The internet of things (IoT) is shaking up the manufacturing industry in significant ways. IoT for manufacturing is the future and keeps you ahead of your competitors.

Think of this technology as another pair of eyes that monitors your machinery and ensures that everything on the production floor operates at total capacity. This article will cover the difference between IoT and IIoT, its benefits and challenges, and one real-world use case.

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Table of Contents

• The Difference Between IoT and IIoT
• Benefits
  • Increase Efficiency and Catch Bottlenecks
  • Boost Product Quality
  • Obtain Thorough Documentation
• Challenges
• Use Case
• Next Steps

The Difference Between IoT and IIoT

To avoid confusion, let’s discuss the difference between IoT and the industrial internet of things (IIoT). You can think of IoT and IIoT as siblings.

What Is IoT?

IoT is a system of sensors or devices that connect to the internet to display real-time updates and data for specific objects, i.e., drills, turning machines, lifts and more. You can even put IoT in your toaster.

What Is IIoT?

IIoT is a subset of IoT that allows you to insert sensors across several industrial businesses and solutions. You can insert a network of sensors for machines, robots and other devices for more updates and alerts.

Primary Benefits

Implementing manufacturing IoT solutions has plenty of advantages, from increased efficiency to better product quality and in-depth documentation.

Increase Efficiency and Catch Bottlenecks

IoT helps you review and rectify potential process obstacles. For example, your toy factory likely leverages several facilities and machines to create top-of-the-line merchandise. You can review their performance if you insert IoT in several of your machinery, such as drills, lifts and more.

IoT can also notify you if machines need maintenance. If your drill doesn’t operate fully, you can stop production and perform a tune-up or complete maintenance to avoid unexpected downtime. When you have less downtime, you can get more products done and boost overall efficiency and customer satisfaction rates.

Boost Product Quality

Maintaining your machinery creates high-quality products that align with standard, local and national compliances. Adherence to quality and other manufacturing compliances ensures your company operates in good standing while avoiding lawsuits, fines and immediate shutdowns.

High-quality merchandise also boosts customer and client satisfaction rates. For example, if you sell top-notch toys to your customers, they’ll keep returning to your toy factory for business, especially around the holiday season.

You may also invest in standalone enterprise quality management software (EQMS). This manufacturing tool helps you maintain product quality and compliance standards, such as the FDA, ISO and CFR.

Obtain Thorough Documentation

Leveraging IoT’s predictive maintenance capabilities helps you save money on replacing production machinery by extending their life spans and helping you stay on top of their performance. Predictive maintenance also garners plenty of data and reports for a lengthy documentation trail for audit and inspection purposes.

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Challenges

IoT for manufacturing, like other technology, also comes with a few challenges. Here’s some advice on overcoming them.

Security

Installing IoT leaves security blindspots that can host a cybercriminal playground. Some vulnerabilities include lacking data encryption when transferring vital information to the cloud, leaving backdoor access during development protocols and not performing backend services.

The best way to combat these vulnerabilities is to converse with and ask knowledgeable security leaders how to best test for and safeguard data against potential threats.

Fees

Like ERP and other business solutions, IoT also offers unexpected expenses for updates, design, maintenance, removing irrelevant technology and more. IoT infrastructure is costly. However, as more companies and manufacturers adopt IoT, the cost should stabilize.

Connectivity

IoT, like cloud software, will only work if you have a strong internet connection. Having reliable internet connectivity across your production floor is vital if you have IoT in several devices and machinery.

Use Case

It’s no surprise that IoT for manufacturing is pushing production and efficiency across companies worldwide. This technology’s global presence is likely why Allied Market Research forecasts the global IoT market size to reach a potential value of $4,421.62 billion in 2030.

Here’s an example of IoT use cases in manufacturing that can back up how well this technological trend operates across several sectors.

Armal

Armal is a corporate organization that specializes in creating portable sanitation products. It started as a family-owned company in Italy in 1987 and expanded into the US and other global locations in 2005.

This company leverages IoT tracking devices for their E-BLOCK and E-TOP PLUS products to gain client feedback. These tracking sensors also enable Armal to remotely supervise and unit operating statuses for E-BLOCK and E-TOP PLUS toilets.

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Next Steps

Leveraging IoT for manufacturing gives you a competitive advantage to streamline production times, reduce machinery downtime and boost audit documentation. Despite some obstacles, manufacturing IoT is reliable in real-life scenarios.

Interested in learning more? Check out our in-depth comparison report for more solutions to maximize your production floor.

How has IoT for manufacturing improved your overall productivity? Let us know in the comments!