Sensors are playing an increasingly important role in the world of business and will play a huge part in Industry 4.0. Many companies are working to create sensor networks to help businesses run more effectively.

One opportunity is detecting potential equipment failure. Knowing ahead of time that equipment needs servicing impacts a business’s ability to run efficiently and profitably while maintaining the delivery of its products to customers. These types of sensors can also enable predictive analytics.

Brewer Science is among the companies putting its expertise to work in this segment. For example, frequent Brewer Science FHE deployments have centered around data monitoring and notification of elements associated with the facility’s performance and preventative maintenance. Leading applications to-date include water, valves, pumps, and house pressure monitoring.

During NextFlex’s annual Innovation Days, Brewer Science was among the companies showcasing its advances in flexible and hybrid electronics (FHE). Ryan Moss, Brewer Science’s director of new business development, noted that Brewer Science’s FHE innovations enable sensors that are being used in customized solutions for facilities providing next-generation insights into conditions that impact overall manufacturing outcomes.

“Our technology platforms monitor things like environmental conditions affecting production and yield, improve preventative maintenance programs, reduce machine-down times and make possible the rapid calibration and reporting of manufacturing device and process performance and its impact on finished goods,” added Moss.

Moss noted that there are numerous advantages that FHE brings to the business world.

“FHE carries the advantage and ability to integrate traditionally known and trusted technology into unique and sometimes difficult locations and processes,” said Moss. “The ability for FHE to be customized for a specific process or piece of equipment allows a company to focus on the information and improvements, rather than managing new technology in their operations.”

Ultimately, the potential for sensors in the workplace is unlimited.

“The potential uses of sensors in factories and facilities is limited only by the facility,” Moss observed. “Customized FHE sensor solutions are providing the ability to capture operational variables and increased levels of data never logged in an operation before. When combined with a new level of data analytics and machine learning, this new degree of information gives a facility’s team the actionable information needed to make improved operational decisions.

“FHE is only just beginning to be recognized for its advantages regarding where it can be implemented and what information can be realized,” he added. “As per-unit costs to manufacture and deploy continue to decline, the ability for facilities and operations of all sizes to implement the technology that allows for actionable reporting of robust data will become the standard. Brewer Science is excited to be at the forefront of providing the experience and ability to assist our customers with those capabilities.”