DataReady
Smart Manufacturing is Powering a Data Explosion, But the Path to Insights Isn’t Always Clear
Data generated by industrial smart machines holds tremendous untapped potential for boosting quality and improving productivity.
If you’re like many OEMs, you and your customers would agree with this statement. However, while the value is clear, the pathway to effectively capturing and utilizing that data is often murky. It’s sometimes assumed that manufacturers and other industrial end users need to have their entire data strategy figured out in order to reap value from their machine data. Adding to that pressure, the sheer volume of data alone can be hard to contend with, not to mention finding the right tools to sort it, process it, and transform it into information that’s easy to consume and useful for a variety of needs. It all amounts to a lot of extra complexity that adds substantial time and resources to an already heavy workload. Ultimately, end users are left trying to cut through the noise to distinguish what’s useful from what’s not.
This creates a tremendous opportunity for you to help end customers by delivering smart machines that address these data challenges. But there’s often a blocker: your customers know they want information from their machines, but they don’t always know exactly how they’re going to use it, leaving both parties at a stalemate for how to move forward with equipment design.
Luckily, that doesn’t need to be the end of the road. Rockwell Automation has intelligent solutions that empower OEMs to build smart machines with the data capabilities customers want.
DataReady™ Smart Machines Provide Flexibility and Unlock Insights Beyond the Equipment Level
Rockwell Automation offers DataReady™ solutions that enable you to take your smart machines to the next level by eliminating the need to know exactly how machine data will be used in the future. Instead, data can be egressed from the machine and made available for use with nearly any external application. With this foundational capability in place, end users maintain the flexibility to introduce new components, revisit design and make adjustments, or modify applications to fit their unique needs. Most importantly, no one gets locked into decisions that can’t be changed down the road.
There’s good news for you, too. Delivering the flexibility your customers need doesn’t have to come at the expense of your own design process. You can leverage our pre-built content, available through a library of tools that cater to OEM needs, for a fast and straight-forward path to DataReady™ Smart Machines. With Rockwell Automation solutions that are inherently designed to work together, the design and building process is seamless, and customers get consistent quality of operation. Alternatively, you can configure select Rockwell Automation content with your own applications to build custom solutions for unique customer needs. No matter which approach you choose, you can feel confident in delivering the value your customers expect.
With the ability to organize and egress data and offer compatible sharing with nearly any external application, DataReady™ Smart Machines help unlock value by:
- Visualizing data for intuitive consumption at the machine level, as well as for strategic analysis and planning beyond the equipment
- Optimizing equipment remotely for faster, more flexible troubleshooting
- Enabling proactive, predictive maintenance that saves time and expenses and keeps equipment running longer and more efficiently
Expectations are Changing. Meet Them with DataReady™ Smart Machines.
The Rockwell Automation DataReady™ Solution
When it comes to organizing and preparing data for optimized use, Rockwell Automation has standout offerings that help machine builders get the job done efficiently and with high-quality results:
- Smart Objects, which organize, contextualize, and synchronize data at the Logix controller level for powerful analytics at the edge, reducing both the volume of outgoing data and the time needed for analysis, storage, and transfer at the information layer
- FactoryTalk® Optix™, which connects and contextualizes data from different sources, enabling sophisticated visualizations at the machine level and egressing the data to wherever it’s needed
- FactoryTalk® Remote Access™, which facilitates secure remote connectivity from any location, enabling capabilities such as remote assistance, installation, programming, troubleshooting, and maintenance
Plus, our offerings are compatible with nearly any application, which helps keep your options open. For example, you can build your own custom solutions or leverage our pre-built content, available through a library of tools that cater to OEM needs, to help streamline the design and building process. Either way, there’s always flexibility to make changes and adapt down the road. Your customers can feel confident knowing their chosen solutions will evolve with their business.
Streamline the Integration of Smart Machines
Too often do we see bulk data generated on the plant floor disorganized, fragmented or isolated. This can make it difficult to discover and use effectively. Instead of needing to spend countless hours and resources on data identification and integration effort, users can now create smarter machines right from the start, before the equipment reaches the plant floor.
Are you ready to deliver the value of contextualized insights across your machines? Learn more about how Smart Objects can help you optimize productivity, quality and safety.