In 2014, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Machine to Machine (M2M) and Big Data became more than buzz words and were widely adopted. Connected machines began driving more data than ever before and Gartner even  forecasts  there will be nearly five billion connected devices by the end of 2015 and 25 billion by the end of 2020, with incremental revenue exceeding $300 billion. The industry poised to benefit the most from this digital revolution is manufacturing — that is if manufacturers can take the necessary steps to optimize their assets and the data being generated from them every second. While only 13 percent of manufacturers said they used smart manufacturing within their organization in a 2013 survey by the American Society for Quality  (ASQ), most manufacturers today have adopted strategies to maintain asset health by monitoring and collecting data from advanced automated systems. These processes and technologies, however, operate in silos across the organization, undermining the value proposition of the IIoT. As we look at staying competitive in an ever-changing global market, the value of connectivity — connected people, processes and technology — cannot be underestimated. Manufacturers must implement a fully connected framework for top asset performance and strategic data analysis, and this framework includes three important processes: measure, monitor and manage. 1.  Measure:  The first step, measurement, is critical to asset strategies because every asset in industrial organizations is essential for successful operations. Today’s advanced sensors and hardware measure asset health in real-time to prevent costly failure and disruption to business operations. When engineers identify abnormalities such as a sudden vibration increase in a compressor or high temperature trends, they must determine the root cause of the problem before a machine trips or equipment fails. This is particularly critical to ensure asset availability until a planned shutdown. Regular audits […]