Low-code platforms enable domain specialists to quickly build out applications and workflows without the need to know how to code. This powerful ability is helping accelerate digital operations across sectors, like finance, data science, product lifecycle management, and others. Low-code is also surging in response to a limited talent pool — so much so that low-code/no-code is estimated to comprise 80% of development projects by 2024.
The move toward less manual code is becoming more commonplace in the manufacturing space as well. While the modern factory floor is already heavily automated, low-code/no-code presents an ability to fill some operational gaps outside of the core technologies that already exist. Below, we’ll review the use cases for low-code/no-code in the manufacturing industry, exploring ways operators could utilize low-code/no-code within their production lines to enable continuous improvement.
State of Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
Many paper-based processes still exist in manufacturing environments. These processes may be supporting on-the-floor routines, clocking employee time, tracking scheduled device maintenance, and so on. Regardless of their purpose, paper-based processes are challenging to maintain, standardize, and scale across any organization. What’s more, paper-based processes don’t offer a real-time window into operations, prohibiting overseers from ascertaining the status of plants simultaneously. Especially during the pandemic, there is a necessity to bundle these old methods into digital portals to enable safer distanced work.
For years now, manufacturing has been evolving toward Industry 4.0. The factory floor is significantly automated, but looping in IT to build custom solutions could introduce a bottleneck. Instead, low-code/no-code provides a way for operators to develop their own solutions in less time.
This agility is accomplished by leveraging pre-defined reusable software blocks. Low-code software development platforms typically offer a graphical user interface (GUI) for citizen developers to stitch together simple applications and program events-based logic. Such environments also make integrating data from various sources more seamless, thus lowering the barrier for integration.
Use Cases For Low-code/No-code in Manufacturing
“No-code and low-code are the future of software application development.”, writes Kat Holder on Dev.to. Platforms such as Mendix, Google App Maker, Kissflow, Appian, Zoho Creator, PowerApps, and many others provide low-code development abilities to less savvy people. So, what could they enable in manufacturing?
Well, in manufacturing, quality counts. On-floor operators need to ensure not only that production moves swiftly but that product defects are avoided. And when incidents do occur, engineers need to know immediately to execute quick response times.
Low-code is one way to aid continuous improvement and unify data sources. For example, Nautique Boat Company used low-code to develop an app to help track the locations of shop workers and their part inventory. Here are the other potential use cases for low-code/no-code in manufacturing:
- Shopfloor optimization: Low-code could be utilized to create a shared checklist of step-by-step safety procedures — an important element of most equipment handovers.
- Collecting feedback: Building a standardized method to collect internal feedback from front-line employees. This could help aggregate data on equipment failures and help direct robotic repairs.
- Aid logistics: Track inventory of materials and supply to inform reordering. Low-code could be faster and less expensive than typical Manufacturing execution systems (MES) systems.
- Inform business intelligence: Increased access to data could help improve decision-making. “Low-code development platforms can help centralize key data more easily, which simplifies managers’ task of making decisions and maximizing resource utilization while also ensuring accountability across departments,” says Jonathan Grandperrin, CEO of Mindee.
- Cloud availability: Having data cloud-accessible would enable operators to use various platforms and devices such as mobile, tablet, or unique in-house systems.
“With a low-code approach, developers can easily deliver flexible and efficient applications for various device types, including smartphones, tablets, and workplace computers — something critical in manufacturing floors — where employees are not in front of a computer,” added Grandperrin.
Example Low-code Adoption in Manufacturing
Take, for example, a machine-floor operator that wants to standardize a paper-based routine. They want to digitize a checklist of daily to-dos followed by engineers on the floor. The list consists of connecting electrical wiring, checking cooling liquid supply, emptying containers, and checking the temperature of production units. The operator uses a low-code platform to create a cloud-based checklist accessible from a mobile device. The app has a single-click button to signal the completion of each task.
A separate overseer is able to ensure factory operations are performing as usual. The result is that on-floor operators can easily track their daily progress, reducing human error. And once they refine the process, the company reuses these standard procedures with other factories as well.
Now that workers are using an app to automate one paper-based process, they also want a more efficient way to report disruptions and failures since their current paper-based processes have low information availability. They want to use the same handheld devices to easily upload pictures on the go. A mid-level operator uses a low-code platform to create an app that accepts digital improvement proposals. To avoid information overload, they use a tagging system based on organizational roles to direct information to the correct parties.
End Benefits of Low-code to Manufacturing
As you can see, low-code development could increase the agility of quickly deploying new custom software to fill operational gaps and digitize clunky paper processes. It’s a new paradigm that usually has some sort of fit within most industries.
While professional programmers are busy creating the core software for Industry 4.0, it may be difficult to bring in talent to create these custom applications from scratch on the fly. “Low-code and no-code platforms solve the problem, by letting citizen developers and those on the factory floor write apps,” writes Amy Groden-Morrison for Alpha Software.
The current real-world use cases for low-code development in manufacturing seem to be on the operational side to supplement and optimize ongoing activities on and off the shop floor. But, some low-code platforms are designed explicitly for data ingestion in an industrial production setting. Creating advanced internal flows that interact with robotics and IoT could further increase responsiveness and enable overall automation.
