Much of the data a connected factory produces shares a common character: it is a sequence of measurements taken over time. This time-series data is the raw material of monitoring and analysis, and understanding its nature helps in making sense…
The old computing adage, garbage in, garbage out, applies with full force to the connected factory. No matter how sophisticated the analysis or how impressive the dashboards, conclusions drawn from poor data are poor conclusions. Data quality is the unglamorous…
One of the most practical benefits of a connected factory is the ability to see how equipment is performing without being physically present. Remote monitoring means knowing the state of machines from afar, and it changes how equipment is managed,…
Maintenance in most factories has evolved, or has the opportunity to evolve, along a path from simply fixing what breaks toward anticipating and preventing failures. Understanding this journey from reactive to predictive maintenance clarifies where a factory stands and what…
Many factories begin their digital journey with a pilot: a small, focused project to prove the value of connectivity and data. Pilots are wise, but they raise a challenge when they succeed. Scaling from a promising pilot to the whole…
Discussions of the connected factory often invoke the cloud, sometimes as an inevitability and sometimes as a concern. In truth, the relationship between the cloud and the factory floor is a matter of sensible design, not dogma. Understanding what the…
The term digital twin has become popular in manufacturing, sometimes wrapped in more mystique than it deserves. At its core, the idea is straightforward and genuinely useful: a digital representation of a physical thing, kept in step with reality through…
Every industrial IoT system, however sophisticated, rests on a simple foundation: sensors that measure the physical world. All the connectivity, analysis, and insight that follow depend entirely on the quality of what these sensors detect. Understanding their central role keeps…
One of the biggest obstacles to digitalising a factory is that much of its equipment predates the digital age. These legacy machines are often reliable and productive, but they were never designed to share data. Connecting them to modern systems…
Energy is a major cost in manufacturing, yet in many factories its use is poorly understood, hidden within a single bill. Connected devices change this by measuring energy use in detail and making it visible. This connected energy monitoring is…