With the various changes we’ve seen in the manufacturing sector over the last couple of decades, it’s exciting to think about the possibilities that lie ahead of us in the next few years. The field is moving faster than ever – no doubt thanks to the development of the various technologies involved in it – and while it can be difficult to predict where it will end up a few years from now, it’s still interesting to consider the options.
There are also some established trends which will likely continue with full force – so let’s take a look at some of the most sensible predictions for manufacturing in 2022.
Even More Focus on IIoT
The Industrial Internet of Things has completely changed the face of modern manufacturing. And it’s still going strong – various developments in this field have come out in the last few years that have pushed it even further. Companies have started to understand the value of connecting all of their facilities and controlling them from a centralized location. On top of that, they are able to leverage the benefits of modern data analysis (more on that below).
While some were skeptical of IIoT at first, it clearly brings a lot to the table for those who use it right. Hopefully companies are going to leverage the full potential of this technology, as there is still a lot to explore in the field.
Leveraging Data More Efficiently
Data is the new gold on today’s market – and this will likely continue to be the case for quite a while. With the help of modern approaches like artificial intelligence and machine learning, companies are able to exploit the full potential of the data they’re generating and collecting in their daily work.
This includes manufacturing as well. Factories now record various kinds of information about their performance, in some cases even aggregating data from multiple facilities. These massive volumes of data can then be processed in an ongoing manner, revealing patterns over time.
The best part is that even if data can’t be analyzed immediately due to technical constraints, it can still be stored and revisited later. That’s why companies are so interested in collecting data on all fronts all of a sudden.
Employee Safety
It’s good to see that employee safety is also becoming a central point of discussion in many conversations related to manufacturing. Many companies have started to wake up to the fact that their processes can be improved in this regard, especially those that still rely heavily on human labor in various parts of the process.
Modern tech has been of huge help in this regard, enabling companies to make their facilities safer and more tightly controlled without requiring any extra human work to maintain that level of safety. With the integration of monitoring devices in all areas of manufacturing plants, it’s only a matter of time before safety constraints are enforced automatically and without any additional human intervention.
The Impact of the Ongoing Chip Shortage
A lot has been said about the current chip shortage and its impact on the manufacturing sector. Some industries are already reporting an inability to maintain their production quotes, and it’s possible that various consumer gadgets will come out in smaller numbers over the next year.
This has reportedly even spilled out to other industries. Car part manufacturers have also been reporting shortages of certain parts, including those critical for the production of some components. This could very well slow down the entire global production to some extent, and that might last even further than 2022.
Localizing Critical Production
That brings us to another important point. The shortage has pushed many companies to explore local options for manufacturing, even when it might be a bit more expensive to go with that approach. An online manufacturing degree from an institution like Kettering is more valuable than ever right now, because it can open some very interesting doors, and you don’t even have to travel far to reach them.
Whether this will remain a permanent trend is hard to say. But ramping up production on a local level requires a significant investment and forward planning, so it’s unlikely that it’s a short-term move by the companies doing it. Only time will tell, but there are some strong reasons to believe that localized production will remain a strong trend in 2022 and beyond.
More Lights-out Facilities
Manufacturing without any human intervention at all is already possible. So-called “lights-out” plants already exist in various parts of the world, and they’re actively used for the production of some parts and devices. The problem is that this doesn’t easily scale to all industries, and it will likely take a while before some parts of the market start to adopt this trend.
There have been some discussions about the way this could impact the labor market as well. Not everyone seems on board with the idea of removing human operators completely. But at this point, some experts are saying that it’s only a matter of time, and there’s no stopping the next stage in the evolution of manufacturing.
Predictive Maintenance
A great effect of the integration of so many sensors into the operation of the modern manufacturing plant is that machines can now assess their own status and request maintenance before problems have even developed to a major state. This is already a reality in some plants, and there are already ideas of machines performing their own maintenance where it makes sense. However, it will likely take a long time before the need for human work is phased out completely when it comes to machine maintenance.
Most of these trends are pretty certainly going to stabilize over the next year, although it might take longer before some of them are truly commonplace. The important thing is that the industry is at least moving in the right direction, and many companies are actively exploring their options for optimizing their processes and minimizing their resource use without compromising production quality.
