Now to define the levels of connection for an Industry 3.0 facility so that one can create the Road Map to Industry 4.0 capability. The understanding of how facilities networks are established in the OT and IT spaces is important. The focus here is on the OT network collection of Data to be presented to the Cloud. The descriptions here simplify the connection of the OT/IT network to a single point allowing the focus to be on the value of connections.
Defining the Manufacturing OT Netowrk Level
A facility that is modern in machine will also need to be defined in level of Network Status. The levels here will be designated as steps in the Industry 3.0 to 4.0 journey.
- Industry 3.0 Facility – PLC controlled machines separated in cells or pods
- Industry 3.3 Facility – PLC Controlled with system level Data.
- Industry 3.6 Facility – Networked Cells in sharing Data.
- Industry 3.9 Facility – Centralized Database where Data is available across platforms.
Industry 3.0 Facility and Industry 3.3 Facility
Modern facilities have machines and systems that are automated but may not directly connect to other systems and the interaction between those tools are dependent on the Operator. This figure shows each device on the floor represented and data that is believed to be important collected by the operator and added to a clipboard.
As technology advances, as this graphic shows, the Lines or Cells on the floor share data and control within themselves but continue to have the data collected by hand. The data collected is exactly what is asked for by the author of the daily sheet or excel table. There is information that may be relevant but is not collected. Efficiency and quality checks are potentially lost because the information to make the decisions is not available.
Industry 3.6 Facility
As the technology of a facility grows, each Line, Machine, Cell is no longer an island but a connected part of the factory. Data can be collected, sometimes aggregated like the graphic below shows. This data may be used by departments to determine costs, losses, quality, and the like. It is not necessarily the whole picture or the whole data set. Again, the data collected is exactly what is asked for in the databases collecting the data.
This type of a facility is likely to have some information passed on to the Cloud. There data can be shared back in developed Dashboards. This is an advanced system and one to be applauded. With appropriate management and selection of specific data one can develop Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) that will find savings that can create significant ROI.
Industry 3.9 Facility
Industry 4.0 is different in that it collects all available data and then uses an Artificial Intelligence (AI) to find patterns in the data that can be applied in a manner where the system is self-correcting for supply or labor patterns.
A facility that is defined as an Industry 3.9 Facility is one that is ready for leveraging that type of analytics. Data from each of the departments on the OT network components can be then compounded, as this figure showns, when appropriate data points are selected the OEE calculations can be utilized along with data like Online Sales or Supply Logistics. This information can be used to define appropriate work schedules or opportunities for maintenance.
Industry 4.0 – the Promise
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning refer to technology that will change more than the Manufacturing Industry but can be applied with great returns. With a facility that has been prepared with the Industry 3.9 foundational network the Client will be poised to take advantage of updates in technology provides.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) leveraging Cloud Computing that can eventually begin to identify inefficiency or predict failure so that Operation is at peak available efficiency or Preventative Maintenance is working with Real Time data rather than past predictive data.