The terms Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) have been in the zeitgeist for several years as the thing that will transform how people and industries work. IoT applications are impacting people as individuals (e.g., in the home and in the healthcare industry) and more largely within the commercial, infrastructural and industrial arenas. So, for food and beverage manufacturers knowing where to start to consider IIoT can present a deluge of information and more questions than answers. But, as Douglas Bellin, Senior Manager of Global Private Sector Industries at Cisco writes in an article for IoT World, his advice is “to think of an end state — what does your organization’s digital operation look like. Then break it down...Smart IoT deployments don’t solve single problems, but enable a business to take a more holistic view of their operations.” Here are three pieces of advice from Bellin's article, "How To Fast-Track A Successful IoT Manufacturing Project."
Three Holistic Approaches to IIoT
- Know where you are headed. This vision won’t be perfect or unchanging, but needs to provide a direction of where you want to go. Create a business-specific vision for your own IoT story.
- Don’t go it alone. Your manufacturing organization isn’t alone in facing these problems. Best practices, validated architectures and information is broadly available. Be an active participant in the broader community, and learn from other organizations’ successes (and failures).
- Start somewhere — don’t wait for ‘perfect.’ I know striving for perfect, risk-free solutions is human nature, but it can also hold you back needlessly. Get out of pilot and concept mode and get into operations. Move forward.
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