Low-cost digital manufacturing solution for process manufacturing SMEs - Lesson and experiences from real-world pilot

Industry 4.0 and specifically, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), has opened up the opportunity for supporting the development of low-cost digital manufacturing solutions helping SME manufacturers to move towards data-driven manufacturing. Current IIoT deployments are often targeted to augment existing manufacturing data collection systems, such as SCADA, Manufacturing Execution System (MES), while limited attention has been paid to implement and drive Industry 4.0 adoption among SME manufacturers, that are often reliant completely on manual operations. This paper presents the design and implementation of an end-to-end low-cost digital manufacturing solution for real-time monitoring and assessment of manufacturing processes. The solution was implemented at the site of a process manufacturing SME in Melbourne, Victoria. We share learnings from the real-world deployment which led to improved manufacturing efficiency through increased production traceability, standardisation of operator actions and enablement of effective transformation of workforce into digital workforce.