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The Internet of Things (IoT) has been used as a tool to streamline the work environment and promote efficiency. On a larger scale, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can be used to promote efficiency at an industrial scale.
Here’s how IIoT solutions offered by providers are being used by organizations in various industries:
5 IIoT case studies
1. Augury
Augury manufactures hardware and software to diagnose malfunctions in industrial machinery. They aim to provide a well-connected network of sensors that work together on monitoring the health of machines and diagnosing them accordingly.
Using artificial intelligence (AI) and IIoT through Google Cloud’s help, Augury was able to make heavy machinery and equipment more reliable, reduce environmental impact, and enhance worker productivity.
“Understanding machine health is the foundation of digital transformation for manufacturing,” said Gal Shaul, co-founder and chief technology officer at Augury. “It’s not a maintenance problem, it’s an overall production event that needs everyone on board.
“IoT technology and Google Cloud let us work across organizations so that we can create that change together.”
Industry: Manufacturing and technology
IIoT solutions: Cloud IoT Core, Google Cloud, BigQuery, Dataflow, Cloud Dataproc, Cloud Datastore, Cloud Storage, Cloud Pub/Sub, and Kubernetes Engine.
Outcomes:
- Reduction of machine failure by 75%
- Saves manufacturing plants millions of dollars
- Enables Fortune 500 companies to transform their manufacturing supply chain
- Enables real-time corrections and diagnostics
Read the full Augury and Google IIoT Core case study.
2. Bühler Group
Bühler Group is a global manufacturer of food processing equipment. In order to remain consistent with local and global quality guidelines, they’ve created Laatu, a non-thermal microbial reduction solution for dry foods.
Unfortunately, the food processing industry lacks the systems and infrastructure needed to monitor food safety processes. To fill this gap, Bühler partnered with Microsoft to build their own Bühler Insights IIoT platform.
Through Azure solutions, Bühler was able to connect Laatu through their insights platform and allow their customers access to machinery data regarding present food safety and regulations and provide inside knowledge into the supply chain of products.
“We’re convinced that by applying a little bit of additional technology to these processes, we can deliver real benefits to our customers,” says Stuart Bashford, digital officer at Bühler Group. “When it comes to IoT, there is huge potential to deliver value to the food and feed processing industry.
“The ability to view data in real time gives our customers unprecedented transparency into their processes. This provides valuable insights to inform production line actions.”
Industry: Consumer goods
IIoT solutions: Azure and Azure IoT Hub
Outcomes:
- Supply chain transparency in the industry
- Bühler Insights connects to 85% of Bühler product portfolio
- Smart imaging with AI and machine learning (ML)
- Improving food safety and ensuring the decontamination of consumer goods
Read the full Bühler Group and Microsoft Azure IoT Hub case study.
3. Port of Rotterdam
The Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands is one of Europe’s biggest business ports. It stretches over 42 kilometers and processes millions of tons of cargo every year.
Ensuring safe passage and cargo transfer through the port is a near-impossible feat to be done manually. Furthermore, they’re running out of room with physical expansion, and they must reduce their environmental footprint by 95% before 2050.
By working with Cisco security and IIoT solutions, Port of Rotterdam is able to make the most out of its current resources and, over time, optimize for space and reduce consumption of energy and landmass.
Becoming a smart port, Rotterdam can utilize an IIoT network that encompasses all the entry and exit points of the port and tracks the hundreds of thousands of vessels that dock to load and unload cargo.
“Edge intelligence accelerates the IoT journey that we’re in. Our goal is to have a broader rollout of IoT for all of your port’s assets to become smart,” says Jouke Dijkstra, IoT architect at Port of Rotterdam.
Industry: Transportation
IIoT solutions: Cisco Kinetic, Cisco Security, Cisco Customer Experience, and Cisco 800 Series Industrial Integrated Services Routers.
Outcomes:
- Standardized, plug-and-play IIoT ecosystem
- Improved security, traffic planning, and inspections with digitized vessel journeys
- Increasing fuel efficiency, reducing emissions, and improving air quality through route optimization
Read the full Port of Rotterdam and Cisco Kinetic case study.
4. TIER Mobility
TIER Mobility is a micromobility company that provides on-demand electric scooters in over 80 cities around the world to solve last-mile transportation and mobility struggles. Their long-term goal is to remain sustainable, affordable, and reduce operational costs of their service.
The next chapter in their cost-reduction journey is to streamline and optimize battery swapping and recharging for their fleet using IIoT. But they’re also looking to reduce maintenance costs and increase the life expectancy of scooters.
TIER Mobility partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to power their IIoT network with AWS IoT Core and AWS IoT Greengrass.
“All our backend services run on Amazon EKS,” says Amir Hadi, director of technology at TIER. “Our developers enjoy it because they can develop the code locally and run their container locally. They just push it to the production, and it’s basically the same execution as on their computers.
“Normally, you need quite a lot of knowledge about embedded computing, but on AWS IoT Greengrass, we can take it to a higher level and help out developers contribute logic for the edge. … We want to calculate and compute all things as close as possible to our customers — that’s why we chose AWS IoT Greengrass.”
Industry: Micromobility and transportation
IIoT solutions: AWS IoT Core, AWS IoT Greengrass, AWS IoT Analytics, and Amazon EKS.
Outcomes:
- An estimated reduction of operational costs by a factor of 10
- Expected software deployment frequency of 50 per week per team
- Allowed team to focus on development instead of infrastructure
- Maintaining scooter functions with minimal to no active network connectivity
Read the TIER Mobility and AWS IoT Greengrass case study.
5. MachineMax
MachineMax, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, is a producer of an equipment management and monitoring platform. They’re able to follow and track off-road fleets and industrial heavy machinery used in mining and construction worldwide.
With the majority of MachineMax’s clients based in remote locations around the world, they needed a partner that would enable them to reliably reach these isolated regions. Working through Google Cloud and their serverless solutions meant they’d be able to reach and manage their IoT network.
“In Cloud IoT, we have registries for each of our sensor types, we add our sensors to the relevant registry’s device manager, which includes third-party devices, and if we receive data from a device that is not on that list, Cloud IoT Core will not authenticate it or accept that data,” says Lina Alagrami, lead engineer at MachineMax. “If we want to tell a sensor to turn off, we do it with Cloud IoT Core too; it shows us which devices are out there and allows us to pull data from them.”
Industry: Technology
IIoT solutions: Google Cloud, Cloud Bigtable, Cloud IoT Core, Cloud SQL, Dataflow, Kubernetes Engine, and Google Maps Platform.
Outcomes:
- Reduces downtime
- Tracks use and aids in scheduling maintenance
- Boosts efficiency and productivity
- Reduces idle fuel consumption
- Integrates collected data onto a single platform
- Enhances health and safety
Read the MachineMax and Cloud IoT Core case study.
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