How can the internet of things be exploited in the local manufacturing sector

Abstract

This research seeks to discover how the Internet of Things is being exploited in the local manufacturing sector. The intention of this study is to close the gap that currently exists in the Maltese context with relation to the subject in question. As evidenced in the literature review the topic in question has already been explored in a number of countries. The main aim and objective of this research is to gather in-depth insight of how the Internet of Things can be exploited in the local manufacturing sector. Other objectives include exploring the challenges faced in the local manufacturing sector and discovering which areas of the manufacturing process are getting supported by IoT applications. To realise these objectives a qualitative approach was adopted to gather the primary data. A total of ten manufacturing companies who have implemented IoT solutions participated in this study through semi-structured in-depth interviews. Following that, the findings presented in this study were analysed and discussed. The results demonstrate that several established local manufacturing companies are using IoT, and they illustrate how it is being exploited. The findings also show the architecture these companies adopted as well as the applications they implement. In addition to that the challenges and barriers the companies face when implementing IoT were also pointed out by the companies. From the results obtained this research concludes that IoT is being exploited in the local manufacturing sector due to several benefits mainly being the improvement in the efficiency, productivity, and quality as well as the reduction in costs. In conclusion, with the right direction and manufacturing readiness IoT can be exploited and it is the way forward to be able to survive and compete.