When you think of your online master of science in analytics and the career path it offers, the manufacturing industry doesn’t usually pop into mind.
Here’s the thing though, big data is now working to improve manufacturing. This means that an online MSA degree can actually be quite useful in the field of manufacturing.
Advanced analytics – the new tool in manufacturing
It seems as though advanced analytics experts are quickly finding a rather important role for themselves in the field of manufacturing and industries that are process-based. One of the big things that manufacturers are looking to do is to save money and reduce their costs, and now analytics are helping them to find ways to do just that.
The ability to look at more variables
In order to save money and reduce costs you need to be able to look at a variety of factors. Thanks to advanced analytics the amount of variables that can be examined at any one time has increased exponentially. It’s revealing issues and problems that were otherwise hidden, or were found much later in the manufacturing process. The manufacturer can then make the necessary changes that will result in higher yields, lower costs, and higher quality products.
Think about the cost-savings in finding problems early on. Instead of running through a whole batch or cycle of units that prove to be faulty, the materials, time, and money will be saved.
Real-time data now available
Another aspect of advanced analytics and big data is that manufacturers are now able to view information in real-time. This means they can see information, such as the quality of the product, as it is actually being made. Where this helps is in giving a timeline to customers of when to expect their product. The manufacturer can look at a batch, know that the quality is up to par during production, and therefore give an accurate delivery date earlier in the process.
Determine custom products
For companies that offer custom products it can be hard to know how much time to devote to this type of manufacturing. With big data you can reveal what the most popular custom items are and how much they sell for, which ones aren’t making the company money, and then make changes based on the data. Again the data is able to save the company time, money, and supplies.
Use the data to manage risks
Here’s another interesting way that big data is helping the manufacturing industry. When it comes to deliveries and shipments, weather can play a pretty large part. It can cause all kinds of delays and problems that are completely out of the company’s control – or are they? Big data can help a manufacturer find ways to get around the delays by identifying potential problems before they happen. It will let you know about weather risks so you can react accordingly with a contingency plan.
Manufacturing relying on big data in a big way
It seems as though the manufacturing industry is now looking at big data and relying on it in a big way to save the industry time, resources, and money.
