Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and LIMS Software
Why is an IIoT-laboratory with connected IIoT-devices so important nowadays?
IIoT is an acronym for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). It is strongly connected to Internet of Things (IoT), a network of physical devices connected in a virtual way, such as lab equipment and instruments. Implementing IoT or IIoT prevents laboratory technicians from dealing manually with tricky tasks, which can cause hours or days of direct monitoring.
Laboratory technicians can use the IoT to deposit vast amounts of experimental data into the cloud after collecting them directly from instruments. They can also control experiments remotely.
When it comes to the manufacturing application area, it is essential to mention that IT-solutions play a crucial role in supporting humans in these processes. This article will deal with LIMS software and its role in the digital revolution. LIMS means Laboratory Information Management System and is a particular type of laboratory software used to manages workflows, data, and samples. It could also be considered as the bridge to your Lab 4.0. Specifically, the case of [FP]-LIMS, the LIMS solution designed by the German company Fink & Partner GmbH, will be analyzed.
To better understand LIMS in the world of Industrial Internet of Things, it is essential to analyze some key-facts before.
In 1999 the expression “Internet of Things” was used for the first time and concerned devices performing functions with the sporadic need for human interaction. What does this mean?
In combination with Machine-to-Machine (M2M), cyber-physical systems (CPS), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), cloud and cognitive computing, digital supply chain, and artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) concerns one of the essential concepts of Industry 4.0.
However, it is also crucial to distinguish between the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to have a more in-depth understanding of LIMS's role in the world of IIoT.
The concept of the Internet of Things has become very popular in the last 5 years. The extensive use of the Internet Protocol (IP) Internet of Things can be explained as an extension of the Internet and other network connections to different sensor devices, mostly connected to other “smart” devices. Their most important quality is to "interact" or "interoperate" to share data in the connected network. This implies just a little or no need for human power or interaction.
The Industrial Internet of Things (also known as Industrial IoT or IIoT) is essential to the smart manufacturing field and sets the concrete purposes of the industrial digital transformation. IIoT involves automation, optimization, smart manufacturing, performance management, maintenance, and industrial control.
LIMS plays an essential role as an upgrade for your lab management and as a bridge for improved and digitalized workflows and all IIoT-devices.
Examining the standards mentioned above, [FP]-LIMS might be the solution to your lab problems. Designed to connect many different measurement instruments from most other manufacturers, [FP]-LIMS is developed to collect, merge, archive, track, evaluate (and much more!) all the data you usually manually import from your IIoT-devices, even if they are produced by different manufacturers.
[FP]-LIMS saves them all in one database so that you can generate certificates and automatic reports. Through [FP]-LIMS it is possible to avoid using MS Excel and therefore, typos and errors.
[FP]-LIMS can also communicate with upper-level systems such as PLS, ERP, and SAP. Since 2020 [FP]-LIMS supports the certified communication with SAP S/4HANA®, the next-business-generation ERP system for big enterprises, and has the corresponding interface. Inspection lots, tests, and production orders for non-ending implemented digital laboratory processes concern, therefore, to Fink & Partner's solution's strengths.
Reducing costs, improving quality, production, and productivity, and enriching innovation: [FP]-LIMS is conceived for your Lab 4.0 and smart manufacturing processes.
The safety of IIoT-devices and data integrity has been an arousing factor of insecurity during the last few years with a discussion about the safety of storing online lab data. [FP]-LIMS is not only an essential lab assistant that collects, evaluates, and archives your data and samples but also the bridge to store all of them in digital safe clouds, since the software engineers are working on the project "secure certificate and digital identity" and developing an interface to store data into a blockchain as a hash to keep them safe and avoid any kind of falsification.
In brief, [FP]-LIMS is an excellent fit into the IIoT-world since it fulfills the new upcoming Industrial Internet of Things standards for smart manufacturing to turn laboratory into a Lab 4.0.