How will blockchain technology affect manufacturing?

How will blockchain technology affect manufacturing?

When it comes to blockchain, many people are absent-minded. However, it has become the headline news of major news portals and has emerged in the financial field. As a distributed accounting technology, blockchain is changing the financial industry and may completely change other industries.

Blockchain has the characteristics of decentralization, does not depend on the third-party notary office, and the failure of any distributed node will not affect the overall work of the system, and has the advantage of not being modified or tampered with privately, and has become a brand-new data storage and accounting model.

As we all know, the emergence of Bitcoin has changed the way many people deal with finance, but this is just one of many cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is actually a manifestation of blockchain technology. Blockchain technology allows bitcoin owners to complete transactions safely without banks or intermediaries, which brings great benefits. Now, other industries are beginning to realize the role of blockchain, which helps to realize the Industry 4.0 model in the manufacturing field.

Industry 4.0, also known as the fourth industrial revolution, is a digital revolution. Its main purpose is to promote the connection between the virtual world and the physical world, such as connecting the factory equipment with the virtual model in the computer through digital twins, so as to realize highly visual production. Blockchain can promote this connection and make it easier for humans and machines to connect and understand each other.

So, what kind of value can the blockchain generate for the manufacturing industry? What impact will this distributed data storage technology bring?

Reduce manufacturing costs

Because blockchain is an unchangeable point-to-point data storage system, it can ensure that data will not be lost due to node failure. Therefore, when manufacturers transmit and save important files through blockchain technology, they don't have to worry about losing them halfway. When the document is appreciated, the system will re-create a block and add it to the previous block to form an easy-to-track chain. Everyone can see where the information is going, which will improve the traceability of the supply chain.

Because the supply chain of manufacturing industry is often distributed all over the world, their delivery transactions are at different time stages, which will make it difficult to track every component in the process of product development, manufacturing and delivery. Then, a smarter and safer supply chain can be created through the blockchain, because it provides a reliable path that can be seen in real time.

Transparent real-time supply chain system can enable manufacturers to quickly find and solve unexpected problems. Whether it is a product error or a security vulnerability, they can find out the cause of the problem through the blockchain, which can reduce the possibility of product recall and further reduce the cost of product manufacturing services.

Prevent data manipulation and tampering

With the development of digitalization and industrial Internet of Things, manufacturing has become the second largest target of hacker attacks. Therefore, in modern manufacturing, cyber attacks have obviously become a common threat. Blockchain provides an innovative way to improve network security and protect organizations from network attacks. Because the blockchain uses a brand-new method to store information, it can prevent data from being manipulated and tampered with, and further improve data security.

Blockchain technology can see the document and process chain, and supply chain partners can check the authenticity of products and processes at any stage. In addition, every transaction can be audited and tracked. It is much more difficult for hackers to attack distributed networks than traditional centralized networks, because it is meaningless for distributed networks to attack a single node. Unless all nodes are invaded, data can only be modified. Every time data is stored or inserted, a new block will be generated, and when a hacker invades a block, a new block will also be generated, which is easy to track.

Autonomous machine maintenance

In the era of Industry 4.0, advanced automation equipment, sensors and actuators will be widely used. The maintenance of these machines will be an arduous task, and factory managers may need to master more advanced technology to meet the requirements of maintaining equipment. In addition, if it is a large number of equipment, it is also difficult to maintain.

Some factories are trying new methods to maintain equipment, such as state-based maintenance and predictive maintenance, and using artificial intelligence technology to automatically diagnose and remind employees to maintain when problems are found, thus reducing expensive downtime. In this process, the blockchain can make the machine more autonomous. When the machine is damaged, it can automatically place an order to replace parts, and manufacturers and parts suppliers are closely linked through blockchain.

At present, the application scope of blockchain in manufacturing industry is not very clear. However, blockchain can simplify enterprises, protect many processes in the supply chain, and ultimately benefit enterprises, suppliers and customers.