THE ADVANTAGE OF PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS IN MANUFACTURING
Stephen Ludlow, principal technology consultant at SAS UK & Ireland, says too many manufacturers find themselves stuck in the past, prisoners of their own highly complex systems and supply chains. They sit on lots of valuable data generated by machinery, employees and customers, but lack the ability to turn it into actionable insight. Business intelligence (BI) has
long been a manufacturing mainstay. This form of descriptive analysis allows companies to use their massive data sets to see what has happened and what is happening in their organisations. Yet with access to the right tools, data can tell us so much more. To stay competitive, manufactures need to complement their business intelligence with
predictive analytics. Predictive analytics is changing
manufacturing as we know it. Leveraging the growing volume, speed and complexity of data coming off connected devices as part of the IoT, it can apply analytics to data in real-time to find patterns that companies can use to predict future outcomes. This is also referred to as ‘analytics at the edge’. Analytics allows organisations
to go beyond the insight that BI provides. While BI can tell you what product was most popular with customers last week, analytics tells you how many of these products you are likely to sell next month. The typical unknowns of
manufacturing – system failures, supply issues, and so on – can be
very costly. So being able to predict when a piece of equipment will fail, for example, is a game- changer. Predictive analytics is an
effective driver of improvements and profits in the manufacturing industry. It can identify product quality issues sooner during the manufacturing process, meaning fewer recalls, lost sales and unhappy customers. Analytics also provides the best approach to supply and demand forecasting. When deploying analytics in
your own organisation, it’s important not to restrict your implementation. Analytics is not just for solving a single business challenge. Instead, the ambition should be to make analytics pervasive across your operation.
www.sas.com
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SICK CONFIRMED AS HEADLINE SPONSOR OF ROBOTICS EVENT
‘The longer the uncertainty over the Brexit process continues, the more long-lasting damage will be incurred by businesses’. This is one of the key findings in a survey carried out by EURIS, the advisory body for the potential impacts of the changing relationship between the UK and EU. EURIS, who represents 13 trade associations, completed the research in association with UKTPO. The survey ‘Securing a competitive
UK manufacturing industry post Brexit’ questioned industrial product manufacturers, from SMEs to large multi-nationals. A massive 83% of respondents support continued regulatory alignment with the EU to enable industry to remain competitive in a global market. The full report makes interesting
reading, and suggests a no-deal Brexit will cause severe damage to industry. Download the report here:
www.euristaskforce.org. Michelle Lea - Editor
Future Robotics, the UK’s only dedicated industrial robotics conference, takes place on Tuesday 13 November at The Slate, Warwick University. Its pioneering approach to the topic has captured the attention of industry, including SICK UK, which has pledged its support as headline sponsor of the event. “Future engineering and
manufacturing applications for robotics are rapidly being realised into today’s production environments. At SICK, we are keen to support the promotion of future robotics initiatives and encourage leadership, innovation and development,” said Neil Sandhu, product manager for imaging, distance and ranging solutions. He continued: “In reality, no one
can be sure where UK manufacturing may be in the next 12 to 18 months. It is therefore key that events like Future Robotics are happening. “UK manufacturing must decide now whether to invest in robotic
automation technology to remain competitive in the future.” Sandhu will also lead one of the
event’s CPD accredited seminars. Titled ‘Seeing is believing… Robots with a vision’, the presentation will explore how technologies are now being utilised as a vital part of robotics solutions within automation. The conference programme will
also feature seminars led by key figures from companies including BARA (British Automation & Robot Association), Reply, Universal Robots, RARUK Automation, TM Robotics, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), UKIVA (UK Industrial Vision Association), Pilz Automation and Shadow Robot Company. The full schedule is now available on the Future Robotics website. A table-top exhibition will take
place alongside the seminar programme. Tickets cost just £55 +VAT – including lunch and refreshments throughout the day.
www.futurerobotics.co.uk
www.beka.co.uk/ba304g.html
Positive Weighing Solutions has recently installed BEKA BA304G field mounting loop powered indicators in a Midlands polyurethane manufacturing plant. The indicators, which have ATEX and IECEx intrinsic safety certification, display process temperatures and are working alongside Dini Argeo weighing monitors supplied by Positive Weighing Solutions. Positive Weighing Solutions are a
ten year old company specialising in industrial weighing and automation. Located in Malvern, they design, install and maintain industrial equipment throughout the UK and are a premium distributor of Dini Argeo weighing systems. Their specialist knowledge of protection techniques for flammable environments has resulted in much of their recent work being for hazardous area applications.
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