Industrial IoT–Top 3 key Trends for 2021

Many industries have already implemented IIoT products, but with the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, they might stimulate the adoption of some IIoT trends. 2020 was a year completely of challenges as well as the manufacturing industry was no exception. In the aspect of difficulty, yet, manufacturers found several ways to preserve and increase capacity; work safely, and fulfill the requirements not only of critical areas likewise medical devices but also in manufacturing the everyday products that resumed to offer a resemblance of normality.

Technological developments will continue to power IIoT trends in 2021, with areas involving safety, integrity and flexibility set to be important pointers throughout this year and beyond.

Let’s see the top 3 key trends that’ll assist Industrial IoT to extend its influence. 

Trend #1 Data-Driven Predictive Technologies 

Predictive maintenance develops to further recognize potential machine concerns before they fail – minimizing downtime and improving productivity. Unexpected downtime is, as always, one of the immense wastes of resources for a manufacturer, cutting down the operation cost, threatening deadlines and badly affecting equipment life span and output quality.

With advanced sensors and communications developments that carry monitoring near to real-time than ever before, predictive technology is assured to make a huge improvement in 2021. Predictive maintenance is the primary illustration of these advances, allowing manufacturers to recognize potential problems early, schedule downtime as per convenience, assure that parts and personnel are prepared and maintain operations running as planned. Remote machine condition monitoring system will help to analyze OEE, Part counts, machine utilization & Planned, Unplanned downtime in real-time.

Trend #2: Remote and Autonomous Operations

As technology continues to emerge out, remote monitoring and analytic solutions will be expanded by the capability to control equipment from anywhere, as well. The influence of changes brought in 2020 is driving industries to increasingly utilize IoT technologies for operational resiliency. IoT also assists to increase safety and efficiencies by preventing redundant site visits and minimizing employee movement throughout facilities. One of the largest developments in remote manufacturing operations is digital twin technology, which is basically a digital representation of a physical component or machine in a factory. With the help of sensors and connectivity, the digital twin is continuously updated to review the actual condition, status as well as the performance of the physical piece. Technology likewise AI allows simulations that can help in planning and forecasting — all without the need to physically present on the factory floor, or even on-site.

In 2021, we will notice more deployments pointed at advanced remote operations. They will contain autonomous operational controls to select parts of a process and will be remotely empowered for other parts. Also, deployments will increasingly shift toward full autonomy, removing the requirement for humans to be present locally or remotely. AI will be utilized here for dynamic optimization and self-healing, in various use cases likewise: autonomous guided vehicles for picking and packing, autonomous container applications across manufacturing, warehouses, increased automation of the distribution grid, etc.

All above-mentioned use cases need data immediately and in mass, demanding a network that can assist that data and deliver the speed needed for analysis. This new class of industrial networking must offer the capability to manage more network bandwidth, provide zero-latency data and support edge computing. It also requires security and scale to embrace quickly, assuring the business is up and running properly.

Trend #3: Spend on Employee Safety will increase

Near about 71% of surveyed decision-makers will give high priority to employee safety over financial stability (44%) in 2021. Since most organizations are hopeful to get the employees back to work in the company, assuring safety is the top prerequisite.

Pre-COVID

Other than automating the machine operations, IIoT also has great importance in assuring workforce safety. The guidelines from COVID have forced companies to deploy processes that continue to check on employees following all safety norms. With the help of cameras and sensors, a simplistic IIoT application can analyze if all employees have been sanitized before moving onto the floor and if they are wearing the masks accurately. In spite of hints of vaccination, factories will still choose social distancing in the post COVID era.  

Post-COVID 

Predictive analysis can give alerts about machines that are susceptible to accidents. This is essential because on-floor work injuries cost approximately USD 170 billion to global organizations. By recognizing areas of high accident vulnerability in the assembly line or processes where more injuries happen, large-scale impairment can be avoided. It is significant to know that this was the case before the crisis. Now, instead of manual expertise presence, there is a requirement of connected devices in an industrial setup. 

If faults are solved in time, this cost could be used towards other initiatives of employee welfare. Worker health, as well as safety, hold on to a new meaning in 2020, with the requirement to keep employees distanced whenever possible and the ongoing concern over the health of those working in the same area. The principles essentially monitoring technologies used for machines can also implement in this area, with the capability to analyze employee locations on the facility floor, track close contacts and even rapidly and easily take employee temperatures. Inventive ways of utilizing IIoT technology to keep workers healthy give benefits for employees as well as the facility.

Going forward, organizations require to adapt automation via connected devices across all endpoints. These trends reflect the existing advancement of sensor technology and communication while taking into account the discovered requirement for remote monitoring and access a new aspect of worker health and safety concerns.