Traditionally, the production efficiency of a factory floor is evaluated using non-real time objective functions. These are based on scheduling punctuality criteria such as 'earliness (a measure of finishing operations ahead of schedule)' and 'tardiness (a measure of delay in executing certain operations)'. With process automation becoming more and more inevitable due to the emergence of Industry 4.0 / Industry 5.0, real-time objective functions are also gaining popularity. One such criterion is 'synchronization' or 'timing'. In this article, an IoT enabled real-time synchronization approach is presented in the context of Integrated Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) from a service provider's perspective. A new business and operational model, termed as "Timing-As-A-Service (TAAS)", is introduced. In this model, the role of a service provider is to "supply" synchronization from the mobile networks to the IIoT domain.

翻译：传统上，工厂车间的生产效率通过非实时目标函数进行评估，这些函数基于调度准时性指标，例如“提前量（衡量提前完成操作的指标）”和“延迟量（衡量执行某些操作延迟的指标）”。随着工业4.0/工业5.0的兴起，流程自动化变得越来越不可避免，实时目标函数也越来越受到青睐。其中一个关键指标就是“同步”或“定时”。本文从服务提供商的角度，在集成工业物联网（IIoT）背景下提出了一种物联网支持的实时同步方法。一种名为“定时即服务（TAAS）”的新业务与运营模式被引入。在该模式中，服务提供商的作用是从移动网络向IIoT领域“提供”同步功能。