To stay competitive, manufacturers must leverage their digitalisation through industrial IoT and resilient industrial networks.To gain relevance in local and European markets, improve efficiency and optimise processes, manufacturers in the UK have an increasing need to gather and analyse production data at the Edge.
For that FANUC has developed the FIELD system which, combined with resilient industrial IT and cybersecurity, creates a powerful tool to increase process flexibility and operational efficiency. Julian Smith, CEO of Polestar Industrial IT, mentions that, with an industrial IoT service like the FIELD System, manual tasks like data collection and machinery inspection can be automated, centralised and made available to virtually anyone and anywhere.
Although the FIELD system is a powerful Edge-platform by itself, production plants need to have set and improve the connectivity, so communications between systems are performed properly and securely. That is where IT service providers, network integrators and industrial networking companies enter to play a key role to improve manufacturing efficiency.
The role of Industrial IT in IoT
Oliver Selby, BD manager at FANUC, comments: “The FIELD system provides industrial organisations with a fast, powerful environment in which to store and analyse their production data”. Nevertheless, the platform needs of strong and redundant networks to support its IoT service. “We are pleased that Polestar Industrial IT has joined us as the first network integration partner in the UK to support our platform users in the UK and EMEA, helping them to reach optimal manufacturing operations”.
“Manufacturers need to understand that operational efficiencies through traditional cost-cutting strategies provide only marginal returns. To stay competitive, manufacturers must leverage their digitalisation through industrial IoT and resilient industrial networks to take full advantage of their production and customer data. That is where they can become exponentially agile and efficient”, Julian further adds.
Not all factories that are transforming their operations are using industrial IoT yet. Most start with traditional Operational Technologies (OT) such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) software to connect their systems at the plant floor, control industrial processes, and gather production data.
However, to achieve exponential efficiencies, it is not enough to control machinery through simple connections to OT. Nowadays it is key to access Edge, Cloud, and internet-based technologies to connect machinery and OT to enterprise systems through secure industrial IT (OT/IT Convergence).
As enterprise systems increasingly operate through the Internet, along with thousands of Apps that help manufacturers to access advanced analytics, automate and improve processes, the Industrial Internet of Things has become a necessity more than a luxury.
An Edge-IIoT Service
FIELD system (FANUC Intelligent Edge Link & Drive System) is an IIoT platform that improves efficiency and productivity across all manufacturing processes. From numerical control processing to preventive maintenance, all your production data can be accessed and analysed both locally and in the cloud for agile decision making.
Besides connecting all manufacturing devices & systems, the FIELD System also allows third-party applications and converters for devices, enhancing centralised management of equipment, vendors and data, as well as data sharing on the factory floor and across geographically dispersed plants.
From Q4 a Demo Unit for the FIELD system will be available for manufacturers in the UK and Europe through Polestar’s services, and it can be implemented regardless of the make of their machinery and field devices.
Contact Information:
Polestar Industrial IT
Registered Polestar Interactive Ltd.
Tel: +44 115 911 66 99
