We are coming to another major crossroads in how we manage and monitor our manufacturing processes to ensure that reliability, quality and most importantly profitability goals are being met.
Technological advances with the use of embedded technology and IIOT are being looked at as possible alternatives to traditional methods of obtaining data and measurements through the use of Condition Monitoring (CM) techniques and the inspection results of Preventative Maintenance (PM) tasks every day. The discussion around the replacement of man with machine really boils down to the fact that all the operational data in the world is not going to do any good unless you know how to turn it into useable, actionable intelligence.
In today’s manufacturing environment we are inundated with technological advancements in machine process monitoring systems that spit out real-time data on the current mechanical and electrical condition. This may be in the form of IIOT devices or embedded sensors within the process. Data…and a lot of it is being analyzed through self-learning algorithms that will eventually dictate how best to manage our critical manufacturing assets and processes. While the future looks bright for the use of this technology, interoperability and security remain serious challenges to the broader use of this technology. OEM’s and IT will need to come to a clearer understanding on how best to standardize the communication protocols to ensure cross-sharing of data between different systems while maintaining processes that are safe from outside influences.
Till now, the people whom you have trusted to identify the same failure modes within your plant’s assets are slowly being replaced through retirement and attrition even as plants learn to do more with less, they’re losing valuable ‘tribal knowledge’. While initially, scaling back on personnel may provide an increase in a plant’s operational profitability, it is temporary. Without people who understand how to process the data available, the manufacturing process is in danger of not being able to meet the production needs leading to the loss of profitability. This loss of tribal knowledge is a concern that I believe most upper-level management has not yet considered. Experience tells us that we will always have a need for a highly skilled workforce to perform the repairs even if aspects of the data gathering are automated. A blended approach is needed to merge the capabilities of the technology advances and the present workforce available. Manufacturing should consider partnering with their local educational and technical schools to ensure the skills they require now and into the future, are being addressed with the people coming out of these institutions.
Organizations like The Mike Rowe Foundation have pioneered this message and are doing what they can to educate industry, the underemployed and the public at large. Their message is shared by IVC Technologies that if we combine hands-on training and knowledge on the advancements in new technology, only then we can be assured that we have positioned ourselves to best manage our great American manufacturing processes across industries.