The Internet of Things is made up of thousands upon thousands of little pieces of equipment that relay real-time information about light, sound, rotation, vibration, and other physical conditions into a central IT network that can automatically adjust machinery rates, production schedules, and shipping logistics across a global supply chain.

The resurgence of American-based manufacturing is built upon the back of technological innovations such as the Internet of Things and will be your greatest source of competitive advantage. It will accelerate the pace at which factories become automated and increase efficiencies, whether that means factory robots talking to the cloud, reporting dashboards that automatically monitor every aspect of factory conditions, or shipping facilities that can immediately adjust schedules based on upstream and downstream conditions. And it matters to your bottom line. A recent study by the NCMM reports that advanced manufacturing techniques have led to a 20 percent increase in profitability over five years. But as you invest in the Internet of Things to enhance manufacturing, there are some important things to consider.

First, focus on your IT infrastructure. Information technology systems will need to accept large amounts of data flowing in from small devices wired within every facility. These systems will need to process all that data and trigger actionable steps when certain conditions occur, such as slowing production when a component is wearing out or sending a request for more raw materials when supplies are low. Machine to machine (M2M) communication happens within the factory and also externally with the IT systems of suppliers and customers. Remote management of machinery will go from a human-centered activity to a fully automated process.

Since this is a new space, keep an eye on the many new software and hardware vendors that are emerging to assist this transition.

  • Ayla provides low-power Wi-Fi modules that can be integrated into devices built by OEMs, connecting to cloud-based software for administration and customization.
  • Seeq offers customers a platform for capturing data from industrial processes.
  • Paqet has built an operating system that is optimized to have the smallest code and data footprint that still allows connectivity to the Internet.

Increase your computational power. All of these sensors will generate enormous amounts of big data. Your manufacturing business will need to think about cloud data hosting facilities and third-party software with self-learning algorithms that can comb through this data and determine trends for increasing efficiencies.

Security is crucial. The entire operations of the business are interconnected. Previously, a security breach might involve the theft of proprietary or confidential information, but in the future, a security vulnerability has the potential to freeze machinery. While the benefits will certainly outweigh the costs, locking down the Internet of Things networks is essential.  

Since the bygone days of Henry Ford's automotive production line, the process of increasing manufacturing efficiency has been achieved through tightly linking every aspect of the manufacturing process. With the Internet of Things, the production line finally goes virtual to reach economies of scale that are only being constrained by the rate of increase of computing power.