18 Jul Workforce 2024: Industrial Data Flow from Machine Assets

Workforce Edition culminated with a session on the Industrial Data Flow from Machine Assets and the growing complexity of data in factories from Binil Starly, Director of the School of Manufacturing Systems and Network, ASU.

The growing intricacies of the factory include a number of smart machine assets such as smart inspection cameras, sensors, IT systems, online inspection and a range of networked devices. To further add to the mix, these devices need to talk to other devices, and assets coming from different vendors will likely have different methods of organization.

Growing Intricacies

This complexity creates a strong business case for creating an ecosystem of partners with common interfaces. An accepted ecosystem can also make it easier for others to adopt, helping to create a model of smart manufacturing that’s more accessible to more manufacturers.

Smart manufacturing, also known as Industry 4.0, Industrial IoT, digital manufacturing, digital factories, smart factories and cloud manufacturing, creates an environment that is both open and operable, offering the ability for machines to talk to another with open interfaces. Smart manufacturing must be scalable as well as resilient, proactive and in real time. It relies on the selection of vendors that allow for interoperability with machines that are sustainable and energy efficient. Security, which was often an afterthought in older protocols, is also critical.

In level 2 industrial data flow of Industrial IoT – MQTT, security becomes more important. In MQTT, various machine assets are working with various vendors. In ISA-95 architecture a company can have multiple systems (5-layer architecture). Factories must determine how the data is moving outside of the factory network or if there is a direct connection to the cloud.

Bringing smart manufacturing to life in the factory requires a considered and multi-faceted approach, one that relies on collaboration and foresight for organization at the people level.