packaging may manifest itself in the form of recipe videos, beauty
tutorials and other demonstrations to explain the product usage.
IoT and packaging work together in different ways, including sensors, QR codes and
augmented reality/virtual reality/mixed reality options. The idea is to add value for

consumers and also collect data – through smart tracking – to further optimise operations
and boost efficiency.
At Tata Tele Business Services, we design IoT solutions for a host of industrial operations.
Our team works seamlessly to deploy bespoke tools, connected devices and connected
processes to help clients leverage evolving technology for maximised ROI.
7. Asset Utilization:
In the world of IIoT, future predictions and technology applications are comprehensive; risks
are unclear and standards haven’t been established yet but selected business applications
have raised as drivers for near-term adoption. One such driver is enhancing asset utilization.
According to an Industrial Internet Survey by the World Economic Forum, maximizing asset
utilization ranked the top reason to adopt IoT technology. 79% of the respondents cited the
reason “extremely important” or “very important” for early adoption.
From sophisticated PLCs with automatic fault codes to low-energy consuming battery
powered devices for connectivity on older lines, Industrial IoT is revolutionizing asset
management. Out-of-the-box cloud-based asset management applications automate the
data analytics which automatically generates key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time.
For the first time ever, small to medium-sized manufacturers are now able to access the
operational analytics to optimize their manufacturing opinations the same way as the ‘big
guys’.
Many SaaS-based (Software as a service) asset management software promote ROI within 6-
12 months without significant CapEx investment. But, simply having access to asset
information doesn’t enhance asset utilization. In the real world, asset management apps
trigger changes which are not necessarily high-tech. To explain this contradictory statement
further, a particularly obvious example can be a disposable goods manufacturer which
encountered an issue just a few weeks after installing the asset management system. In a
process that required glue application, operators were unnecessarily adding extra glue to
the process.
8. Product Development:

Faults and shortcoming in the final product upsurge expenditure and overburden employees
in a manufacturing process. To mitigate these issues, manufacturers can utilize the IIoT
features and one such is Digital Twins. It replicates the developing product in a digital form.
By retrofitting sensors, manufacturers gather data about their equipment’s entire working
mechanism and the expected output from each unit. The data, ingested from the digital
replica, enables managers to analyze the efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy of the
system. It also helps in identifying potential bottlenecks in their product that helps
managers to create a better version of the products.
9. Supply Chain Management:
IoT devices track and trace the inventory state in real-time. Manufacturers can monitor their
supply chain by having real-time insights into the available resources. It includes information
related to the Work in Process, equipment collection, and the delivery date of required raw
materials. Some of the IoT vendors also provide the integration of their IoT solutions with
the existing ERP systems of manufacturers which eliminate the need for manual
documentation for operations. It avails the facility of cross-channel visibility into multiple
departments and helps the stakeholders in examining the undergoing progress which in
return reduces the expenditure due to mismanagement and lack of analysis in the
organization.
10. Predictive Maintenance:
Keeping equipment up and running significantly decrease the operational expenditures,
saving manufacturers millions of dollars. By using sensors, cameras, and data analytics,
managers in the range of various production lines are now able to determine when a piece
of machinery will fail before it actually does. IoT-enabled systems can sense warning signs
by using data which helps managers create maintenance timelines and schedule equipment
service before any problem occurs.
By leveraging real-time data from sensors and devices the operation managers can quickly
access current conditions of equipment, recognize warning signs, get alerted of issues, and
get rid of wasting time into scheduling maintenance.
The possibility to get the real-time meaningful information on time will allow managers to
know which equipment needs maintenance which leads to better planning of maintenance
work. All of it counts to higher Overall Equipment Availability. So, your systems remain
online while workers stay on task.