There is data in virtually every corner of your operation - the machines, materials, WIP, inventory, tools, people, and business systems.
The tricky part is not necessarily collection. The tricky part is connecting this data and making it useful in real time. A company may have its ERP, MES, warehouse, IoT, RFID, and analytics all installed but still struggle with a very basic question:
What is happening on the factory floor right now?
This is the reason why connected manufacturing architectures become an interesting topic.
The manufacturing visibility challenge
For simple example environments:
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ERP
Orders
Inventory
Resources
MES
Production
WIP
Shop Floor
IoT
Sensors
Systems
Data Platform
Analytics / AI
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Information resides at all of these levels. However, without significant connectivity, teams often rely on manually updated spreadsheets and other disparate reports.
So what is real-time visibility?
Real time visibility isn't a dashboard. It's the ability to understand what is happening in your operation as it unfolds. Some key questions it can answer:
What is the location of a specific piece of WIP?
Where is a critical tool, fixture, or jig?
What is the quantity of inventory actually on hand and where is it located?
At what production stage is a part?
Where are the delays happening and why?
Is what I see physically on the factory floor represented accurately in my digital records?
The answers can require integrating data from the physical and digital world.
Use RFID, BLE and UWB to gain visibility
There are several technologies which could be used to help provide this level of real time visibility:
RFID
RFID technologies allow for Identification of tagged items as they pass near a reader at various locations throughout a facility. RFID is an identification technology, not a precision positioning technology per se, but RFID at key choke points, gateways, and locations throughout the factory floor can bring value.
BLE
The Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol can be used to create a more granular location aware system when paired with Bluetooth beacons and readers at relevant locations on the floor. This can be useful for detecting presence and movement of assets.
UWB
Ultra-Wideband(UWB) positioning systems are used for precise positioning in a variety of applications including industrial environments where a high level of location accuracy and real-time visibility is desired.
These can be useful in providing the digital footprint of physical movements. But just having captured the footprint is only one step in a larger ecosystem.
Connect the dots from physical sensors to data platform to AI
An effective architecture requires a data layer that can consume and process data from various sources:
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RFID
BLE
UWB
IoT => Data Layer => Analytics
MES
ERP AI
Operational View
`
This layer connects the physical world with operational visibility.
Visibility for Work In Process (WIP)
Perhaps one of the best use cases is the visibility of WIP. It is not uncommon for an item or assembly to move through numerous stages of production before becoming a completed product. If movement is not logged in a reliable way, the time spent manually tracking the location of WIP can be significant. By having a real time tracking system, the movement of items can be automated, creating a real-time view of status and location.
Inventory synchronization
Visibility and sync for inventory represent another important use case. While an ERP may indicate a certain quantity of an item is in stock, that item has a physical location that may need to be verified. A connected architecture brings that physical reality more directly in to relationship with the planning systems. The gap between the two:
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Digital Inventory
-
Physical Inventory
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Can become very small or even non-existent in a well-connected system.
Tool and Equipment Tracking
Likewise, manufacturing and assembly processes rely heavily on tooling, jigs, and fixtures. Their locations and availability often require significant manual attention. Smart tracking can bring real time visibility and availability to these essential components.
Connect the data with AI
Once all of your data is coming into a single, cohesive platform, you can bring AI and advanced analytics to bear in understanding trends and identifying opportunities. The connected manufacturing architecture may look something like this:
`text
Physical Environment
Sensors & Tracking
Data Platform
Analytics
AI
Operational Intelligence
``
AI requires reliable data. Poor data quality and disparate systems hinder effective decision-making.
The data engineering challenge of manufacturing
While IoT devices are key, building the actual connected manufacturing environment is more than a simple IoT integration. Developers will need to address:
Data ingestion from multiple protocols and sources
Device management and authentication
Data aggregation and transformation
Real time stream processing
Entity resolution and identity mapping (linking physical asset to digital identity)
Timestamp alignment and standardization
Data validation and cleaning
A manufacturing plant essentially contains multiple separate systems interacting with both the digital and physical world. Architecture matters.
What Does a Connected Factory look like?
A connected factory integrates these elements in a holistic way:
ERP + MES + IoT + RFID + BLE + UWB + Analytics + AI = Comprehensive Operational Awareness
The key here is not to necessarily replace these existing systems but to create connections between their data so that manufacturing operators can form a better understanding of the entire operation. The movement is from isolated silos of data toward interconnected manufacturing intelligence.
CompentraAI Manufacturing Intelligence
At CompentraAI, we specialize in manufacturing visibility including, WIP tracking, inventory synchronization, supply chain visibility, tool tracking, workforce monitoring, and IoT analytics. We provide manufacturers with comprehensive operational visibility by connecting their physical activities and digital information in ways that drive smart decisions. Find out more: https://compentraai.com/
Final thoughts
The factory of the future is not simply a faster collection of machines. It is a far more connected data environment where physical operations can be readily observed and seamlessly integrated with the systems responsible for the planning, monitoring, and analysis of your manufacturing. The infrastructure for real-time manufacturing visibility may begin with sensors, tracking technologies and data platforms, but its ultimate value is derived from the connections to everything else in your manufacturing ecosystem.
Machines perform actions. Sensors capture their events. Data platforms organize and present them.
Humans gain understanding and make better decisions.
The success of the factory is increasingly linked to the seamless integration of this flow.
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