The whole world it seems has developed a case of “Big Data” fever. Within the world of business, it seems to be the talking point on everyone’s lips regardless of nature or vertical in which they operate. Today’s guest blog comes from our UK partner Glantus
For many it is a new and exciting concept but truth be told, Big Data did not appear overnight. It has been evolving over many years with the volumes of data being able to be collected steadily growing. The key factor that is making it a true driving force of strategy and development for businesses today, is the value that we are able to get from all of those ones and zeros.
The impact of this on the manufacturing industry is huge – it is allowing manufacturers to think bigger, open new worlds of analytics, and most importantly, work smarter than ever before. Here are just a few examples of how this is being achieved…
Proactively Monitor Product Quality
The world around us is constantly getting smarter. We now have access to tools such as Cloud Computing, Cloud Data Storage and IoT (Internet of Things). All of which have created huge opportunities for manufacturers; allowing them to use the masses of data they collect on a daily basis to keep a much closer eye (or ear) on important metrics such as manufacturing output or even product quality.
In fact, Big Data doesn’t just reassure manufacturers themselves that they are producing high quality products, it also convinces their customers. With the aid of data collection and analysis tools, it is now easier than ever for manufacturers to provide customers with an incredible breadth of data on their products’ assembly and testing, allowing customers to immediately ascertain the products lasting value. And we think most buyers would agree, hard data about a products performance aids their decision making process far more than any marketing ploy.
If we take a moment to think about where these developments are taking us, the implications on the manufacturing shop floor are huge. Manufacturers will soon be able to eradicate painstaking and time consuming statistical process control procedures from their quality control process, and instead replace it with much more affordable technology and sensors that are capable of gathering real time data from every item that comes off the assembly line. Not only will this save valuable man hours but it will also reduce the risk of incorrect data by human error.
Seeing the future, and having the power to change it
Operational analytics have served the manufacturing industry well for decades – they are extremely useful in telling us what has just happened and why. Predictive analytics however, made available by the power of big data, tell us what is about to happen. This could be in the form of the machine letting us know when a tool is about to break or when a component needs changing before it starts malfunctioning and impacting upon the quality of your products.
When combined with prescriptive analytics (showing how to make machines do what we want), these disciplines are fast becoming the most talked about weapons in your BI arsenal. The capabilities of this technology mean manufacturers are able to move away from traditional methods of predicting machine failure such as looking at the running history, maintenance / issues log or total operating hours and move to a smarter way of predicting.
The evolution of technology means we can collect and take into account other variables such as temperature & tonnage, who’s working on the machine, how long the machine shifts average, what tools are in the press, date, time and so much more that can all be factored in to make more accurate predictions of when a failure will occur.
Get Customers on-board with data collection
Big data need not stop at the exit door of your business; manufacturers who are truly reaping the benefits of big data are those who are utilising its powers to collect data from not only their own sites, but those of their customers too.
With the advancement in sensor technology, it is now becoming more and more cost efficient for manufacturers to embed sensors into products they deliver to customers (and the value of the data you collect truly justifies the investment). By lengthening the quality control process past the purchase stage and even to throughout the life-cycle of a product, manufacturers can gather valuable information that can be used to enhance performance, design and product life span.