As we move further into 2020, we’re going to see a lot of changes within the manufacturing industry, specifically centered around lean manufacturing. For those who haven’t heard of this term before, it’s often used in reference to utilizing productivity tools, simply because by doing so you streamline your business in the process.
Keeping the idea of streamlining business at the forefront of our minds, this article intends to briefly discuss some of the big manufacturing trends predicted to dominate the industry this year. These trends don’t just focus on short term innovations but long term ones as well, which is why it’s incredibly important for companies within this industry to learn about them and their impact.
Interactive Technology
One of the main trends being discussed currently is that of interactive technology, with particular focus on wearable tech and its benefits. By including more manufacturing innovations in this way, however small they may be, you’ll be better able to manage your company. If we return to the idea of productivity, this kind of technology is what’s being used in order to achieve that increase. By having a specialist system in place, you’re able to highlight areas that need addressing, with the end result being a more focused and driven workload. An integrated, fast acting system has the benefit of getting results in a shorter space of time, which has a direct impact on the visibility of your production line.
Improved Visibility
This visibility isn’t the one between your business and your customers but in regards to visibility across multiple locations. When you’re a large manufacturer, being able to see the progress of each workload in real time will ensure you’re able to improve performance while also decreasing risk. In addition to this, better end-to-end visibility will aid a general increase in your company’s efficiency. This, in turn, has a knock-on effect on the next trend we want to explore: predictive maintenance.
Effective Maintenance
Maintenance is part and parcel of manufacturing. Unfortunately however, issues can arise that we didn’t factor in, issues which reduce efficiency and delay projects. This is why one of the 2020 trends is predictive maintenance, aka (PdM). As the name suggests, the basis of this kind of maintenance is being able to predict where problems will arise before they happen, thus allowing you to optimize your equipment in a bid to avoid encountering the issue altogether. In order to do this, however, you need to be willing to take the time to gain a greater insight into your machinery and how it works.
These are just a few of the trends predicted to revolutionize the way manufacturers do business over the next year. Even if you haven’t got the means to implement them all, by being aware of them you’ll be better able to make small changes to your business. As a result, you can pave the way to adopting some of these proposed innovations later down the line.
