8 SEPTEMBER, 2021OPINIONAt the start of the pandemic, the overwhelming priority was to safeguard and stabilize opera-tions, liquidity, people, supply chains and mar-kets. Now, companies are thinking strategically about how they can adapt as the pandemic and markets evolve, and interest in automation continues to increase.From large manufacturing plants that are run almost en-tirely by robots to smaller forms of automation in the quest to lower costs, increase production, and reduce response times, automation is improving key production processes and changing manufacturing as we know it. But not all manufacturing lends itself toward a "dark factory," a fully automated production without direct human intervention. Now more than ever is a great opportunity to leverage IoT connectivity. The manufacturer has long focused on lean manufacturing, to minimize waste and maximize produc-tivity. By partnering with a solutions provider to digitizing these practices in a cloud-based partnership, the manufac-turer can unlock a higher level of productivity.The Digital Relationship Brings ValueThe goal of any solution partner should be to provide the most advanced manufacturing solutions and engage in a connected partnership that will sustain optimized operations. We achieve this partnership through a digital connectivity, the back-and-forth flow of information analytics between manufacturer and solutions provider. Both can see a dashboard that centralizes and synthesizes data in real time for meaningful insights. This connectivity serves as a platform for proactive customer service, shared actionable insight, on premise process optimization, and powerful data analytics, all with the intent to improve efficiency, increase yield and improve product quality. And people are the secret ingredient to making this connection work. If we use the data to connect people, true action can take place. Digitalization allows us to do this at the frequency required to reach an operational level of communication. Regardless of the manufacturing industry, this connection can drive competitive strategy, culture, and organizational design.Achieves Better Asset UtilizationEvery piece of equipment on a plant floor contributes to the effectiveness of the plant's total production. Each and every moment a machine is not working, planned or unplanned, negatively impacts the plant's overall effectiveness. In the thermal processing industry, for instance, IoT capacity metrics will demonstrate how much a dryer is down due to maintenance, and these insights may offer the opportunities to make new business decisions. If a dryer is down 60 percent of time, there is 40 percent more capacity available for running WHY MANUFACTURERS SHOULD NOT OVERLOOK THE IMPACT OF IOT CONNECTIVITYBy Paul McKeithan, Head of Digital Business Development, VN, Buhler Group
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