Page 58 - Retail World March 2021

INDUSTRY 4.0 FROM PAGE 55 Big things start small Businesses exploring the use of IIoT in their facility would be wise to talk to an organisation with experience in IIoT deployment. While it’s tempting to go it alone, there are common mistakes that can be easily be avoided by following a proven process. “When we embark on an IIoT project, our first question will always be, ‘Who needs what data?’” Mr Wallace said. “Is it your customer that needs the data? Is it yourselves on the manufacturing side? Or is it the supply chain? The only way to find out is to speak to the stakeholders. “Go to the production people, the customers, the operators and anyone else involved, perhaps even your suppliers, and ask them, ‘Who needs what data?’. “From the answers received, we’ll have a good idea of who wants to know what, and we’ll be able to begin narrowing it down a little bit. We’ll decide what information is more productive and hits the target we’re looking at, and also which bits of information aren’t so important right now. “When you begin looking at the various options, my advice is always, ‘pick one and start small’. It’s important that customers only ever start with one application in one area, and nothing more. “It could be a problem point where you don’t have visibility, and it doesn’t need to be the biggest problem you face. What matters is choosing an area where you’ll be gaining a high level of visibility and meaningful, useable data.” Having chosen a suitable area, Mr Wallace encourages the customer to focus only on that area, so it proves to be a success. “When that happens, it snowballs into other areas,” he said. “We’ve learned that getting carried away and trying to install across multiple areas, so you become an IIoT factory in one go, doesn’t succeed. It becomes too big, too quickly and takes too much effort and investment. “Repeating what you have done on one machine across another 50 is much easier if your deployment on the 1st machine is a proven success and you understand the ROI.” Making it real When IIoT projects fail, it’s not usually 56 RETAIL WORLD MAR, 2021 the technologies that are the problem. Often, it’s a failure to integrate people and processes with the automation. “I really am excited to see how technology can be used as an enabler to better orchestrate people and processes with automation,” Ms Wong said. “In the early days of IIoT, when Siemens talked about digital transformation, we were very focused on IoT and technology. What we’re realising is we need to also include people and bring them on the journey. “Today, when Siemens is involved in IIoT projects, we deliberately take a step back, so we can look at the people and the processes in the manufacturing setup. “By doing this, we begin to understand how those people and processes are interacting with the machines. We can see where they need data to make decisions, and we can also identify where they have blind spots. “Identifying blind spots in how they run their processes guides us to the areas where extra visibility or transparency is needed, whether it be through sensors or whatever else may be appropriate.” The onward journey While the technologies and knowledge around IIoT have been evolving, so too has the need for data visibility beyond a factory’s walls. With many factories now monitoring multiple facets of their production processes, adjusting speed, temperature, and various other conditions as required, there’s a growing need to have the same level of visibility throughout the entire journey to a retailer’s shelf. GS1 Australia is working to encourage the adoption of shared unique identification standards that will enable end-to-end supply chain visibility for partner organisations. When there’s compatibility between a factory’s and its supply chain partner’s systems, we improve product safety, meet regulatory requirements, ensure product authenticity and provenance, and create an optimised and adaptable supply chain. “If you have an item with, for example, a motion sensor or a heat sensor attached, it’s useful if the data from that device can be read, not only by the factory’s system, but also by the systems used by the factory’s supply chain partners, when the product is despatched,” GS1 Chief Customer Officer Marcel Sieira said. “Sometimes, a sensor is attached to an individual product, but most often sensors are attached to a container or a crate. With the information collected by the sensor eventually getting stored in a database, at some point in time it needs to be shared with others in the supply chain. If it isn’t stored in a format their systems can read, those supply chain partners are unable to use that data. “For example, the cherry farmer putting a sensor in the crate for temperature monitoring and quality control of his produce, wants his transport provider and retail customer to have access to the data to support their own processes.” Proof of concept For those with doubts about the potential of IIoT implementation, Balluff Australia has developed an IIoT starter kit, so smaller companies can gain proof of concept for the initiatives being considered. “It’s essentially a small controller inside a box, into which you can plug some sensors,” Mr Wallace said. “It’s preprogramed and supplied with a level sensor, so you can simply plug it into your 240 volt or 24-volt power supply and immediately start to collect data on the levels you want to monitor. It also talks to the internet, so you can access that data on a browser from a remote location with internet connectivity. “The kit is also set up for a condition monitoring sensor which, when fitted, will record things like vibration, temperature, humidity and ambient pressure. “It can be supplied for a couple of thousand dollars, so, while it’s not really an industrial controller, it’s low cost and certainly good enough for proof-of- concept purposes.” Perform at your level best Levels are just one of the many different variables measured using IIoT, and manufacturers not yet embracing IIoT opportunities may benefit by measuring their own level against their competition. While once considered next-level technology, IIoT enablement is today’s accepted norm. Could it also be the platform you’ll use to rise to today’s challenges and thrive in an increasingly demanding sector?