The Internet of Things (IoT) is a sub-sector of the higher-level concept of the Internet of Everything (IoE) which connects people, processes, data and things, with the aim of bringing maximum value to the global economy. Technologies that have made IoE a reality include short range communications, embedded intelligence, cloud computing, next-generation networks, sensor technology, Big Data, and data analytics.

The popularity of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in Asia-Pacific is largely attributable to informed manufacturing, which leads to a transparent and streamlined manufacturing process. Ivan Fernandez Industry Director, Industry Practice, Australia & New Zealand said “The top concern for discrete or process-manufacturing firms is the continuous effort to stay competitive. However, manufacturing competitiveness is not achieved by focusing on one parameter, but on a group of pertinent issues. Resource areas pertaining to people and process innovation are where manufacturing competitiveness is extensively pursued.”

“Although Europe is seen to hold a major edge in terms of industries embracing IoT, several countries in Asia Pacific such as Australia, China, India, Japan and Singapore, will adopt these technologies to improve their global standing and become more competitive. Competition will force manufacturers to innovate and adapt various aspects of their manufacturing systems.

Smart factories, considered to be the 4th industrial revolution or Industrie 4.0, will create a notable convergence of business models in manufacturing units. Embedded systems, combined with Internet connectivity and online data services, will kick-start the new era of cyber-physical systems, to enable smart factories.

Smart factories

A manufacturing plant is typically located over a large area and operates multiple machines which are difficult to manage without automation. The smooth functioning of a manufacturing plant, therefore, requires the development of an automated plant-floor with connected machines that receive and respond to orders from central control systems and human machine interfaces.

The convergence of technologies in smart factories will be focused on addressing a number of challenges such as increasing production efficiency by reducing cost and achieving the desired quality product with minimal wastage, reducing time-to-market, reducing operations and maintenance expenditure (including energy consumption), increasing asset-life and monitoring the supply chain in real-time. In the future, because of convergence, it will also not be unrealistic to expect greater use of end-customer insight in product development and customisation.

Efficient machine-to-machine (M2M) communications is the first step towards achieving the two central objectives in a manufacturing plant and those are; to transmit information for control of devices on the plant-floor and to collect data about the various processes on the plant-floor.

Advances in M2M technologies have allowed manufacturers to become even more productive and efficient in their operations via better use of machine data to make operational decisions. The presence of connected machines can promote faster identification of faults on the plant-floor, provide transparency about the status of various processes, and keep manufacturers informed, thereby helping accelerate intelligent automation of industrial processes.

An M2M infrastructure is necessary to integrate more intelligence into manufacturing processes in industrial control systems. Industrial automation (IA), particularly next-generation IA processes, will be an area where information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) domains’ convergence will progress further and lead to an industrial Internet of Things.

Plant Asset Management (PAM) technologies are shifting the next generation of performance improvements, from the current practices that are focused on preventing asset failure, towards practices focused on optimising asset performance.

However, substantial development work remains necessary, from standardisation and interoperability efforts on networks, protocols, and interfaces, to security frameworks around increasingly mission-critical infrastructure. There is significant adjustment in the information technology and communications (ICT) community to capture such opportunities, as vendors and service providers transform their traditional capabilities to fit the demands of a connected and smarter industry.

Improving the speed and reliability of communication, enforcing uniform protocols across the organisation, and maintaining a robust security platform are vital for ensuring IoT adoption. One of the biggest impediments to IoT adoption is the fear of data theft, loss of privacy, and security. This calls for greater co-operation between automation and instrumentation vendors and software development firms.

Resources sector

In mining operations, many market players have set their own legacy frameworks with technologies that include industrial networks, analytic platforms, workflow applications, and production and measurement systems that are isolated and lack the ability to address connected efficiency. Competition for the ‘connected oilfield’ is fragmented and driven by both end users and suppliers, but there is high demand for integrated operations across the oil and gas value chain.

“There is an increased demand for connected oilfield technologies to achieve overall efficiency across assets. Increased capital spending by oilfield operators in challenging unconventional oil and gas resource bases opens up significant digital oilfield market opportunities for achieving connected efficiency. A holistic solution provider, with a comprehensive product portfolio, who offers an end-to-end connected platform to host diverse applications and high-end enterprise-wide managed oilfield services, will enjoy a large and highly profitable share of the market,” concluded Fernandez.