Industrial IoT Monitoring System (IIOT): Use Cases & Importance

The Internet of Things (IoT) is gaining traction, contributing to the growth of industrial monitoring systems using IoT. As reported by Statista, global IoT expenditure in 2023 is expected to be $1 trillion, with IoT infrastructure in the manufacturing sector expected to reach $400 billion by 2026.

Such a growing interest can be described to IoT’s potential to cut manufacturing costs, allow for remote monitoring of production, streamline data collection, among many other advantages. As a result, IoT device monitoring use cases are growing increasingly prevalent and, for some enterprises, getting indispensable.

In contrast to the potential associated with today’s sensor, networking, and analytics technologies, industrial IoT, or IIoT, is still at an early stage. Even though IIoT is still in its infancy and presents some hurdles, companies that use it well can gain a competitive edge.

In this article, we take a closer look at use cases for IoT-enabled industrial monitoring solutions.

Industrial IoT: A System of Interconnected Devices

On industrial IoT equipment, the IIoT deployment begins with the installation of sensors, actuators, controllers, and human-machine interfaces. As a result, data collection becomes possible, enabling management to get objective and precise information about the state of production. All departments of the organization receive the processed data. This enables personnel from various departments to communicate with one another and make informed decisions.

The data collected can be utilized to prevent unscheduled downtime, equipment breakdowns, and supply chain disruptions, allowing the organization to run more efficiently.

When dealing with a massive amount of unstructured data generated by sensors, filtering, and proper interpretation become critical. Therefore, it is critical to convey information in an approachable manner which is accomplished through the deployment of sophisticated analytical platforms that collect, store, and evaluate data about technological processes and occurrences in real-time.

In fact, some applications of industrial IoT systems support the concept that the Industrial Internet of Things is enabling the development of new industries that are more cost-effective, nimble, and efficient than existing ones. IP-enabled wireless devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and sensors, are already widely used in production. In the coming years, wired sensor networks will be expanded and supplemented with wireless networks, greatly expanding the areas of use for monitoring and control systems in businesses. The next stage of process optimization will be characterized by an increasing density of convergence between the best information and operational technology.

The Importance of Industrial IoT Monitoring Systems

Discovering, assessing, monitoring, and controlling connected devices is all part of the industrial IoT monitoring process. Any faults with your IoT assets that affect business and production-critical apps and services can be discovered through IoT monitoring.

Every device you connect to your network consumes resources, creates data, and communicates with other devices and services. Adding new devices has an influence on the performance of your apps, systems, and services. As a result, having solutions for monitoring and controlling industrial IoT devices in your arsenal is critical in order to collect high-quality data, evaluate it, generate reports, and maintain data security.

Many industrial businesses are incorporating IIoT into their operations to boost productivity by detecting and mitigating possible bottlenecks, disruptions, quality issues, and other concerns. The use of IoT in factories and plants will minimize the number of employees, maximize resource utilization, and raise revenue by multiples. For example, with their assistance in the factory, you can distribute orders accurately and fully load existing equipment, preventing downtime. Overall, industrial Internet of Things monitoring cases are different and can bring a range of benefits depending on an enterprise and the tasks it is used for.

5 Use Cases of Industrial IoT Monitoring Systems

Predictive maintenance

Predictive maintenance is one of the most common IIoT monitoring use cases: wireless IIoT sensor data enables organizations to forecast and warn personnel when a machine will require maintenance. This IIoT use case avoids costly breakdowns and unnecessarily expensive repairs, while also increasing equipment uptime.

By reducing downtime, predictive maintenance saves huge costs for enterprises. Any organization that relies on costly machinery, such as manufacturers, haulage companies, or construction firms, can benefit significantly from this use case of IIoT.

However, to achieve these benefits from predictive maintenance, the analytics must have sufficient data. Finding and installing the right IoT devices to collect correct data can be time consuming and costly. Due to these obstacles, smaller facilities may struggle to implement predictive maintenance.

For instance, as part of a project, we assisted in the enhancement of heat pumps. The two key challenges highlighted were developing a user-friendly interface for remote configuration of heat pumps and providing capabilities for remote data collecting and storage.

Connecting heat pumps to the 3d party cloud provided a straightforward and cost-effective answer to all of the customer’s requirements. Currently, the platform’s core feature includes tools for connecting equipment, remotely receiving telemetry data, and connecting devices to a mobile application to manage their activities.

Optimization of energy consumption

Energy optimization is also  one of the valuable applications of industrial IoT monitoring systems. Connecting industrial machines, HVAC systems, and anything else that consumes a lot of energy to the Internet of Things can help cut energy use. IoT sensors can identify energy consumption peaks and valleys and automatically alter processes to consume as little energy as feasible.

While IIoT implementation and some already existing IoT monitoring examples have demonstrated the technology’s effectiveness in decreasing energy use, these reductions are frequently minor. Without mechanical changes, energy optimization will only go so far in terms of lowering associated costs. To obtain significant energy savings, enterprises must layer additional technologies on top of IoT sensors.

A control system for industrial greenhouses is an example of a similar solution implemented by our IoT experts. The greenhouse controller regulates the heating and ventilation systems by collecting data from temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide sensors. This not only optimizes the microclimate for plants but also lowers energy expenses.

Here is a controller that we used in our project and which is a simple method for converting any greenhouse into a smart one. It allows for autonomous control via touch screen as well as the connection of analog, wireless sensors, and controlled devices:

Quality assurance with remote access

Industrial IoT sensors are already being used to monitor the quality of resources and products, such as water. The premise is that sensors provide more accurate and timely information regarding pollutants, allowing for a more rapid and efficient reaction. Industrial businesses that rely on quality control processes can get the same result by implementing IIoT.

Chemical factories and pharmaceutical businesses can employ IoT devices to monitor the quality of raw materials and finished goods remotely. Remote monitoring increases productivity by allowing employees to swiftly monitor various processes. Similarly, real-time notifications promote quicker responses, minimizing mishaps that might jeopardize a product if left unchecked for an extended period of time.

Due to the fact that remote quality monitoring is a relatively new idea, ready-to-use products and services are not available for all use cases. Organizations may be required to design their own IoT solutions in order to measure the metrics that matter to them, which can be time-consuming and costly.

Workplace analytics

Organizations can have more access to workflow data as more industrial IoT devices are deployed. Data scientists can feed the data to analytics engines that identify inefficiencies and recommend ways to improve processes. Additionally, location data analysis might reveal inefficiencies in the organization of warehouses.

As with predictive maintenance, many IIoT applications require a big pool of accurate data to function effectively. Before these analytics provide relevant and accurate insights, facilities must build extensive IoT networks and collect data over extended periods of time. They will eventually generate a good return on investment (ROI), but it will take time.

Monitoring the operation of solar-powered systems

As solar energy grows more widespread in both residential and commercial applications, it is becoming increasingly important to extract the maximum benefit from each panel. In some cases, tracking data from the panels can signal something as basic as the need for a cleaning or the presence of a damaged panel. Monitoring panel performance over time can be useful in defining maintenance and replacement plans in the long run.

Read also: See a good example of how IoT is used for Precision Farming

Conclusion: when, why, and how to use IIoT monitoring

Nowadays, manufacturing necessitates an increase in the development of device and product surveillance systems. As a result of this evolution, massive amounts of data must be processed. If the manufacturers are not prepared for this, they can quickly remove the product from the market: without the essential modernization, it will be exceedingly difficult to achieve competitiveness. That’s why they should think about industrial IoT monitoring solutions and how to use them.

It is impossible to detect a device failure during a manual check before it becomes critical and disables the entire production line. If you are in control of, say, the network schedule, it is just impossible to manually check everything. These tests should be performed on a few tenths of a second basis.

As you can see, for the industrial sector, the optimal solution would be to leverage IoT, preferably in conjunction with a monitoring platform that utilizes a distributed computing approach.

Industrial IoT solutions have a lot of promise – you can save money on equipment maintenance and repairs thanks to the adoption of this technology. Minor malfunctions that cause the mechanism to fail for an extended period of time are not always noticed by the master. As a result, there will be downtime and costly repairs. Special sensors provide up-to-date information on the state of the equipment and help to avoid breakdowns.

To sum up, the Internet of Things necessitates a balanced approach, as all facets of its utilization must be considered. This will assist in avoiding issues during the system’s implementation and will make it more efficient.  Ignoring industrial IoT is simply not an option, as it is nearly hard to maintain a competitive edge without enhancing production so finding ways to use IIoT monitoring systems can transform businesses and make a game-changing effect. Get in touch with us to implement your idea of IoT monitoring that will transform your business and bring game-changing benefits to it.