Why do I need IoT?

You’ve already implemented sensors, SCADA, and an asset management or computerized maintenance management systems at your facility. So why add IoT?

As discussed previously, IoT’s value-add varies by industry, but falls into the following six categories:

1. Democratizes analytics
2. Creates new business opportunities
3. Makes work safer, more productive, and more rewarding
4. Enables instantaneous process & behavior monitoring
5. Optimizes process & resource utilization
6. Informs better decisions

The first blog in this three-part series described the types of opportunities realized through the first three categories of benefits on the list. This post tackles the latter three.

1. PROCESS & BEHAVIOR TRACKING In the consumer-facing market, IoT-enabled behavior tracking is synonymous with near-real-time marketing; however, industry also benefits from tracking peoples’ and processes’ behaviors.

   First, as discussed previously, IoT’s customer feedback and usage data provides insight into customer preferences that will enable traditional industries to develop new business opportunities.

   Second, behavior tracking enables businesses to improve employees’ efficiency and productivity. Analysts expect that IoT-enabled near-real-time data on injuries, illnesses, absences, near-misses, and incidents will make the identification and isolation of health, safety, & environment issues more timely and effective.^[1]

   Consider, for example, tracking clicks and eye movement on a critical human-machine interface (HMI). While commonly used in website design, this data could also enable designers to improve the usefulness of the interface, improving user efficiency and reducing errors, production defects, and accidents.^[2] In near-real-time, this data also enables supervisors to identify stressed or fatigued operators and adjust their workload to a manageable level — lowering the likelihood that the operator will fail to notice warning signs or make an error that contributes to an abnormal event occurring.^[3]

   Finally, when quality problems inevitably arise, or abnormal events inevitably occur, tracking people and processes provides the traceability and operator accountability you need for conducting root-cause analyses and identifying appropriate solutions.

2. PROCESS & RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION Among the widest touted of IoT’s benefits, IoT-enabled Big Data analytics provide several new avenues to improve operational efficiencies and boost your bottom line.

   First, by uniting data traditionally segregated between your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Manufacturing Execution (MES) and Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) systems, IoT aligns your facility’s operation with its suppliers and customers and improves load forecasting and production scheduling.

   Consider, for example, an automated inventory management system that extends all the way from the customer to all levels of your supply chain. You can view historical and forecasted demand against your processing times and your suppliers’ response time — optimizing plant loading and taking just-in-time to a whole new level.

   Second, IoT enables real-time quality monitoring. Imagine identifying nonconformities before the piece or batch finish processing, and automatically making the appropriate machine or process adjustments that improve quality, enhance efficiency, and reduce waste.

   For example, I recently read about advances in progressive metal stamping processes that use IoT-connected embedded sensors to create pressure and draw-in maps across the face of the punch and die; then, real-time analytics use these maps to dynamically adjust the punch angle, stroke, pressure, and binder clamping force — greatly reducing piece-to-piece variation in a machining process that traditionally scraps 15 – 20%.^[4]

   Third, combining energy rates with IoT-connected energy metering and process data helps you take control of your energy expenses. Use this information to identify cost-effective equipment upgrade opportunities and/or reduce waste.

   For example, Motors@Work recently generated a work request for low-load alert for one client. The engineer who received the work order immediately noticed that Motors@Work generated the notification based on measurements taken during off-shift hours; examining the measurements, he saw this particular pump regularly kicked on throughout the night when the facility wasn’t operating. Reviewing pressure and flow data downstream of this pump helped this client to identify a leaky valve.

   But imagine how much more efficient this process could’ve been had these downstream flow and pressure readings been IoT-connected: Instead of a low-load alert on the pump-motor, a maintenance technician could’ve directly received a work order to replace the leaky valve based strictly on comparing current flow values to historical ones at the same production rate. Additionally, the solution could’ve verified that a replacement valve was in stock — including ordering it, if not regularly stocked — before assigning and scheduling the work. In addition to detecting impending maintenance issues, IoT-enabled predictive maintenance promises to eliminate ineffective PMs — minimizing maintenance costs, increasing equipment reliability & availability, and thereby unlocking additional capacity while lowering the cost of production.

3. BETTER DECISION-MAKING By moving data out of traditional silos, IoT enhances situational awareness and empowers new contextual insights, resulting in faster and better-informed decision-making and big operational dividends.

   Today, many business case analyses and purchase triggers are based on spot-checked or average prices and break-even thresholds. IoT-enabled rapid costing upends this system: receive time-based price signals, update your analyses, analyze tradeoffs, and choose the optimal response.

   For example, prior to being introduced to Motors@Work, many of our clients only spot-checked motor prices annually for their capital plans; others didn’t see the advantages built into time-of-use energy rates. But with Motors@Work’s IoT-connected devices and analytics, users receive notifications when changes in motor prices or equipment’s operating efficiency makes replacement cost-effective. Our users also run scenarios to determine the lowest energy cost way to meet the day’s production goals — use energy-rate pricing triggers to decide which processes operate when.

   IoT also enables enhanced situational awareness. Sometimes referred to as cyber-physical production systems (CPPS) or the convergence of information and operational technologies (IT/OT), these advanced analytics solutions provide new levels of visibility and control in complex systems.

   Imagine, for example, that Motors@Work identifies a motor-killing 4.5% voltage unbalance — a serious issue that, if continued unabated, may cause this motor to fail within the next few weeks. Should you protect this asset by removing it from service, or meet today’s production goals? IoT-connected solutions, such as IBM’s Watson Analytics, can help you run through all the what if scenarios; e.g.:

   • If you remove this motor from service until you fix the voltage unbalance, you protect the asset’s remaining life, but you miss your shipment number for this week by 10%.
   • If you keep operating this motor at its current level, you’ll meet today’s production goals, but you’ll incur double the downtime and a significant capital cost next month when you have to replace the motor.
   • If you reduce the load on this motor by 30%, you’ll make all shipments this week while greatly increasing the likelihood that this motor will continue to operate until your next scheduled shutdown, six weeks from now.

   Watson enables you to review the costs and benefits of each of these alternatives, then generates the appropriate work/purchase orders for your preferred option with the click of a button.

Next week, in the final post of this series, we’ll review industry-specific use cases and apply these benefit categories to assess potential bottom-line impact.

How will IoT benefit your organization? For practical ways to use IoT to make smarter asset management decisions, email us at info@motorsatwork.com

[1] A. Jamwal, “Six ways manufacturers can fuse Big Data, Automation, and IoT for better operations,” Industry Week (2016).

[2] P. Gruhn, “Human Machine Interface (HMI) Design: The Good, the bad, and the ugly (and what makes them so),” 66^th Annual Instrumentation Symposium for Process Industries (2011).

[3] B. Noah & L. Rothrock, “Using eye tracking for live measures of workload in a refinery control room process monitoring task,” Abnormal Situation Management Consortium (2015).

[4] S. Sah, N. Mahayotsanun, M. Peshkin, J. Cao, R.X. Gao, “Pressure and Draw-In Maps for Stamping Process Monitoring,” Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering 138.9 (2016): 091005-091005-15. doi:10.1115/1.4033039.