i
Feature:
Social innovation
When we talk about the Internet of Things (IoT), we tend to think of connected
homes and smart devices making our lives easier and more efficient through
the use of technology. However, when the same technology is applied to
manufacturing, the potential for improvements are immense; from optimising
entire supply chains, predictive analytics which identify problems before they
happen to reducing energy costs at an individual manufacturing site. By Klaus
Dieter Rennert, Hitachi, Ltd.
react and respond to unexpected events.
This heightened understanding will help
them to prolong the life span of their
assets, reduce waste of scarce resources
and also potentially shorten the time to
market for their products.
efficiency through data analytics. Land
and Water Group Plant Hire is using
Hitachi’s Global e-Service to enable
its customers to reduce their negative
impact on the environment and also
reduce and control costs for the
operators – a critical requirement for
The latest IDC Manufacturing Insights
small and local businesses. By giving
Report looked at prospects for
operators a full, clear picture of the
manufacturers and found that IoT
logistics, performance and condition
applications for processes and products of their construction fleets through
are fundamental to future prosperity.
a centralised and connected service
It also found that manufacturers have
Hitachi is empowering operators to have
high expectations for the IoT’s impact on the information they need to meet their
lowering operational costs. The report
deadlines and budgets.
predicts that by 2020 at least half of all
corporate processes will have automated The adoption of smarter systems helps
data acquisition (DAQ) systems, while
users identify inefficiencies and enables
a quarter will have self-correction
the users to take corrective action. Once
capabilities.
inefficiencies in a system are eliminated
businesses can take the resulting savings
To deliver on the promise of Industry
and invest in the future growth of their
4.0, existing enterprise systems must
business. Savings are not always simply
be modified so that they can interface
financial. A smart system can also save
with and monitor IoT sensor-based
time, reduce stress on equipment or
technology. With a host of disparate
optimize a labour workforce. In effect,
manufacturing, logistics, procurement,
a smart system, offering such tools
order, and other systems already in place as predictive analytics inventory and
that must also be integrated into a single supply chain visibility can help reduce
system to any manufacturing executive
the costs associated with expected risks
this task can appear daunting.
in a system.
In Europe, the Global e-service provided
by Hitachi uses IT integration to
allow asset owners to be more aware
of the current state of their assets.
E-service helps monitor and collect
data from a fleet of plant equipment,
thereby enabling optimal resource
This is a key effect of Industry 4.0 and
Social Innovation. Hitachi is approaching
Industry 4.0 with alacrity because
when technological advances, industry
trends and social need combine, the
opportunity for shared value is at its
greatest. AD
africandesignmagazine.com
75