Internet of Things as a communications revolution consisting of “billions of devices – sensors, thermostats, lighting, appliances, security systems, health devices, cars and much more” – all connected wirelessly. It is this and much more. The “Internet of Things” is a vastly expanded web of wireless electronic devices that is set to transform the way we live. But it’s benefits are not only for individual use. The Internet of Things has a vary wide range of benefits to the business and specifically manufacturing industry. Here are 4 reason every manufacture should use IoT;

1. Automation
   Automation in an industrial plant can mean the difference between viability for a manufacturing plant or that it goes broke. With IoT automation you can have you plan running without the need for vast human monitoring. It also will allow you to predict the manufacturing out put of your plan. This can vastly help with budgeting and prediction on delivery.
2. Cost Savings
   Due to the inherent efficiency of electronics verse paying a number of employees, IoT can easily save your plant some cash. But there are also a number of other areas that might not be obvious that you can also generate a savings for your plant. Things such as usage of resources like water and electricity. You can monitor your usage and limit it based on a production schedule but also from a waist and cost savings perspective. For example if you start seeing one machine using too much water or electricity that can trigger an alert for you to look further into why it’s usage rate went up. Without having those alerts in place you might not notice the usage went up for some time, where with IoT you can see the problem in real time and handle it before it gets out of control and costly.
3. Helps Privacy
   It seems like every day we’re hearing about hacking and both private and corporate privacy being exposed. With IoT you can be assured that your not releasing data to a number of unauthorized users. In fact you with IoT you can limit the number of staff you have that have access to sensitive data because you can run the plant more efficiently without the use of so many staff. Additionally with proper encryption techniques you can program an IoT connected system to automatically encrypt and store sensitive data. This is much more secure than keeping data loosely on paper or on a standard computer, which is typically very unsecured.
4. Keeps Employment Down
   With a properly setup IoT plant the need for lots of staff can be greatly diminished. This is not only helpful from a cost perspective but also from a safety perspective. If you think about it it’s much safer to have a smaller number of people around potentially hazardous manufacturing equipment. This can cut down on accidents. As well can help track and make sure those who are employed are efficient. With reporting you can see how your plant is operating and how your staff are interacting with your plant. Running reports on that will help you identify staff that may or may not be efficient.