Beyond the Blind Spots: Leveraging IIoT to Illuminate Your Manufacturing Processes

Manufacturers invest significant time, effort, and money in digital transformation, aiming to align factory networks optimally. However, many get stuck in pilot purgatory or end up with incompatible technology setups, hindering operational efficiency.

Studies indicate such misaligned infrastructure can reduce revenue by 5-10%, exacerbated by data silo issues adding another 12%. This misalignment is particularly costly when we consider that unplanned downtime costs manufacturing companies US$50 billion per year and can cost the world’s largest 500 companies US$1.4 trillion annually, representing 11 percent of revenues.

In heavy industries like automotive or oil and gas, every hour of downtime can cost US$2.3 million to US$59 million. These figures underscore why integrating IoT in manufacturing with the right technology stack is not just a nice‑to‑have; it’s a necessity. 

With the advent of Industrial IoT edge solutions, industry leaders unanimously hail its deterministic outcomes. Imagine a production line so efficient it identifies anomalies, conducts root cause analyses to prevent machine failures or downtime in real-time, slashes labour-intensive processes, boosts productivity, and cuts maintenance costs by 30 to 50%. This, my friends, is the groundbreaking force of IoT, and I want you to know that it's revolutionary. 

From Order Lifecycle to Robust Supply Chain: Addressing Blind Spots 

Conventional production monitoring often leaves critical data unstructured, relying on manual collection that leads to delays and inconsistencies. Fragmented unstructured data impedes pattern recognition and root cause identification. The reactive maintenance ordeal, where we fail to predict equipment failures, is unsustainable, leading to costly downtime and dissatisfied clients. 

Here's where IoT steps in to remedy critical facets of your manufacturing production line and supply chain. Strategically positioned IoT sensors become your eyes and ears, continuously gathering data on equipment performance, resource usage, and environmental impacts.

Imagine temperature sensors monitoring machines for indications of overheating, forestalling breakdowns, or tracking energy utilization across manufacturing stages to pinpoint areas for improvement.

This comprehensive data provides clear visibility of the entire production ecosystem. Equally, the order lifecycle is streamlined from material loading and dispatch to material traceability, leading to fast production and supply chain mobility. 

Navigating AI for the Future of Smart Manufacturing 

Industrial Edge, combined with AI-enabled automation, is the key to the future of smart manufacturing. By leveraging AI and MLOps, sensor data is transformed into actionable insights, empowering informed decision-making. This boosts production, minimises material loss, ensures workplace safety, improves product quality, and enhances agility and responsiveness in today's competitive market. Filling the blind spots could help manufacturers achieve: 

• 1. Predictive Maintenance: Anticipating equipment failures before they occur enables proactive maintenance and maximizes uptime.
• Digital predictive maintenance can increase asset availability by 5–15% and reduce maintenance costs by 18–25%, delivering significant ROI. Studies also show that companies using IoT‑enabled predictive maintenance reduced unplanned downtime from 39 hours per month in 2019 to 27 hours per month in 2024. 

• 2. Resource Optimization: Identifying bottlenecks and optimizing resource allocation for a smoother production flow. About 55% of companies now use IoT for energy monitoring, and 35% of EU manufacturers rely on it to manage energy consumption, saving costs and reducing their carbon footprint. 

• 3. Smart Manufacturing: Integrating IoT with AI and edge computing creates a truly smart manufacturing environment, allowing for real-time process adjustments and continuous improvement. 

• The number of IIoT devices is expected to reach 152 million by 2025, and the 5G industrial IoT market is estimated to reach US$9.41 billion by 2031. These advances provide ultra‑low latency and bandwidth for AI‑driven edge analytics. 

   4. Supply Chain Optimization: Extending the benefits of IoT beyond the factory floor streamlines the supply chain, enabling faster order fulfilment, improved fleet management, and real-time asset tracking. 

• IoT‑enabled asset tracking and monitoring markets are growing at a 12.5% annual rate, and 70% of mining companies report improved customer experience from IoT adoption. These insights enable faster order fulfillment, improved fleet management and equipment failure prediction across the value chain. 

• 5. Improved CX & EX: By ensuring efficient production and on-time delivery, you can elevate customer satisfaction. 

Many manufacturers suffer graver consequences from choosing the wrong or poor technology stack, ending up with weak ROI. A recent survey conducted by Capterra reported that 54% of manufacturers plan to increase tech spending by at least 10% in 2024, but around 47% fail to identify the right tech partner. 

Mastek: A Trusted Partner Illuminating Your Manufacturing Processes 

Mastek's Edge IoT solutions, powered by the Volteo Edge platform, are designed to propel manufacturing factory lines towards Industry 4.0, a future characterized by interoperability, automation, and real-time data insights. Edge intelligence, coupled with our Cloud expertise & AI analytics, enables you to swiftly navigate data-informed optimizations across the edge-to-cloud spectrum. 

Mastek’s collaboration with Yanbu Cement Company (YCC) exemplifies its unwavering commitment to the Industrial IoT space. With Edge IoT capabilities alongside Oracle expertise, Mastek is spearheading its digital transformation journey. By delivering operational resilience and optimally aligning people, processes, and devices, Mastek aims to chart a course towards smart & sustainable industry development. 

The Future of Manufacturing & IIoT Market is Exciting! 

Beyond these blind spots, I foresee the exciting future of manufacturing and the Industrial IoT market, as AI and 5G connectivity make the competition fierce. We focus on assisting organizations with IoT integration to help them achieve a future-proof, effective, and data-driven manufacturing landscape. By leveraging CX, EX & connected enterprise solutions, Mastek will help you integrate machines, processes, and departments through a digital framework, streamlining workflows, improving communication, increasing operational efficiency, reducing the carbon footprint, and enabling better decision-making. 

This potential is already being realized. Studies show that 73% of companies in the energy sector report better decision‑making and reduced downtime thanks to IoT, while almost 90% of manufacturing CEOs believe that IT–OT convergence through IIoT helps companies save money and resources. With the Asia‑Pacific IIoT market projected to grow at over 26% annually through 2030 - the opportunity ahead is immense. 

With strong proof points in delivering outcomes and a sharp understanding of what the client really needs, Mastek aims to expand its Industrial Edge offerings and contribute to the revolutionary journey. 

Join the revolutionary journey with Mastek! Get in touch with us to discuss your IoT journey: https://www.mastek.com/contact-us/