IoT: Making way for smart asset management

With the increased availability of various sensors, affordable and fast internet connectivity, scalable cloud platforms, big data platforms with large storage capacities, mobile applications, and artificial intelligence systems, the internet of things (IoT) is continuing to grow and make an impact on all industries. Businesses are leveraging the power of IoT to come up with innovative solutions and radically transform their organizational processes.

IoT has proven its might in all sectors and verticals, becoming an inevitable part of their growth. Smart asset management is one of the areas where IoT is the catalyst for a revolution, making way for precise asset monitoring, intelligent asset health management, and predictive analysis.

What is an asset management system?

An asset management system refers to a combination of software systems and services that systematically maintain and operate the assets of a business or organization. An asset can be anything, from raw materials, cranes, industrial equipment, food and beverages, vaccines, finished goods, etc.

The key aim of these asset management systems is to optimize the quality and implementation of the assets, reducing their operation cost while improving productivity. The process includes work management, asset maintenance, asset monitoring, planning and scheduling, and supply chain management.

In this era where the internet of things (IoT) connects all devices via sensors and the internet, the possibilities this technology brings to asset management systems are incredible. Aided by artificial intelligence (AI), the asset management system only gets smarter and becomes capable of making predictive analyses and facilitating informed decisions.

Qualities of a great asset management system

To understand why IoT boosts asset management software, you must first understand what makes an asset management system a standout. Here are the qualities of a great asset management system.

Always stay connected

An efficient smart asset management system must handle vital information like the asset location, temperature, power usage, pitch roll yaw, and other metrics with utmost priority. The system must send the collected data to data centers via a reliable, fast, and secure internet. Hence, it is vital for the platform and the asset to always be connected and constantly exchange data and signals. IoT ensures that the information collected is sent to data centers across the globe, rapidly and securely.

Accurate data analytics

Accurate data analytics and real-time insights about assets help businesses make informed and intelligent decisions. A top-notch asset management system must be capable of processing the collected data via artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms to generate accurate insights and provide predictive analyses about the conditions of assets.

Work management, planning, and scheduling

A useful asset management system must be capable of delegating work, planned and unplanned, from the initial request to the completion, properly documenting every process along the way. With the data collected via the IoT sensors, the system must understand the assigned work orders and maintenance schedules and be proficient enough to help handlers with work plans and manage tasks.

Health and Safety

The health, safety, and conditions around the assets are vital for a business to keep track of. An exceptional asset management system must report the environmental, health, and safety status of the assets in real time with proper documentation. The system must deploy incident analysis and process change management. Additionally, using  IoT and AI, the system can move from costly corrective maintenance to predictive maintenance, where it can understand and fix an issue before it actually comes up.

IoT in asset management

Just like with many other industries, IoT boosts the performance of asset management systems. In general, the IoT network interacts with the environment around the asset to collect data before sending it to the cloud via the internet for data processing and analysis.

The process happens in 4 steps:

Data collection

In the first step, the IoT devices collect the data via various sensors, then clean, preprocess, and conduct basic analysis of the data before transmitting it to the cloud using an internet connection. The data can be of any type, including telemetry data like temperature, light, moisture, pressure, and so on. Since the volume of the data is often large, the device performs an initial cleaning and preprocessing before sending the data to the cloud.

Data processing

Once the device sends the captured information to the cloud, the next step is to process the bulk data. Data processing comprises various steps. Firstly, the device manager registers the connecting IoT devices. The device manager consists of a registry that logs information about the device and sets the required protocols like the MQTT bridge or HTTP bridge, which help the device communicate with the cloud. Then come the beam pipelines that help process the entire data workflow in batch and streaming modes. This phase includes parallel processing and optimizing data pipelines to handle large-scale data processing. Once the processing is complete, it is ready for analysis.

Data analytics and machine learning

After completing the data processing, the system runs analytics via artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to generate valuable insights. The system combines all types of data, including history, real-time data, and metadata, to create insights and analytics. These ML models study the data closely and can detect asset anomalies.

Generating dashboards and reports

The eventual aim of the asset management system is to gain meaningful insights into its performance. A dashboard or a report is what a user needs to clearly understand the metrics and analysis generated. The system turns the insights generated by the analytics into customized dashboards or reports that are easy to share and read.

Key benefits of IoT for asset management

Monitor assets with real-time visibility

Always keep an eye on the performance and conditions of your assets and the conditions around them. Get accurate real-time information, including telemetric and geospatial data regarding the asset using the capabilities that IoT has to offer.

Streamline and unify operations

In the rapidly changing and disruptive business environment, the IoT-based asset management system acts as a single platform to streamline and unify all operations and bring them under one comprehensive view.

Optimize operations and maintenance

The data collected by IoT devices helps the organization to optimize its workflow. By using AI and ML capabilities for data analysis, the business empowers predictive maintenance and follows preventive approaches to the asset’s health. Data analysis helps organizations make better business decisions.

Reduce downtime and costs

IoT and other related technologies help the organization optimize and automate the asset management processes. Automation helps the business reduce its downtime while increasing overall profitability. Also, with predictive maintenance, the business reduces the probability of experiencing a fatal breakdown of assets and thereby saves on the costs incurred due to damages.

Gain greater control over complex environments

Organizations find it a bit challenging to handle their assets in complex situations. Improved data analytics help business organize and optimize their asset management system, giving them better control over challenging circumstances.

Reduced human intervention

IoT-enabled asset management tools empower businesses to understand their assets better. The system records all kinds of data, including their performances, conditions, and telemetry data. Furthermore, automation cuts down the need for human intervention in the system, allowing companies to utilize their human workforce better.

Smart asset management in different industries

An IoT-enabled asset monitoring system optimizes the performance of an organization while simplifying its processes and minimizing costs. Smart asset management systems have extended their influence across various industries, creating an everlasting impact.

In the manufacturing industry, IoT-based asset management systems help businesses track the performance of their equipment and identify potential issues before a complete breakdown occurs. The IoT asset tracking system helps in the transportation of goods and inventory management, which usually takes a lot of time, cost, and effort for the manual workforce to carry out.

In the medical and pharmaceutical industries, transporting costly medical equipment and highly volatile drugs and vaccines is a risk. Efficient tracking reduces the wait time of the shipment and ensures that the transportation agency handles the package with care. The staff can know exactly where the item is, the conditions, and how it is being handled.

The chemical, mining, oil, and gas industries need to prioritize the safety conditions, reliability, and compliance standards at their workplaces. A smart asset management system lowers the cost of operation, improves the safety conditions and maintenance approach, and fosters collaboration at the workplace.

The food and agriculture industry consistently faces the challenge of transporting their goods to the market in a timely fashion. A smart asset management system ensures that the products reach the market on time in proper condition and are handled the way they are supposed to be.

In the construction sector, an asset management system lets the builder or the supervisors track the availability of raw materials and plan construction accordingly, to reduce their operational costs. Additionally, the system reduces the risks of theft at the construction site by tracking assets closely.

Asset management systems are widespread in a multitude of industries, serving various purposes, including asset tracking, performance management, and predictive maintenance. Want to know more about how IoT boosts your asset management process? Let’s take a step further.