Page 57 - Retail World March 2021

around, ‘What can I do with regards to automation technology?’ and ‘How can I take advantage of the solutions on offer to help me get through this?’,” Ms Wong said. “I believe they’re right to be asking these questions, because future disruption is to be expected. The new normal is going to be an ever-evolving landscape of potholes, with frequent unexpected challenges and bigger demands being made on manufacturers to produce a high-quality product, on time, on budget and with less wastage. “Yes, those demands have always been there, but if anything, I believe they’re going to be increasing.” What’s stopping you? With IIoT offering solutions to many of the problems manufacturers face, one wonders why there are companies ignoring the opportunity, and choosing to continue with their tried, trusted – and perhaps tired – systems and processes. According to Ms Wong, over the past 12 months in her interactions with businesses about IIoT and digital transformation, she has heard a range of concerns, most of which relate to one of three concerns. “Some customers think implementing a change is going to slow them down when they’re already behind schedule,” she said. “Others think the technology is all new, unproven and uncertain, so there’s no guaranteed return on investment. There are also those who believe they’ll have to learn new things by themselves, and probably have to change the way they work, when instead they’d prefer more stability.” While the concerns seem real to the people sharing them, their perceptions can be challenged. On the concern ‘implementing IIoT slows me down’: • Many plants already have sensors and controllers installed, but just aren’t collecting the data. • An IIoT gateway can be easily installed during a shutdown/maintenance window with no disruption to production. • Many suppliers have plug-and- play gateways, such as Siemens MindSphere, supporting connection to existing controllers via OPC UA, Modbus TCP, S7 and Ethernet IP. • Once physically installed, connection set-up and onboarding can be done remotely. • Dashboards can typically be customised, such as ‘EasyDash’, which is built on top of open-source technologies and uses drag and drop. On ‘new, unproven technology’: • Concerns about the technology being new and unproven are often the result of not fully understanding what is being recommended. There are thousands of use cases demonstrating significant ROI, so ask if you’re seeking examples from similar installations. On ‘disruption and difficulty’: • Concerns over the learning curve are unwarranted, as initial IIoT installations should always be simple and small, while providing data customised to suit the user’s needs. The main difference is that the data is gathered every few milliseconds, constantly visible and immediately useable, rather than being gathered twice daily, and entered in a spreadsheet for future analysis. TO PAGE 56 INDUSTRY 4.0 Smart Media Product content made easy Ingredients and nutritional information How do customers view your brand online? Do they have all the information they need to pick your product? Smart Media’s Content Creation service provides you with everything your customer needs. Country of origin Marketing Messages EMAIL: services@gs1au.org MAR, 2021 RETAIL WORLD 55