https://www.iotworldtoday.com/wp-content/themes/ioti_child/assets/images/logo/mobile-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • Roundups
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Podcasts
    • Strategic Partners
    • Latest videos
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Editorial Submissions
  • Events
    • Back
    • Embedded IoT World (Part of DesignCon) 2022
Iot World Today
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • Roundups
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Podcasts
    • Strategic Partners
    • Latest videos
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Editorial Submissions
  • Events
    • Back
    • Embedded IoT World (Part of DesignCon) 2022
  • newsletter
  • IIoT
  • Cities
  • Energy
  • Homes/Buildings
  • Transportation/Logistics
  • Connected Health Care
  • Retail
  • AI
  • Metaverse
  • Development
  • Security
ioti.com

IIoT/Manufacturing


Getty Images

Data-Driven Digital Transformation Propels Airbus to New Heights

Airbus wanted to get more customer focused through data-driven strategies. But instead of gathering new data, it brought discipline to its existing data.
  • Written by Lauren Horwitz
  • 19th January 2021

Key takeaways from this article include the following:

  • Organizations that undertake digital transformation should focus on data-driven strategies to revise existing processes.
  • While many organizations focus IoT projects on deploying an abundance of sensors, the true productivity gains from IoT stem from foundational data hygiene practices.
  • Productivity improvements are difficult to achieve without bringing data silos together and creating a foundation of high-quality, well-structured and secure data.
  • Digital transformation projects will be unsuccessful without corresponding change management efforts that focus on retraining existing workforces to become information workers.

While digital transformation is an aspirational goal for many enterprises, some have made operational change tangible by focusing on disciplined data-driven strategies.

Leiden, Netherlands-based Airbus – which manufacturers commercial aircraft as well as military transport – turned to data-driven digital transformation to solve customer challenges such as product shipping or building delay.

“Customers waited a long time to get airplanes,” said Anes Hodžić, group vice president for digital transformation at Airbus.

Airbus wanted to become more efficient and customer focused, but data-quality issues stood in the way. Data was dispersed throughout the organization, in different formats, and poorly integrated.

The company wanted to approach its existing data with greater discipline, instead of just gathering more data – as companies often seek to do in their Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives. Siloed, this data needed to be integrated and formatted similarly to bring real operational insight.

That integration was key to Airbus gaining more comprehensive insight into its business operations, from the production floor to the warehouse, and beyond the company’s four walls: to the supply chain and partners’ activity.

Executives, including Hodžić, began to pose a series of questions about how to develop a disciplined data-driven digital transformation strategy.

“What if we could have access to massive amounts of data that was structured, formatted and secured in the right way?” Hodžić recounted in a session at Industrial IoT World 2020.

Recent research supports this focus on data governance and data management to support IoT initiatives.

According to IoT World Today’s 2020 IoT Adoption Survey report, 29% of respondents said that IoT investment would go toward data management, second only to operational efficiency efforts.

Industry observers note that clean data and data integration efforts are key to IoT success.

“As IoT and the other technologies that underpin the Fourth Industrial Revolution become part of the business mainstream, executives need to think about the value of all these connected systems working together,” wrote Greg Corlis, managing director for emerging technologies at KPMG US, in a piece on four steps to harnessing IoT for trusted customer and supplier relationships.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>

Register for our Embedded AI event here.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Data Discipline Key to IoT Deployments

While many companies are keen to unleash a host of new sensors and gather lots of new data, Airbus found that the first step in a successful IoT initiative is to create a rock-solid data foundation.

Rather than focusing on gathering new data points, Airbus instead chose to get its data house in order and get disciplined with the data it already had available.

“Where you have good foundation, good data governance and data sharing processes, you will see exponential scaling of benefits,” Hodžić said. “Before we started deploying any additional devices on the shop floor or planes, we started with consolidating, cleaning and preparing all available data which were not used: data logs on machines, data reports from flight tests. The preparation and cleaning of these data is crucial before you go into additional deployments.”

In order to gather clean data, the company needed to break down data silos within different business units and bring data together. “The key is to get data out of the silos,” Hodžić counseled.

Hodžić said that integration of key data was critical to garnering the kinds of productivity improvements that IoT has traditionally promised.

“If you look at Industry 4.0 initiatives, everybody promised 30% to 40% productivity improvements, but we didn’t really in the last years see significant productivity improvements. Productivity improvements can happen, but only when you get data from different domains and start with the customer,” Hodžić said.

Experts agree that data governance is key to IT project success – and failure.

“If the data is not reliable or of poor quality, less-than-optimal business decisions are likely,” said Bill Tomazin, managing partner, West Region and National Audit Solutions, at KPMG US, in “Data Governance Is Risk Number One.”

Navigating Change Management by Focusing on People

During its four-year digital transformation process, Airbus came to recognize that a data-driven digital transformation required significant internal change rather than simply gathering more data. Making use of data required not only breaking down data silos but also reskilling an existing workforce.

Airbus focused on gaps in data analytics skills. But the company was steadfast in exploiting its change management processes to upskill employees who needed information- and analytics-driven skills.

“Our vision from the beginning, especially [in] IIoT domains, was a transformation of our people from blue collar to white collar. What we mean is [that by] digitalizing the work environment in a classical blue-collar domain, we can make knowledge workers, we can make them information workers … to deal with a reality that is getting more complex.”

The skills gap, in areas such as data analytics, cybersecurity and network connectivity, has long been a challenge for IT organizations. According to the 2020 IoT Adoption Survey, 27% of respondents anticipated challenges with IoT projects given a dearth of in-house expertise to deploy IoT.

The COVID-19 crisis forced many companies to focus on reskilling. According to one survey, 42% increased their reskilling efforts following the advent of the pandemic.

Ultimately, Hodžić said, data-driven digital transformation is a long-haul effort. Airbus’ began four years ago. But still, the company was able to deliver tangible ROI along the way to keep the vision and mission alive along the way.

“Be prepared for the marathon, but be ready to deliver in the sprints, continuously,” Hodžić said. Couple these short-term wins with vision to make data-driven digital transformation stick. This overarching strategy will guide the workforce through long-term efforts.

“Provide people a north star with where the organization is going and what is possible,” he said.

 

Tags: Artificial intelligence/machine learning IIoT/Manufacturing Technologies

Related


  • Volkswagen Deploys Nokia’s Private 5G Technology
    The technology is set to drive real-time IoT data uploads to Volkswagen’s production vehicles as well as intelligent robotics and wireless assembly tools
  • Image shows a smart factory and wireless communication network.
    Case Study: New Product Introduction of Cellular Connected Device
    In the smart city/connectivity and telecommunications markets, flexibility is critical. Innovation moves at the speed of light and there’s a great deal of competition to get to market first with a product that meets customer needs. That’s why more providers are turning to trusted partners like Benchmark to add speed, talent, and flexibility to their […]
  • Intel, Samsung Back $57M Funding for Landing AI
    The investment will help drive new iterations of the company’s product, which streamlines machine vision delivery for smart factory IoT networks.
  • Open Source IoT Development Tools vs. Vendor-Supported Tools
    More enterprises are exploring the development of their own Internet of Things (IoT) applications for company-specific use cases that can optimize operations, revenue gains and cost savings.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your IoT World Today account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Content

  • IoT and Drones Automate Field Operations
  • How IIoT Is Transforming Product Design and Manufacture
  • HPE Edgeline Converged Edge Systems
  • Smart Factory Technology Upgrades: 5G, Cybersecurity Dominate

Roundups

View all

IoT Product Roundup: PTC, Nokia, Arm and More

19th May 2022

IoT Deals, Partnerships Roundup: Intel, Nauto, Helium and more

14th May 2022

IoT Product Roundup: Amazon, Synaptics, Urban Control and More

27th April 2022

White Papers

View all

The Role of Manufacturing Technology in Continuous Improvement Ebook

6th April 2022

IIoT Platform Trends for Manufacturing in 2022

6th April 2022

Latest Videos

View all
Dylan Kennedy of EMQ

Embedded IoT World 2022: Dylan Kennedy of EMQ

Dylan Kennedy, EMQ’s VP of global operations, sat down with Chuck Martin at Embedded IoT World 2022.

Embedded IoT World 2022: Omdia’s Sang Oh Talks Vehicle Chip Shortage

Omdia’s automotive semiconductor analyst sits down with Chuck Martin at this year’s event

E-books

View all

How Remote Access Helps Enterprises Improve IT Service and Employee Satisfaction

12th January 2022

An Integrated Approach to IoT Security

6th November 2020

Webinars

View all

Rethinking the Database in the IoT Era

18th May 2022

Jumpstarting Industrial IoT solutions with an edge data management platform

12th May 2022

AI led Digital Transformation of Manufacturing: Time is NOW

9th December 2021

Special Reports

View all

Omdia’s Smart Home Market Dynamics Report

7th January 2022

Cybersecurity Protection Increasingly Depends on Machine Learning

28th October 2020

IoT Security Best Practices for Industry and Enterprise

20th October 2020

Twitter

IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Explore Emerging Tech For Enterprises at @TechXLR8 2022 this June ➡️ Join us from 1-3 June in harnessing the pow… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

24th May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Clearview AI has been fined $9.4 million for collecting images of people from social media platforms to add to its… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

24th May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Swiss-startup Airyacht is developing an eponymously named vehicle that it says will take the luxury-yacht experienc… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

23rd May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

@Tesla’s #Autopilot being investigated once again following fatal crash in Newport Beach, California. iotworldtoday.com/2022/05/23/tes…

23rd May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

A new Kansas law will enable #driverless deliveries from @Walmart and its partner @Gatik_AI. #AVs… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

23rd May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Access a world of opportunity in 2022 with @IoTWorldToday ➡️ Now is time to unlock ROI, by accessing a global com… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

23rd May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

3D Home Printer to Build 72 Residences for National Homebuilder dlvr.it/SQhWSF https://t.co/XJOs70DqzH

19th May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Microsoft Ramping up Cybersecurity Service Offerings dlvr.it/SQhPR0 https://t.co/nYzaDRnyVY

19th May 2022

Newsletter

Sign up for IoT World Today newsletters: vertical industry coverage on Tuesdays and horizontal tech coverage on Thursdays.

Special Reports

Our Special Reports take an in-depth look at key topics within the IoT space. Download our latest reports.

Business Resources

Find the latest white papers and other resources from selected vendors.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IoT World Series
  • Channel Futures
  • RISC-V
  • Dark Reading
  • ITPro Today
  • Web Hosting Talk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Login/Register

FOLLOW IoT World Today ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X