Internet of Things to Come

As wood manufacturing machinery has become more sophisticated, it’s also become more connected – allowing manufacturing processes such as coating and gluing to be monitored from anywhere in the factory. Some machines event connect wirelessly through Blue Tooth to production servers and Enterprise Resource Planning systems.

This connectivity also allows machinery manufacturers to monitor and troubleshoot your equipment, executing remote diagnostics as readily as a car mechanic does when he plugs in your car at the repair center. Predictive and preventative maintenance is possible, just by observing power consumption variances as bearings and motors wear.
Consumer products have become more connected as well, from the obvious (think iPads and Smart Phones), to home alarm systems controlled by iPhones, or car tires that signal to the driver they are low on air.

All totaled up, this universe of wired items - now called the “Internet of Things” - totals 12 billion “things” connected. That’s a five-fold increase in just two years and now including millions of machines talking to machines in wood products and other manufacturing production; plus smart phones and computers; and millions of manufactured items embedded with RFID and other smart tags that talk to transponders.

These RFID solutions are actively used in wood manufacturing, with applications that follow products through work in progress, shipping, logistics, and all the way to retail inventory tracking at lumber, cabinetry and furniture retailers. That’s an Internet of Things.