A world where the digital and physical are interconnected is quickly becoming the norm for manufacturers across all industries.
Many manufacturers are leveraging Industry 4.0 to improve and streamline their processes and to be transparent. However, questions arise how companies can continue to improve their performance, which is a derivative of resource utilization. Digitalization is driving industrial connectivity and possibilities for optimized productivity, and in turn, substantial savings. For savings to be high, it is critical to manage assets without disruption and with high transparency.
Digitalization creates the ability to virtualize maintenance tasks by producing a digital representation of a particular physical asset. It does this by generating digital renderings, which are viewed using computers, tablets or mobile devices. Data is then sent to this virtual representation, so engineers can gauge the condition, performance and history of the physical asset and make updates and amends, without tampering with the physical asset itself.
In this way, organizations can determine the intervention and maintenance required to optimize the performance of an asset and maximize its useful lifespan, before carrying out any work to the asset itself. This prevents unnecessary disruption and downtime, and means the best-informed decisions can be made regarding the asset.
As well as these immediate operational and financial gains, digitization will deliver increasing returns as technology evolves. As we connect devices and physical assets within the factory, digitization will enable us to turn raw data into invaluable insights.
For example, real-time feedback from sensors positioned across the factory floor can be read by assets’ digital twins to reliably assess their impact of a change in factors such as product quality, production rates, environmental changes and so on. This insight can play a vital role in supporting business growth and innovation – through the construction of new plants and production lines, the management of assets and the testing of final products.
