February 13, 2024
With Industry 4.0 and the rise of smart factories, manufacturers are leveraging data and analytics more than ever. Global spending on smart manufacturing solutions is expected to reach $650 billion by 2029.1 As technology continues to disrupt the industry, manufacturing companies must embrace interconnectivity and data-driven production processes to keep up.
Manufacturing analytics provides real-time insights into production, revolutionizing operations and providing a true competitive advantage for manufacturers. Read on to learn how manufacturing analytics can transform your data into operational intelligence to elevate your business.
What Is Manufacturing Analytics?
Manufacturing analytics uses machine and operations data to gain insights and optimize manufacturing processes. It relies on technologies like Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors, cloud computing, and machine learning to collect and analyze real-time production data.
Manufacturing analytics provides contextual awareness for every area of manufacturing – including supply chain, inventory, quality, maintenance, and more. With real-time analytics, manufacturers can detect issues instantly, predict problems before they occur, and make better-informed decisions.
What Are the Benefits of Manufacturing Analytics?
Manufacturing analytics delivers transformative value across all aspects of operations. By leveraging real-time data and business intelligence, manufacturers can cut costs, enhance quality, improve operational efficiency, and boost profits. Some of the key benefits provided by manufacturing analytics include:
Reduced Downtime
44% of manufacturing workers say unexpected machine downtime is the biggest risk to meeting production targets.2 Manufacturing analytics enables predictive maintenance, where IIoT sensors provide early warning signs of production equipment failures before they occur. This prevents unplanned downtime and allows for scheduled preventive maintenance and repairs when optimal. Real-time monitoring also optimizes manufacturing processes like production scheduling and inventory management.
Better Quality Control
Data analytics improve quality control through product optimization, defect analysis, and anomaly detection. Machine data identifies defects and production issues as they arise, reducing scrap and waste. Analytics also examine sensor, customer, and product data to optimize design and quality.
Supply Chain Optimizations
Supply chain disruptions are the most pressing challenge for over 56% of manufacturers.[2] Manufacturing analytics software provides end-to-end visibility across the supply chain, enabling inventory optimization, predictive demand planning, logistics monitoring, and risk management.
Data-Driven Decision Making
With a 360-degree view of operations, manufacturers can leverage analytics tools for faster, better decision-making across teams. Analytics uncovers data-driven insights for everything from new product development to sales forecasting and price optimization.
Manufacturing Process Improvements
60% of manufacturers ranked data analytics as a major technology for increasing operational efficiency in 2023.3 Analytics for manufacturing processes help organizations identify areas of improvement, such as bottlenecks, quality issues, and optimization opportunities. With total production visibility, manufacturers can see where cycle times slow, costs increase, and processes underperform.
Manufacturing Analytics Use Cases for Businesses
Some of the top applications for manufacturing analytics include:
Predictive Maintenance
Analytics platforms use IIoT sensors, equipment data, and machine learning to predict hardware failures before they occur and minimize downtime and disruption. Manufacturing analytics detects anomalies and reveals insights to optimize maintenance scheduling.
Quality Monitoring
By leveraging sensor data and testing feedback in real time, manufacturers can identify quality issues as they arise. Data analytics platforms perform constant analysis during production to reduce defects and improve yields.
Production Planning & Scheduling
83% of manufacturers believe smart manufacturing solutions will transform how products are made in the next five years.4 Manufacturing data analytics platforms leverage machine throughput, cycle times, and operator schedules to optimize production plans, ensuring on-time delivery of orders in the most efficient, cost-effective manner.
Inventory Optimization
With demand forecasting, supply chain visibility, and inventory modeling, manufacturers can align stock levels with production needs. Manufacturing data analytics can help teams prevent overstocking while avoiding shortages that lead to missed deliveries for the end customer.
What Are the Goals of Manufacturing Analytics?
The goal of manufacturing analytics software is to transform data into actionable insights that drive measurable business impact. More specifically, leveraging manufacturing data analytics helps manufacturers:
Solve Problems Proactively
By analyzing data collected from sensors, machines, and operations, manufacturing data analytics can detect issues before they cause downtime or quality failures. Instead of reacting to an equipment failure, manufacturers can prevent issues through predictive maintenance and real-time process adjustments.
Break Down Data Silos
Manufacturing data often resides in disconnected systems and functional silos. Analytics consolidates historical data from across the factory, supply chain, inventory, and more. With integrated data on a single analytics platform, manufacturers break down silos to gain complete visibility and make decisions based on a unified view of operations.
Enable Faster, Better Decisions
Manufacturing analytics makes it easier for operations teams to detect issues, identify root causes, and respond instantly. Plus, executives can optimize plans based on revealing demand forecasts, production capabilities, and market conditions. By accelerating critical decision-making at all levels, analytics drives responsiveness, agility, and continuous improvement.
Drive Automation Through AI
Advanced analytics and artificial intelligence will enable the autonomous smart factory. Once algorithms have analyzed enough data to create optimized models, they can automate rules for maintenance, inventory, scheduling, and more. AI and machine learning will eventually allow systems to self-adjust parameters, predict outcomes, and take actions with minimal human input.
Increase Profitability
The biggest goal of manufacturing analytics is to improve key performance indicators like quality, throughput, asset utilization, and operational efficiency. These solutions help most manufacturers see significant gains in profitability, competitiveness, and market share by optimizing production while reducing costs.
Implementing a Manufacturing Analytics Solution
To leverage the full potential of data analytics, consider implementing an integrated software solution that collects, analyzes, and visualizes data generated from across your manufacturing operations. Keep an eye out for these essential capabilities:
- Data Connectivity - Collects and standardizes data from sensors, PLCs, SCADA, MES, ERP, supply chain, and more.
- Edge Analytics - Runs analytics at the edge for real-time monitoring, notifications, and control.
- Cloud Analytics - Leverages scalable cloud computing for high-performance modeling and analysis.
- AI and Machine Learning - Enables predictive analytics, prescriptive guidance, and continuous learning from data.
- Advanced Visualization - Provides real-time operational visibility via interactive dashboards, alerts, and customizable reports.
- Collaboration Tools - Allows users to share insights across the organization.
Revolutionize Your Operations With Manufacturing Analytics
For modern manufacturing companies, advanced analytics are critical for competing in the new industrial revolution. With data-driven insights powering everything from maintenance to supply chain management, your organization can optimize processes, improve customer satisfaction, drive revenue growth, and more. But while manufacturing analytics delivers significant benefits, it requires the right expertise to deploy effectively.
The only technology provider in the Midwest specializing in manufacturing, Andromeda is here to implement and manage the solutions your organization needs to stay competitive. We've helped 2,500+ clients keep their businesses connected and secure during our 29-year history with IT services and support tailored to the manufacturing industry. Ready to learn more about how the Andromeda team can help you get started with technologies that improve your manufacturing process? Book a meeting today.
Sources:
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1358538/global-smart-manufacturing-market-value
- https://venturebeat.com/business/report-manufacturers-say-unexpected-equipment-failure-is-the-biggest-risk-to-meeting-production-targets
- https://konektio.com/2023/03/the-importance-of-data-in-manufacturing-in-2023
- https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/manufacturing/manufacturing-industry-outlook.html
