ABB offers data analysis and device connectivity services via its ABB Ability platform.

In very simple terms, the Internet of Things connects the physical world with the digital world. In a digitally connected manufacturing plant, optimisation and maintenance are no longer performed on-site, but rather by transferring and analyzing large volumes of equipment or plant-level data in real time in the cloud.Industrial companies, especially automation players like Siemens, ABB, Schneider Electric, Honeywell, Emerson, Rockwell, etc. are enabling this digital transformation of their customers across different verticals, which helps them achieve operational efficiency and asset optimisation. In addition, industrial companies are themselves undergoing digital transformations of their own manufacturing processes and supply chains.

Operational efficiency

By getting equipment and plants digitally connected, each part of the manufacturing process can be monitored and analysed on-premises/edge or in the cloud and improvements can be communicated back in real time to drive operational gains.

This will be driven by better integration of intelligent sensors and processors embedded on devices on the factory floor, faster, open and secure networks, enabling the seamless flow of large chunks of data from connected

devices, right up to the cloud and advanced data analytics.

Mr. Sean McLoughlin, Head of Industrials Research, HSBC Bank plc said benefits will be realised in the form of increased productivity, speed to market, flexibility, and lower production and supply-chain costs, including energy efficiency. Manufacturing lines can become more dynamic and customized and can react more quickly to customer and market demands as well as customer feedback.

Asset optimisation

This will be achieved through better maintenance models, which should enable reduced downtimes, lower maintenance costs, and improved asset utilization, hence leading to increased productivity. While predictive maintenance practices will be at the forefront and stand to gain most from industrial IoT, Mr. Sean McLoughlin believes downtime can approach zero in the future as prescriptive and deductive maintenance models gain prominence with further advances in data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.

Examples of increasing adoption of IoT

Connected elevators: Most new elevators and escalators being installed are fitted with in-built connectivity, and global elevator OEMs are trying to connect their installed elevator bases as it helps improve the uptime of the equipment using machine data, analytics, and predictive maintenance. It also helps elevator companies offer additional digital services and benefit from service efficiencies in connected units. Schindler is planning to connect a large part of their installed base by 2023, and Otis is connecting 100,000 units every year for these benefits.

SKF is undergoing a manufacturing transformation, wherein it is reducing the number of sites, developing regional manufacturing capabilities, and increasing automation at existing sites. SKF is investing in new automated factories towards localising manufacturing, which should help improve flexibility.

Honeywell is working on supply chain transformation to become a smart, connected, and integrated supply chain with a high degree of automation, simplification, and agility. It is using its own connected-factory expertise and Honeywell Forge for industrials to transform into a digital supply chain.

Rockwell Automation combined its multiple, disparate systems into one ERP and also rolled out a manufacturing execution system as its centralised system across factories. Further, it employed FactoryTalk InnovationSuite (powered by PTC) across six global facilities to infuse edge-to-enterprise analytics, machine learning, the internet of things (IoT), and augmented reality (AR) directly into their industrial operations.

ABB, Schneider, Legrand and Siemens all offer connected products and software which can be used for industrial and building automation. Their IoT products help drive energy and operational efficiency and span a wide range of end markets. Schneider and Legrand are both exposed to data centres, which are becoming more connected, energy efficient and are moving to the edge to become a more local part of an IoT solution. Schneider and Siemens industrial software offerings include powerful digital twin capabilities, allowing much more precise monitoring, process management, and optimisation than ever before. ABB offers data analysis and device connectivity services via its ABB Ability platform.