For most manufacturing companies today, product and services innovation, the introduction of new models, and the need for flexibility and workforce engagement are some of the business drivers requiring a new way to look at factory automation. Often, the ideal opportunity to tackle these challenges arises when a company is expanding capacity or building a new production facility 'greenfield'. The Internet of Everything plays into this opportunity perfectly as easier and more seamless ways to connect people, process and data have emerged. Mahindra and Mahindra, one of India's leading automakers, seized just that opportunity to deploy a Connected Factory of the future, building the Chakan facility north of Pune in Maharashtra, to expand capacity on existing models and introduce brand new Mahindra model categories.

I recently worked with analyst firm IDC and their Manufacturing Insights practice to profile Mahindra's experiences and document best practices coming out of several years into their 'Factory of the Future' implementation. Authored by Dr. Christopher Holmes, the ensuing IDC Customer Spotlight "Designing and Implementing the Factory of the Future at Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers" details design strategies and implementation tactics utilized to automate all aspects of production at the Chakan greenfield,fromsimulations and scenario testing with Digital Factory models to a fully Converged Plantwide Ethernet architecture with Connected Factory Wireless solutions that improve throughput, quality and employee engagement. Take a look here for more details:

As another point of reference, in this IoE Tech Talk show, V.S. Partharasathy, CFO and Group CIO of Mahindra, describes the business issues they were trying to address at Chakan. For example, he describes the need for more Connected Manufacturing visibility-"what's happening in the shop floor"-and getting that real-time data with rich context up-and-down the enterprise through improved network connectivity with IoE.

According to IDC, before Mahindra started on the fully connected and 'future-proof' factory, the company first undertook a comprehensive benchmarking exercise to understand the latest technologies and who in the auto industry had implemented what. The IDC Customer Spotlight is a worthwhile read, not just for Automotive Manufacturers and their tier suppliers, but any company recognizing how Connected Factory Automation can help meet business objectives and achieve break-through, transformational outcomes.

Watch this video to learn more on how the Internet of Everything is helping Mahindra Group:

What are you trying to achieve in your factory? Join the conversation and leave me a comment.