The Benefits of Big Data in Manufacturing

Ashley Halsey
Tags: manufacturing

Both of the terms ‘data’ and ‘manufacturing’ are complex and vary widely in what they can mean and contain. The manufacturing world itself is an extremely complicated and strangely vital industry, containing both variety and similarities stringing through its products and outcomes. The industry has been cut into two majority portions by classification organisations NAICS and ISIC: discrete manufacturing and process manufacturing. Continued segregation of this industry occurs due to other factors mostly down to industry and specific uses or market space occupied. Manufacturing applies to cars, medicines, building materials, technology, and so many other things that are a part of our day-to-day lives. The level of complexity and sheer span of the word manufacturing indicates the challenges it presents as an industry and process. Below are six major benefits of big data manufacturing.

 

Faster Integration of Automation

All around the globe, production is becoming tied to industrial robotics; increasingly. Although some spout that automation is causing job loss and robotic reliance; most manufacturers actually utilise automation to complement and increase the capability of their human workforce.

 

Predict Machine Failure & Reduce Downtime

Automated production driven by technology becomes easier to assess and take care of. Innate technology not only predicts potential flaws, gaps, and breakdowns; it can even schedule its own maintenance and ‘self-correct’. Big data analytics has been shown to reduce stall and halt issues in production due to this increase in automated technology, as breakdowns are reduced greatly.

Julia Fields, an industrial writer at Writinityand Lastminutewriting, noted, “Additionally, many industries (as callous as it may seem to say) suffer from allowing their human members downtime and needing to give people breaks. When this is replaced by a counterpart; the need for downtime disappears.” This can be seen in practice in the automotive industry with the use of robotic arms in car assembly. Similarly to this is the lack of human error when replaced with robot. If trained correctly, AI and robots are incredibly accurate and simply have more capacity than humans as they never tire.

 

Enhance Product Quality and Cut Costs

Utilising big data manufacturing reduces the need for a ridiculous number of tests, because automated tests are innately more reliable than human testing. This saves an incredible amount of money, and allows for more important and specific test to be run. These enhanced tests will not only cut costs in the testing phases of any product, but these tests will be more reliable and hopefully in turn enhance product quality. Big data analytics are so readily available now that a large number of companies now use the to reduce manufacturing and testing costs; while actually turning out a product with improved quality.

 

Improved Research

Big data research has revolutionised the capabilities of 21st century business operation. Terrence Trevor, a data scientist at Draftbeyondand Researchpapersuk, said, “Big data has become the best friend of big business. Some may argue that it has gone too far, but automated and online research and reporting has expanded in both its reach and depth.” A computer can conduct a scan of hundreds of thousands of people or households in a quicker, more organised, and correct (again, lacking human error); way than an human can.

 

Greater Customer Service

The 21st century has done away with the satisfaction of a customer in receiving a bog-standard good. Consumers now want customised, personalised and made-to-order products. And they want these products just as quickly (and with the same quality assurance) as the standard ones that they used to receive. Considering that this industry relies on customer satisfaction to survive; it is extremely important to keep this stakeholder happy. Advanced sensors provide alerts to the relevant people in production lines, tags monitor condition and specifications, and big data has added many other advancements too! It is so obvious that big data clearly has many more benefits than it does drawbacks; and a major one is customer satisfaction.

 

Increased Competitiveness

The manufacturing industry is switching, advancing, and changing every second, similarly to the technology industry. Big data is a large contributor to this ever changing and competitive platform as 67% of manufacturers have reported increasing their competitive nature due to big data analytics. The next generation technology available has made the manufacturing industry competitive and ever-changing.