July/August 2020

| 22 | July/August 2020 www.smartmachinesandfactories.com | STRATEGIES | evaluated, planned or already deployed respectively. Already in place in most advanced factories across Europe are asset performance management, predictive maintenance, digital quality control and the Digital Twin. Whilst these are all internal capabilities, they do have a profound effect on the external capabilities of a manufacturer. The Digital Twin for example saves manufacturers money with instant troubleshooting and feeding data back to the product development team. This allows for faster modelling, change-overs and improved research and development speed. Giving manufacturers the tools to better adapt to the changing needs of the customer and the flexibility to react quickly to events. There is one element that binds all of the capabilities of the Smart Factory together, which leads us on to an interesting result of the survey. Data (make the most of what you have got) Smart machines and connected devices produce an abundance of data. Using this data in one way or another to aid operations, both internal and external, is the driving force behind Smart Factory deployment. But the survey has raised an interesting question, are we using the data already available to us? Surprisingly, across Europe only a quarter (28%) of factories are analysing and usng the data gained from Smart Factory deployments. Whilst a further 29% are planning to use this data over the next three years, this leaves 41% not yet planning to use this data at all. Delving even further, we can see that only 9% of factories are using 76- 100% of the data collected. Conclusion Analysing the results of this Europe- wide survey show a customer-centric future, where customisation and real- time monitoring are offered as standard, and new business models are being developed. The discerning customer continues to demand more from the manufacturing process and this only increases expectations. Manufacturers are adopting Smart Factory initiatives to remain competitive and meet the needs of their markets. To reach this data-driven manufacturing process there is still room for improvement especially concerning the use of existing data collected by smart devices. Whilst factories may not be using all the data they have to hand, those that do will be more agile, efficient and competitive than those that don’t. It can be overwhelming assessing all the capabilities of the Smart Factory and cost will always be a barrier to new technology deployments. As mentioned in part one, over half (58%) see cost as the barrier to deployment. So, it is wise to start small and take analysis right to the plant-floor with Edge Computing. By deploying an Edge Computing platform, manufacturers can make improvements with very little investment and alteration of the production process. Stratus Technologies For leaders digitally transforming their operations in order to drive predictable, peak performance with minimal risk, Stratus ensures the continuous availability of business-critical applications by delivering zero- touch Edge Computing platforms that are simple to deploy and maintain, protected from interruptions and threats, and autonomous. For 40 years, we have provided reliable and redundant zero-touch computing, enabling global Fortune 500 companies and small-to-medium sized businesses to securely and remotely turn data into actionable intelligence at the Edge, cloud and data centre – driving uptime and efficiency. For more information, please visit www.stratus.com or follow on Twitter @StratusAlwaysOn and LinkedIn @StratusTechnologies. Figure 4