Connected Manufacturing
By Luc Verhelst, (interim) CIO, Digital Consultant & Certified IT Risk Advisor (ISACA CGEIT), Build on IT
When talking about integrated or connected Manufacturing, the following aspects are popping up:
• Industry 4.0 is hot, and many companies are in search of ‘THE’ breakthrough project in digitalisation. But even so, and at the same time, the world is in search of more sustainability. It is our firm belief that both go hand in hand!
• It is very important to understand that realizing this effectively will depend on a common, on an agreed vision between three different parties or views: The classical OT /industrial view, the more data related IT view and the more recently upcoming view on sustainability.
• Common integrated infrastructures, common security, common data collection and definition of data, aligned governance and integrated business processes are amongst the many aspects of the synergy needed for an integrated view on the enterprise, this as a prerogative for connected manufacturing.
• As a conclusion, an integrated digital strategy, and integrated enterprise architecture and a more sustainable view on delivery will prove to be key for the sustainable digital enterprises of the next decade.
Industry 4.0, we’re all talking more and more loudly of it, and we need to!
Many companies are in search of ‘THE’ killing breakthrough industry 4.0 project that will leapfrog them in comparison to the competition.
Whilst in Europe the term “industry 4.0” is quite well understood, in other parts of the world we often refer to it as IIoT (the Industrial Internet of Things) or often just call it IoT (Internet of Things). By which it is being meant that everything (every device) gets connected and thus will produce data.
So, IT’s all about Digital (and Data), and more and more (business) executives have a Digital agenda!
But… at the same time, climate change and the cry for sustainable industry is becoming more loud and loud. It will force every company, wanting to survive, to adopt digital as a way of becoming more and more sustainable.
Today 50% of all energy pollution is coming from the industry!
Recent figures we’ve looked up suggest that US, China and Europe account for more than 50% of it! So pollution is everywhere and has become a main reason we need to act, we need to embrace digital, not only for our planet but also for our companies.
Digital and sustainability go hand in hand!
Energy consumption – and the move towards green/sustainable energy– may give immediate savings and will thus contribute towards the bottom line to the company. On the longer-term energy consumption, for sure, though it will become a huge cost and liability as it ruins the earth!
That’s why becoming more digital will contribute towards the overall company goals and can be obtained by being sustainable as an industry/company.
Many countries are taking the lead of more and more investments in clean production plants. Everywhere in the world though it is a challenge because this turnaround doesn’t happen overnight and costly industrial investment is needed. This turnaround, this industrial refreshment, has become more complex in comparison with the good old times where it used to be about product and cost as now we need to take into account a lot more elements from the company and outside world.
As an intermediate conclusion, it is important to understand that sustainability, IT/OT integration and a common data view go hand in hand.
Indeed very much is depending on a common vision between the classical OT /industrial view and the more data related IT view.
• Industry 4.0 is hot, and many companies are in search of ‘THE’ breakthrough project in digitalisation. But even so, and at the same time, the world is in search of more sustainability. It is our firm belief that both go hand in hand!
• It is very important to understand that realizing this effectively will depend on a common, on an agreed vision between three different parties or views: The classical OT /industrial view, the more data related IT view and the more recently upcoming view on sustainability.
• Common integrated infrastructures, common security, common data collection and definition of data, aligned governance and integrated business processes are amongst the many aspects of the synergy needed for an integrated view on the enterprise, this as a prerogative for connected manufacturing.
• As a conclusion, an integrated digital strategy, and integrated enterprise architecture and a more sustainable view on delivery will prove to be key for the sustainable digital enterprises of the next decade.
Industry 4.0, we’re all talking more and more loudly of it, and we need to!
Many companies are in search of ‘THE’ killing breakthrough industry 4.0 project that will leapfrog them in comparison to the competition.
Whilst in Europe the term “industry 4.0” is quite well understood, in other parts of the world we often refer to it as IIoT (the Industrial Internet of Things) or often just call it IoT (Internet of Things). By which it is being meant that everything (every device) gets connected and thus will produce data.
So, IT’s all about Digital (and Data), and more and more (business) executives have a Digital agenda!
But… at the same time, climate change and the cry for sustainable industry is becoming more loud and loud. It will force every company, wanting to survive, to adopt digital as a way of becoming more and more sustainable.
Today 50% of all energy pollution is coming from the industry!
Recent figures we’ve looked up suggest that US, China and Europe account for more than 50% of it! So pollution is everywhere and has become a main reason we need to act, we need to embrace digital, not only for our planet but also for our companies.
Digital and sustainability go hand in hand!
Energy consumption – and the move towards green/sustainable energy– may give immediate savings and will thus contribute towards the bottom line to the company. On the longer-term energy consumption, for sure, though it will become a huge cost and liability as it ruins the earth!
That’s why becoming more digital will contribute towards the overall company goals and can be obtained by being sustainable as an industry/company.
Many countries are taking the lead of more and more investments in clean production plants. Everywhere in the world though it is a challenge because this turnaround doesn’t happen overnight and costly industrial investment is needed. This turnaround, this industrial refreshment, has become more complex in comparison with the good old times where it used to be about product and cost as now we need to take into account a lot more elements from the company and outside world.
As an intermediate conclusion, it is important to understand that sustainability, IT/OT integration and a common data view go hand in hand.
Indeed very much is depending on a common vision between the classical OT /industrial view and the more data related IT view.
Everything in enterprises is connected and is providing us with valuable data. Moreover, we will only achieve very much desired sustainability goals when going digital all the way.
SYNERGY and INTEGRATION
Synergy and integration of processes, governance, data, security and infrastructures are the key enablers helping us achieve this.
They are of key interest and should be on top of the radar for every CIO or Chief Digital Officer. Especially in the industrial world where previously IT and automation (aka industrial
production) were too often seen as quite different disciplines, the first being the responsibility of the one in charge of IT, the second of the one in charge of the industrial production facilities.
SYNERGY and INTEGRATION
Synergy and integration of processes, governance, data, security and infrastructures are the key enablers helping us achieve this.
They are of key interest and should be on top of the radar for every CIO or Chief Digital Officer. Especially in the industrial world where previously IT and automation (aka industrial
production) were too often seen as quite different disciplines, the first being the responsibility of the one in charge of IT, the second of the one in charge of the industrial production facilities.
Check This Out: Top Manufacturing Tech Companies
It is our core belief that IT and OT are fusioning together towards IoT/Industry 4.0 (IIoT), and this by enabling interconnectivity of things in the manufacturing environment, logistics, supply chain and running the factory.
Security – cybersecurity – is of utmost importance for industrial companies (and others) wanting to go digital all the way and the next step of integration is a common IT security. Recently this has been proven to be very important as many industrial companies have been subject to cyber-attacks. Thus securing the whole IT/OT infrastructure, across the board, is very important.
Integration of IT and OT - Common infrastructures, OT and IT need to be joined – common data centres, services, networks, one physical network to which everything is connected, can automate the whole supply chain, the logistics of working together. In general, the first step is at the Executive level that should recognize that it is a must, and it should happen! And it is happening!
Until recently the two worlds (OT and IT) were viewed as being separate lines, and often engineering still believes it should be separate, whilst more and more the supply chain expects the integration and things to be merged, they need to go together (from the top), align the initiatives and the projects from IT and OT and a common vision. The reality is it needs to happen.
Automation of factory –. how to best organise your factory and the systems that drive it?
Here we are entering the world of MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems), systems helping us improving efficiency, producing more during the same timeframe, acting on the downtime of the installations, of the plant. By introducing predictive maintenance – a hot topic in industry 4.0 – we are trying to predict when parts will break and are evolving to a situation where you can go as long as you can with the same part and then the part will tell when it needs to be replaced – small shift. The shift towards the domain of big data and AI is not very far here.
Data – IT’s all about data!
All the connected devices produce so much data, so a strategy on what you do with this data, bringing it together, using the data, storing the data, combining the data can drive your competitive edge. More and more, we use IoT platforms to populate our systems with data, making it usable, and we are switching to Machine Learning and AI to cope with the data. In order to do this, we need to align the data and definitions, before you can start doing something with the data, using different techniques to use the data in the right way. Data lakes – dump all the data in a data store - you will need an approach to work on the data.
There are so many good tools out here for analyzing your data, and this has become a big challenge for many CIO’s and Chief Data/Digital Officers, given the enormous supply of (data tools) solutions that are so big that we can’t see the wood from the trees anymore, what should we best use and in which case? A sound vision and a sound execution in this technology/IT related topic will be key.
New OT devices? New machinery vs legacy systems – all vendors have their own solutions – a better IoT integration (e.g. forklift trucks providers where the driver can see the weight they are lifting using technology), instead of each vendor having their own solution making the exchange of data and standardization more difficult, is of utmost importance.
Devices can tell weight, temp etc. but all data comes together, and it can be hard to have an integrated view. Every time you buy something, you need technical people to integrate it, so reflect on it in time.
Vendors:Microsoft, SAP, OSIsoft, General Electric, Local Automation, Salesforce, Tableau, Oracle, General Electric and many many others are all extremely active in the IoT space, so it has become more difficult to find your way as a tech lead, what you should and shouldn’t do.
To conclude, going Digital is a must.
From an efficiency and effectiveness point of view, but also from a sustainability point of view.
It doesn’t happen overnight and enterprises wanting to go Digital all the way can face many challenges when doing it. But we need to!
Check This Out: The Manufacturing Outlook
It is our core belief that IT and OT are fusioning together towards IoT/Industry 4.0 (IIoT), and this by enabling interconnectivity of things in the manufacturing environment, logistics, supply chain and running the factory.
Security – cybersecurity – is of utmost importance for industrial companies (and others) wanting to go digital all the way and the next step of integration is a common IT security. Recently this has been proven to be very important as many industrial companies have been subject to cyber-attacks. Thus securing the whole IT/OT infrastructure, across the board, is very important.
Integration of IT and OT - Common infrastructures, OT and IT need to be joined – common data centres, services, networks, one physical network to which everything is connected, can automate the whole supply chain, the logistics of working together. In general, the first step is at the Executive level that should recognize that it is a must, and it should happen! And it is happening!
Until recently the two worlds (OT and IT) were viewed as being separate lines, and often engineering still believes it should be separate, whilst more and more the supply chain expects the integration and things to be merged, they need to go together (from the top), align the initiatives and the projects from IT and OT and a common vision. The reality is it needs to happen.
Automation of factory –. how to best organise your factory and the systems that drive it?
Here we are entering the world of MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems), systems helping us improving efficiency, producing more during the same timeframe, acting on the downtime of the installations, of the plant. By introducing predictive maintenance – a hot topic in industry 4.0 – we are trying to predict when parts will break and are evolving to a situation where you can go as long as you can with the same part and then the part will tell when it needs to be replaced – small shift. The shift towards the domain of big data and AI is not very far here.
Data – IT’s all about data!
All the connected devices produce so much data, so a strategy on what you do with this data, bringing it together, using the data, storing the data, combining the data can drive your competitive edge. More and more, we use IoT platforms to populate our systems with data, making it usable, and we are switching to Machine Learning and AI to cope with the data. In order to do this, we need to align the data and definitions, before you can start doing something with the data, using different techniques to use the data in the right way. Data lakes – dump all the data in a data store - you will need an approach to work on the data.
There are so many good tools out here for analyzing your data, and this has become a big challenge for many CIO’s and Chief Data/Digital Officers, given the enormous supply of (data tools) solutions that are so big that we can’t see the wood from the trees anymore, what should we best use and in which case? A sound vision and a sound execution in this technology/IT related topic will be key.
New OT devices? New machinery vs legacy systems – all vendors have their own solutions – a better IoT integration (e.g. forklift trucks providers where the driver can see the weight they are lifting using technology), instead of each vendor having their own solution making the exchange of data and standardization more difficult, is of utmost importance.
Devices can tell weight, temp etc. but all data comes together, and it can be hard to have an integrated view. Every time you buy something, you need technical people to integrate it, so reflect on it in time.
Vendors:Microsoft, SAP, OSIsoft, General Electric, Local Automation, Salesforce, Tableau, Oracle, General Electric and many many others are all extremely active in the IoT space, so it has become more difficult to find your way as a tech lead, what you should and shouldn’t do.
To conclude, going Digital is a must.
From an efficiency and effectiveness point of view, but also from a sustainability point of view.
It doesn’t happen overnight and enterprises wanting to go Digital all the way can face many challenges when doing it. But we need to!
Check This Out: The Manufacturing Outlook
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