How to Seamlessly Integrate IoT Devices into Your Factory Operations

Industry 4.0 — powered by machine learning, Big Data and the internet of things (IoT) — is transforming the factory. With IoT devices, managers can collect data that is comprehensive, accurate, and can be used to drive decision-making and optimize processes.

However, it’s not always easy to integrate IoT machines and devices, especially into factories with significant legacy systems or equipment. Managers will need to plan carefully if they want to successfully add industrial IoT devices to their factory.

Here are tips that can help you integrate IoT machines into your factory, no matter what you manufacture.

Challenges and benefits of Industrial IoT

Industrial internet of things (IIoT) devices are, in general, fairly flexible and can be used to collect data for several situations and purposes.

One of the biggest benefits is in preventive maintenance — data analysis algorithms that use on-the-ground, minute-to-minute updates on equipment health to predict when machines will need repair. In other cases, collected data is used to inform decision-making and improve process efficiency.

SPONSORED: Strong industrial security with the IEC 62443 standard | Learn more

Some of the biggest challenges of IIoT are often in coordinating the large amounts of devices a factory needs while ensuring that collected info isn’t siloed or limited to individual departments or file systems. Factories also sometimes struggle with maintaining data security and with finding or building connective infrastructure that can support their IIoT installation.

Fortunately, these challenges can almost always be overcome with the right amount of planning.

Tips for integrating an IIoT fleet

Having a specific function you want your fleet to fulfill — like, for example, predicting when machines will need maintenance — can help you lay the groundwork for your IIoT implementation. This can prevent scope creep and help ensure the data you’re receiving from your devices can be analyzed to create actionable feedback.

Before you begin adding any devices to the factory floor, you should have a framework of how data from the IIoT fleet will be coordinated and shared between devices. You should also know how basic maintenance — troubleshooting and updating — will be managed.

You will probably need to plan for how your devices will communicate with each other. Factories interested in implementing small-scale IoT fleets may be able to manually coordinate their devices, or build an in-house solution to manage them. For those interested in larger applications, however, coordinating the fleet can quickly become a challenge. In these instances, it may be a better idea to invest in an IIoT platform.

IIoT platforms coordinate IoT devices, performing most or all of the necessary maintenance and data aggregation a factory will need. These platforms also typically come bundled with their own security suite, which can help factory managers secure their fleet. They also include data analysis and visualization software, which will allow staff with nontechnical backgrounds to investigate and analyze IIoT-collected data sets on their own.

When it comes to IIoT platforms, you have options. Some of the major platforms, however, can feel like one-size-fits-all solutions and may be designed to work best with a proprietary line of IoT devices. With these platforms, you may have less room for customization and manual tweaks. Depending on your situation, you may want to choose a more niche solution that better caters to your specific vertical or industry sector.

In any case, having an IIoT platform ready to go can smooth out the installation process.

Your IIoT implementation should also consider special conditions that may be needed to support your IoT devices. For example, an optic sensor being used to help quality assurance workers pick out parts on a conveyor belt may need some kind of backlighting to identify objects correctly.

You should expect a phase-in or trial period during which you can work out any unexpected issues or identify blind spots in data collection. The task of integrating IIoT devices at your factory may be more procedural than one-and-done.

Successfully implementing IIoT devices

IIoT devices can provide several benefits for factory managers — like minute-to-minute data on equipment health or information that can be used to streamline processes. However, it’s not unusual for factories to face challenges when implementing IIoT devices. Often, these sensors are difficult to secure and coordinate and may not provide the information a factory needs without planning.

If a factory wants to successfully implement IIoT devices, management will need to have a specific goal in mind and know how they will coordinate their fleet.