Packaging seminar envisions smart factory of the future

At the ‘Smart Factory Solutions with IoT Technology’ food and packaging seminar, held by automation company Omron in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane last week, technology experts discussed the key features of smart factories of the future, nothing that an estimated 13.5 billion devices will be connected by 2020 worldwide.
“It’s all about collecting and analysing data to improve efficiency,” said Chris Probst, Automation Technology Product Manager, Omron.
“The amount of data doesn’t matter – it’s what you do with the data that counts,” he said.
Probst said many Australian companies are now talking about the Internet of Things (IoT) technical revolution, but not many are prepared for it.
“Companies that embrace new technologies will be better positioned to adapt to changing marketing conditions and customer needs.
“This is the next generation of manufacturing where people and machines work together.”
Hal Varian, professor of information sciences, business, and economics at the University of California at Berkeley and Google’s Chief Economist agreed.
“The ability to take data – to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualise it, to communicate it – that’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decade,” he said.
Wei-Jian Ong, product manager for Omron’s Sysmac controllers based in Singapore, said data collection and analysis can help manufacturers streamline their operations.
“The collection of data is now vital for industry,” said Ong. “The Internet of Things (IoT) is basically a network of devices with network connectivity for the collection and exchange of data.
“With IoT you can monitor, analyse and act – you can coordinate and monitor your production line. All machines work together to perform at optimum level.”
“Smart factories need to be more efficient and fully connected to their supply chains,” said Probst. “AIVs (Autonomous Intelligent Vehicles) not only save on labour costs, they can increase operational efficiency.
“Mobile robots are easy to deploy, with no facility modifications required. They work safely around people and can operate 24/7.”
Probst said smart factories were also helping to significantly improve workplace safety.
“The Smart Factory of the future will improve workplace safety, improve yield and traceability, drive down production costs and eliminate errors,” he said. “This will enable a ‘flexible’ manufacturing revolution.”