For many years, traditional manufacturing business practices ensured extensive stores of materials and inventory existed in warehouses or industrial facilities. These stores of materials and finished product were effectively ‘locked up’ capital. As competition increased, Japanese manufacturing innovators at Toyota created a process that freed up the capital locked in inventories – Just-in-Time Production. Just-In-Time (JIT) is typically thought of as an inventory and manufacturing strategy companies employ to increase efficiency and decrease waste by receiving/completing goods only as they are needed in the production process, thereby reducing inventory costs. Since the 1970s, the components of JIT or ‘lean’ manufacturing have been implemented across the industries of the world. As the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) revolutionizes industry there is more data available from all levels of the facility than ever before. Commonly this data goes through both an Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) process and a detailed reporting and analytics process before the people who need the data can actually consume it. Just like materials and finished goods inventories locked up capital and reduced efficiency for traditional manufacturers, inventorying data simply locks away critical information capital and reduces the efficient consumption of critical data.
Almost every industry is aware of business intelligence and the benefits detailed process analysis delivers. Frequently the (Business Intelligence) BI process is locked in place, based on old technology and outdated circumstances. In the current era of WiFi enabled sensors, wearable technology and lightning fast hand-held hardware for data processing and visualization, industrial reporting doesn’t have to be confined to specialized analysts who are reporting experts. By providing information consumers access to the data-stream without the delays common to reporting and ETL processes, facilities can democratize the consumption and analysis of data. Hands-free wearables take Just-In-Time data access to the next level, enabling an even higher level of efficiency through data-visualization and Augmented Reality (AR). Real-time instructions from vendor product experts, trainers or manuals can be coupled with live sensor data and readouts from instrumentation. Industrial wearables act as the nervous system, connecting workers to the IIoT.
Industrial Wearables and JIT Data are a ‘nice to have’ now but soon this technology will be required to compete. It is estimated that by 2025 14M+ workers will be leveraging industrial wearables to enhance productivity. Companies who do not utilize technology to enhance data visibility and analysis will lag behind in efficiency and will eventually find themselves not competitive. Understanding the benefits of data-driven technology and implementing it in ways that enhance your business will be a significant factor in maintaining future market position for all industrial facilities. As the volume of data grows, making sure all data goes through a transformation and reporting process before consumption becomes and increasingly monumental task. By ensuring all data-consumers have direct data access, you ensure that critical data is not withheld unnecessarily.
Acensium is a leading expert on industrial facility digitization and industrial technology applications for IIOT, Industrial Wearables, Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR). AS facilities move towards greater digitalization, having technology experts that are also accomplished engineers ensures that your facility can be efficiently digitized for all applications without additional unforeseen expenses.
