Manufacturing intelligence: establishing a connected enterprise

It’s no secret that there is currently widespread demand for greater productivity, better utilisation of assets and improved decision-making in the manufacturing industry. Manufacturing intelligence is bridging the gap between the production and corporate environments to help manufacturers meet these demands.

Improving connectivity across operations provides the platform to integrate information across business systems and the plant floor, which in turn offers agility, lower cost of ownership and superior operations. While established production software is mature technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) delivers a new value proposition to the industrial market. Industrial IoT technologies help manufacturers lay a foundation for a highly secure, connected enterprise using standard unmodified Ethernet to connect people, processes and data. This ultimately drives greater productivity and sustainable competitive differentiation.

A key performance indicator for production software is its ability to present information in real time, and in a meaningful way based on the role of the user. Data modelling provides an object-oriented view of data from a variety of sources, enabling users to access data based on the terminology of their roles.

Modelling data around Asset Models or ISA S95 hierarchies, while abstracting data source complexities from users, provides an environment for ad hoc analysis and benchmarking of performance across equipment of the same type or across units, while consolidating data about an entity within a single view.

This provides better insight. Such an enterprise allows the entire supply chain to be connected, giving manufacturers the competitive edge required to analyse, forecast and rapidly respond to changing market demands.

Mobility and adaptability

While establishing a connected industrial enterprise can appear to be an overwhelming challenge, it is one that manufacturers must address to remain competitive in the current marketplace.

Mobility is also a big driver in the capabilities of manufacturing intelligence. It allows manufacturers to be more selective about how information is consumed and then delivered to consumers in the correct format for the devices they use.

Importantly, manufacturers are not limited by location when accessing information through industrial IoT technology. Information is delivered to any device, allowing manufacturers a new level of mobility.

A key indicator for the successful integration of information and infrastructure is adaptability. Advances in manufacturing intelligence are driven by the maturity of standards and the ability to report information across different platforms and devices.

Data explosion

As a result of the connected enterprise, the amount of manufacturing data available is growing exponentially. For manufacturers to achieve flexibility and efficiency, they must have the capabilities to manage, visualise and analyse ‘big data’ in real time. This involves combining the data from the systems running the plant, which together comprises machine intelligence with information from business applications.

By utilising cloud-based infrastructure, manufacturers have the computing power and mobility requirements to process and store big data. Cloud technologies enable new business models and value chains for manufacturers looking to leverage these technologies to optimise their people assets, and the internal and external expertise of the organisation through collaborative models.

In a connected enterprise, manufacturing intelligence is moving towards more data-driven manufacturing that allows for automation of the generation of key performance indicators. The IoT is delivering capabilities that are making software a crucial investment for manufacturers that want to generate additional productivity and optimise operations.

*With over 20 years in the automation industry, Dean Tressider has extensive knowledge, understanding and experience of the automation landscape. His current role - Software Solutions Architect, Rockwell Automation Australia - involves interfacing with product design and development, and working with customers to architect SCADA, MES and energy management software solutions for all industries.