What if you could identify a part of your equipment that needs maintenance or replacing before it actually breaks and disrupts the rest of your supply chain? Or what if you could quickly and easily collect your data, saving you hundreds of hours that could now be spent on smarter analyses and more strategic operating decisions? This is the beauty of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIot). Here’s how the IIot is changing the game for food processing and can benefit your business.
What is the IIot?
You’ve probably heard the term “IIot” and wondered what it meant. You know technologies like Amazon Echo, WiFi door locks and other “smart” home appliances are meant to make your home safer and more connected, but you may be questioning how that applies to food processing. Well, similar to these “smart home” devices, there are technologies like sensors and cloud-based software that are designed to make food production operations more connected and efficient.
In simplest terms, the IIot refers to all technologies used within a single manufacturing plant that collect, monitor and analyze large amounts of data quickly and provide valuable insights that can be used to make more strategic decisions to improve processing and operating costs.
3 Advantages of IIot Technology in Food Processing
The IIot has countless benefits for manufacturers, plant managers and business owners, like advanced analytics, preventative maintenance and increased flexibility. Because of these improvements, is it any wonder the IIot is spreading through the food and beverage industry?
1. Advanced Analytics
A lack of data has never been an issue within manufacturing and supply chains. The problem is, what do you do with all the data once you have it? The answer in the past has been to spend hours reviewing the data manually. Today, software and technology make it possible to automate data collection from food plant devices and run the data through algorithms that quickly provide insight to engineers and plant managers on how their equipment is performing. With smarter analytics, you can monitor the efficiency of your equipment to ensure quality flow rates and process times.
2. Preventative Maintenance
What happens if an important piece of equipment goes down? Chances are an equipment malfunction puts a major snag in your operations and may even affect your bottom line. Luckily, there are sensors and devices available to monitor your equipment status and send out notifications if any of them start to show signs of failure. This heads-up gives you the opportunity to be proactive and fix the issue before it turns into a problem, allowing for increased safety and reduced energy loss.
3. Increased Manufacturing Flexibility
If you’re only dealing with one product, fast and efficient production is more than possible without all the bells and whistles IIot technology has to offer. But what if you’re producing a variety of products and your goal is to make the production process more efficient? This is where the IIot thrives. Thanks to the automation IIot technologies provide, food processing organizations – like meal kit services that offer a variety of meals and ingredients in a box – can automate their production lines and make them repeatable for increased performance.
Helping Food & Beverage Processors Thrive in a Competitive Industry
Are you looking for processing equipment that can integrate with IIot technologies and help you thrive in an ever-changing food and beverage industry? At Zwirner Equipment, we provide and deliver the highest quality of new and used food and beverage processing equipment, machinery, engineering, parts and services. Learn more about our dedication to customer service and contact us today to het started!
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What if you could identify a part of your equipment that needs maintenance or replacing before it actually breaks and disrupts the rest of your supply chain? Or what if you could quickly and easily collect your data, saving you hundreds of hours that could now be spent on smarter analyses and more strategic operating decisions? This is the beauty of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIot). Here’s how the IIot is changing the game for food processing and can benefit your business.
Call Today
