Swiss Leaders Dialog Industrial IoT/m2m Connects Key Players to Discuss Ideas and Projects on the Road to Industrial IoT

In a smart factory all kind of people, machines and products communicate with each other. It is intelligentely connected with suppliers delivernig tagged components or carriers offering smart supply chains. The smart factory communicates with customers who bought its smart products with embedded sensors delivering data for product maintenance and improvement.

This communication requires a common IT language. Industrial IoT merges manufacturing, automation, IT and Internet in the smartest ways to make production more efficient and customers more satisfied at the same time. The smart factory is agile, green and ergonomic. The connection between customers and production as well as among one and another machine organises development and value chains of products in a brand new way.A completely smart factory and holitstic industrial internet of things should be a reality 10 years from now. But already today many projects mark the starting point on the way from semi-automated and automated to the fully digitalised factories. It’s not the big bang but a journey with many small steps. The Industrial IoT/m2m Strategy Dialog wants to accompany this journey and connects CTOs, Heads of production, R&D, IT managers, scientists and solution providers to discuss ideas and upcoming projects on the road to Industrial IoT.

In some industries like passenger cars or kitchen furniture customers ask for indvidualised products which puts manufacturers under cost pressure. Small batch sizes shouldn’t be more expensive than mass production. In cases like these we can already witness the beginnings of Industrial IoT and advanced m2m communication with tagged workpieces communicating with conveying systems and machines which set up autonomously.

A smart factory is based on a complete vertical integration of business processes, manufaturing processes and manufacturing data. Already today manufatcuring execution systems (MES) link machines with ERP. Usual interfaces like OPC, UA, OPC DA or OLE DB connect manufacturing devices to the MES. This is a very good base to plan the next steps.

Remote predictive maintancene in the machinery industry is also a good example for Industrial IoT and m2m communication already in place. Senors deliver data to predict when parts need to be replaced. In a smart factory the spare part will also be produced and shipped autonomously.

Industrial IoT changes how companies collaborate. It changes their products and services. It changes their customer relationships. As always with big changes there will be successful and failing startups and not all established players might still be on top tomorrow. Especially when combined with a disruptive technologies like 3D Printing or Big Data it is true game changer. In any case these technologies will lead to an even tougher competition and future business models for manufacturing companies will need to be even more focused on the specific wishes of individual customers.

Topics to be discussed:

• Technological requirements for a smart factory / Industrial IoT infrastructure
• Roadmap to a smart factory
• Organisational merger of IT and Engineering
• Smart supply chains
• Smart customer interaction
• Smart product development
• Benefits of virtual and augmented realities in smart factories
• Smart machines