Examples of Smart Factory Applications
Manufacturing is a team effort. If one thing happens on the factory floor, the entire production process and all the individuals and teams involved are inevitably impacted. Consider the way a machine breakdown can influence the entire supply chain; it's the butterfly effect in action. Smart factory applications can aid in smoothing that out.
Because manufacturing is a team effort, every decision - like leveraging smart factory applications - should create benefits for the whole organisation. That means smart manufacturing can be good news for teams on the factory floor, and also for those in the informational technology (IT) department and human resources (HR) office!
Smart factory applications are just the ways in which you apply smart factory solutions. As such, they come in all shapes and sizes - which means they can have different advantages for teams. It all comes down to needs and goals (and the pragmatic utilisation of technology, which is what makes a smart factory so smart).
No matter what factory solution is chosen, the production process will improve in ways that benefit everyone. Here are a few examples of what those solutions might look like:
- Preventive maintenance: Remember when we mentioned a single machine breakdown impacting the entire supply chain? Yeah, that's not ideal. To avoid this worst-case scenario, you can utilise preventive maintenance to stop potential problems in their tracks.
- Predictive maintenance: While it isn't strictly a replacement for preventive measures (they can and should coexist), it does offer unique benefits by analysing asset data and predicting future breakdowns. That way, maintenance activities are more accurate, efficient and effective.
- Data capture: Another way to leverage smart factory solutions is to make data capture easier. With a smart manufacturing foundation in place, mobile phones, wearable devices and other tech can be used to help workers capture data without interrupting their tasks. Meanwhile, sensors automatically capture machine data and display it side-by-side with worker-created information to create a single source of truth.
- Data analytics: There are all kinds of analytics tools that make it possible to transform data into actionable insights, which, in turn, guide the selection and implementation of other smart
factory applications.
- Automation and machine building: The future is now. Automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence aren't here to replace real workers, but they can benefit your teams by relieving them of repetitive tasks while eliminating human error.
- Eliminating disruptions: Smart manufacturing helps identify and eliminate production disruptions from any source. That means being able to look beyond machine breakdowns and see all the other things that could be creating costly inefficiencies.
Any one of these smart factory applications could usher in an industrial-sized revolution. Think about the kind of power they have when leveraging them.
Examples of Red Lion Smart Technologies:
Looking for more information? We can help with that...
If you want to know more about smart factories and the products that can help you reach that point, or have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch on 01254 685900 and our Internal Sales Advisors or Technical Support Engineers will be happy to chat!
|
|
Red Lion Smart Technologies - Click for Our Red Lion Supplier Page
Other Red Lion Application Guides
Red Lion Tech Support Articles
|
