Internet of Business hosts its second annual Internet of Manufacturing conference in Munich from 7-8 February 2017, so what can attendees expect?
In a word, empowerment
As manufacturing companies start to automate and intelligently network the machines, systems and foundational technology fabric that drive their manufacturing operations, we start to understand why this movement has become known as the fourth industrial revolution (or indeed Industrie 4.0, as it is often known).
Great timing, then, for Internet of Business to host its second annual Internet of Manufacturing conference at Munich’s Hotel Kempinski from 7-8 February 2017.
Perhaps we can sum up some of the themes being tabled with one key word: empowerment. The automation of industry in the Internet of Manufacturing is not about taking power away from humans and allowing the machines to do all the work. Rather, it is about giving manufacturing workers (blue collar and white collar) the ability to become knowledge workers, via the information that devices produce.
In short, this is about solutions that will take IoT data from IoT-enabled machines and disseminate it on an enterprise-wide basis, so that manufacturing companies can gain a new level of visibility and control over asset management.
Knowledge workers
Suddenly, we find field workers becoming knowledge workers, because they have a direct line into the data flows that are responsible for the line of business (LOB) functions that they ultimately serve.
So then during this year’s Internet of Manufacturing event, we can expect to find this notion examined and explored in depth. Case studies will feature from manufacturing heavyweights, including Caterpillar, Daimler, Airbus and Siemens, to name just a few.
Top challenges
The conference itself will set out key challenges as follows:
- How do we maximize the profitability of a connected product business model – how can IoT drive business growth and innovation?
- Intelligent factories – how can IoT increase production efficiency and quality?
- The data-driven enterprise – how to use IoT data to fuel insightful decisions and deliver customer value
- Industrie 4.0 – how the most innovative SMEs can avoid being left behind.
- Minimizing the risk of a cyber-attack – how to develop a robust and proactive IoT security strategy.
Will Internet of Manufacturing become part of our lingua franca and an accepted term to describe the impact of the IoT in this space? It doesn’t matter: we already know that the fourth industrial revolution is here. This event will serve to grease the gears that are already moving in this new era of production.