Rapid advances in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology is bringing connected devices, systems and people together to deliver actionable results and improve safety, productivity, sustainability, efficiency and reliability. Coupled with the emergence of IIoT is a continuous evolution of standards to help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) build safer machines and likewise, help machine users and manufacturers improve the ease of maintenance while minimizing operational downtime. Today, machine users and manufacturers not only want to ensure new and existing machines are safe, but that they are connected for diagnostics, flexible in design, reliable and ready for now as well as the future.
Current safety procedures and capabilities often mean machine downtime and costly production stops. While operations in the United States are highly modernized, other countries are well ahead in the direction for and implementation of smart machines. While the European market has historically led the industry in safe machines, strong developments in North America have occurred in the past 10 years. As demand for embedded safety systems in North America continues to grow, more machines will evolve to include increased functionality, simplified designs and predictive maintenance capabilities. Enhanced functionality means industry players will increasingly experience improved machine uptime, maintenance and productivity throughout their production chains and enterprises.