Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) refers to the use of Internet of Things ( IoT ) technologies in the production of manufacturing companies. Also known as the Industrial Internet,the IIoT makes use of a series of technologies such as machine learning and big data by exploiting sensors and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and automation technologies that have existed for years in other sectors, within industrial environments.
The Human Role in the IIoT
The philosophy behind the IIoT is that “smart” machines are more effective than humans at collecting and communicating data. This data allows companies to capture inefficiencies and problems at birth, saving time and money as well as supporting business intelligence work. In particular, in the manufacturing sector, IIoT offers great potential for quality control, supply chain traceability and overall supply chain efficiency.
But the human role remains fundamental in making decisions
However, the human role remains fundamental when it comes to making the best decisions, especially since some of the critical information is exogenous and therefore external to what is monitored by “intelligent machines”. In addition, most decisions are made on often incorrect or partial data and in this case only humans are able to judge the correctness of the data.
This is even more true in industrial companies and in production processes where data is transferred and processed in Excel, where the bills of material often have errors and in the management systems there are open orders dating back to previous years.
Supply Chain Decisions
To support planners and all other business functions in making the best decisions within industrial companies, there are special tools called APS (Advanced Planning & Scheduling software). APS use management data, transform it into human-interpretable information, thus increasing production planning capabilities.
With these tools it is possible to automate the production planning process while maintaining the part of human interaction essential for making critical decisions. In fact, only the human planner is able to respond promptly and wisely to questions such as: “Can I increase the shifts on 10 consecutive days to deliver the order on time?”, “Can I source from an external supplier so that I can have the critical material for assembly in time?”.
Learn more about leveraging IIoT
Learn how companies are leveraging IIoT to make their factory efficient, increase service levels, and reduce costs. Production planning is one of the increasingly strategic processes for manufacturing companies that can take advantage of advanced tools. The guide below will show you how and why APS tools can support your business.
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