How to Take Digital Project ‘Bites’

After attending the recent Manufacturing in America (MiA) conference in Detroit, the big takeaway was users and suppliers are still getting comfortable with data analytics, real-time monitoring and all things IIoT. The keynote session addressed many topics, including a great presentation on how KUKA Robotics was using Siemens collaborative platform and analytics — Teamcenter and Mindsphere — to accelerate project development by eliminating department silos within the company. A high-level application to say the least.

However, a conference food and beverage panel discussion revealed how many manufacturers are starting their digital transformation. Recent research conducted by PMMI Media in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, along with large food and beverage companies, shows how many enterprises are starting with predictive maintenance projects. Dave Greenfield, Editor-in-Chief of Automation World cited companies were identifying the “most costly equipment or production line and starting there with digital projects.”

CPG, food and beverage companies are feeling the pressure of dramatic consumer behavior changes, but there isn’t one specific starting point for all manufacturers. Jonas Berge, dir. of applied technology at Emerson Automation Solutions also addresses the first steps of a digital transformation and provides a fantastic blueprint via a LinkedIn post, called IIoT: Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew.

Jonas Berge provide a slide on how a company can approach a digital transformation. (Source: Jonas Berge, IIoT: Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

A critical point from Berge is a phased approach, along with small projects to get some “management” wins. Berge provides a great breakdown of the different phases in a graphical form, see above, and how a parallel methodology may be optimal.

These days everything digital tend to get lumped under IIoT whether it belongs there or not. An interesting fact is that you can implement IIoT for the plant to benefit greatly by deploying a solution implementing just a few of these technologies. By not attempting it all at once by yourself, IIoT deployment becomes so much easier. Let other departments handle the non-IIoT aspects of digital transformation. By working in parallel as smaller projects the plant can finish sooner.

>> Read the entire post here, and start brainstorming within your enterprise.