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The Industrial Internet of Things allows companies to tap into more data than ever before. by stu Johnson
If you talk to anyone in manufacturing today about the future of the industry, you're likely to hear a quizzical, "Do you mean Industry 4.0?"
Industry 4.0 got its name from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which brings together the automation from previous industrial revolutions with digital data from rapidly emerging technologies like sensors and advanced analytic techniques into what is being called "cyber-physical systems." This evolution is causing the digital transformation of modern business in products, manufacturing, and supply chains. Today, companies are about to gain access to more data which in turn will help them make more informed strategic decisions about their businesses.
THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY- AND THE INHERENT DISCONNECT
If you look at any survey taken of manufacturers, the top priority is almost always to improve quality. End customers demand quality products so OEMs demand quality performance all the way down their supply chains. In today's manufacturing environment, there's no tolerance for delivering anything but a quality product. The risk to the company's reputation is too great.
There is often a disconnect on the importance of quality with executives at manufacturing companies, however. Traditionally, quality has been considered a function of the quality department, not of the entire organization. In this paradigm, since quality has been grouped under production, budgets to fund quality management systems go by the wayside for more or better production machines. This same department often gets passed over, relegated to only a policing function, responsible for catching bad parts before they get shipped to customers. Avoiding the cost becomes important in producing qual - ity parts, but the quality department doesn't get the funding needed to avoid making bad parts, just plenty to contin - ue finding those that have already been produced. Investing in processes and tools to ensure first-time quality has historically been...