What exactly is smart production?

A connected machine doesn't make for smart manufacturing. Neither does a dashboard. smart production It arises only through the interplay of three capabilities: Production must be interconnected, understandable, and capable of automatically deriving the correct actions from information.

To put it simply: The right information must be in the right place at the right time And this must lead to the right actions. If any one of these three capabilities is missing, production remains fragmented: connectivity without transparency yields data without context. Transparency without action remains mere observation.

The Three Building Blocks of Smart Production

Connected (connected production)
Machines, products, and systems are reliably connected via communication channels that are as open and standardized as possible—from sensors to ERP, MES, and cloud systems. This lays the foundation for reliably capturing production data in the first place and reusing it with the necessary context.

Transparent (transparent production)
The production status is made clear: Each role is granted targeted access to the data relevant to it. If manual intervention is necessary, the right person is notified at the right time and in the right place, with all the necessary information. A dashboard alone is not enough to achieve this.

Data-Driven (data-driven production)
Information is translated into automated system and process actions. Systems coordinate with one another, request missing data on their own, and initiate approved actions independently. Manual intervention is eliminated wherever it is no longer necessary.

It wasn't until Interaction These three building blocks transform individual digitization projects into end-to-end smart manufacturing. By the way: smart production For us, this is not the same as Industry 4.0. Its core concept—that systems work together autonomously—is reflected primarily in the third component, data-driven production.

Why Smart Production Is Important

Manufacturing companies are under pressure: shorter product lifecycles, greater product variety, and rising demands for efficiency and quality. Those who don't use production data make decisions based on gut feelings rather than facts. smart production lays the groundwork for making processes comparable across plants and locations, identifying opportunities early on, and planning investments in a more targeted manner.

Smart Production with Inray

inray bundles its software products into a comprehensive ecosystem designed specifically for this purpose: Kepware Server and connubes OPC Router ensure connectivity, manubes makes production data transparent, and pronubes makes it usable in a data-driven way. This turns individual building blocks into a modular system that grows with your needs.

Be sure to check out our Video Feature: Smart Production Join us for the „Lunch-Talk“ series on the topic „What exactly is smart production?“!