Industry 4.0
What is Industry 4.0? The intent of Industry 4.0 is to drive flexibility in manufacturing operations, in order to meet emerging demand patterns of local customers, with the capability of making a high range of products in small batches without the sacrifice of performance as compared to higher volume and more dedicated production scenarios. The focus of industry 4.0 in manufacturing has been mainly on the technology required to connect machines and systems together, with digital solutions that use the data to optimize production and related activities, especially in cases of high-mix and low volume. A simple phrase “build to order with mass production efficiency” is often used to summarize this so-called 4th Industrial Revolution.
Trends that have been affecting the industry progressively over the last decades, specifically the increase in the number of products and variants, the cost of finished goods stock, and the resultant need for high-mix, low-volume production have drastically changed the way in which assembly manufacturing works. The German government recognized the need and opportunity to support small and medium sized business to be better prepared in terms of competitiveness, as the true costs of the mass production business in remote areas of the world was realized, in terms of distribution costs, investment and price depreciation of an escalating amount of stock, and environmental concerns. As increasingly intelligent and flexible automation becomes available, fixed costs of labor can be reduced. Since labor rates are a key element in cost differentiation between local and remote manufacturing, the balance of competitiveness tips in favor of local manufacturing, as long as such automation can be effectively utilized.
The initial real-world effect of Industry 4.0 however, has been for equipment vendors to rush out with their Industry 4.0 messaging, so as to ensure that their existing products are perceived as “future-proof” in the eyes of customers. This led to significant confusion in the market, including a wide range of reinterpretation of what Industry 4.0 represents, especially as customers realized that in the vast majority of cases, what they were now buying was little different from what they had before, made up of existing technologies and proprietary data. Such technologies as IoT, cloud-based data storage and computing etc. were identified as key requirements, which again, many companies simply offered as a re-packaged legacy bespoke product.
What was subsequently lost, was understanding that Industry 4.0 is not a simple technology change, and is not even primarily targeted at increased operational automation, which is associated more with Industry 3.0, but actually a layer of intelligence above existing automation, responsible for managing, organizing and optimizing operations in line with customer expectation for quick response to rapidly changing demand conditions. Industry 4.0 is therefore essentially a software solution. AIC Solutions is a key driver within the industry, and contributor to standards and technologies which drive interoperability of data flow from and between hardware automation and other manually performed processes across the manufacturing space.
Unlike any other solutions in the market, FIMS was conceived based on modern software principles, a single platform, founded on IoT technology, providing numerous system interfaces that make the best use of data available from machines in native formats, all the way through to supporting the latest IoT data exchange standards. FIMS can communicate with a multitude of PLC's, IoT Controllers, Sensors and custom protocols used in industry today.
- Greater Flexibility
- Improved Agility
- Improved Efficiency
- Better Communicability
- Enhanced Productivity
- Increased Profitability
- Better Customer Experience
Greater Flexibility
One of the advantages of AI and big data analytics is that these systems allow much greater flexibility than previously envisaged. Data is gathered constantly and in real time, taking in anything from the movements of the global economy, to microscopic alterations in the supply chain and consumer demand. Industry 4.0 amalgamates traditional manufacturing practices with sophisticated technology which allows for constant recalibration and decision-making. It enables the complete value chain to be visible in real time, and can provide immediate and rapid responses to change. Further, it enables a much greater degree of customisation, allowing customers a more personalised service.
Improved Agility
Industry 4.0 also offers improved agility in production and reduced lead-in times. The level of production can be more easily scaled up or down, and new products may more easily be introduced to the production line. Fully automated systems also provide opportunities for customisable manufacturing runs, and optimisation of high-mix, low volume (HMLV) manufacturing.
As your understanding of the new technologies increases, you'll gain a greater overall knowledge of the manufacturing business. Mobile control devices will provide greater transparency in supply and distribution chains, manufacturing processes and business performance. This ability to see the whole picture will highlight opportunities to innovate, develop new products, optimise distribution, or otherwise improve business processes.
Improved Efficiency
Another benefit of Industry 4.0 technologies is improved efficiency. Many of the traditional processes are being automated, with machine learning loops that constantly adjust performance in accordance with received data reports. This will result in less machine downtime, as well as enabling faster batch changeovers and introduction of new products.
Additional benefits include the use of virtual or augmented reality in product development, together with the capacities of digital twins. These advanced capabilities allow designers to explore and resolve issues in a proposed design before it goes into production, thus saving enormously on pre-production tests and modelling. More efficient business decision-making will result from machine monitoring and better data analytics, with enhanced quality control via automatic track and trace processes and RFID tagging.
Better Communicability
In the world of IoT and IIoT, everything is connected, and communicates rapidly and in real time. Traditional channels of knowledge sharing are superseded by automated connections and mobile device controls, ultimately enabling a much greater degree of connection and collaboration. Time zones, physical locations and types of platform are immaterial when data from machine performance and multiple types of sensor can be relayed instantaneously across the globe.
One of the additional benefits of Industry 4.0 communicability is that it requires no human intervention. While this may cause concern to those who envisage an AI global coup, machine and system data communications can function 24/7 without interruption across multiple production facilities worldwide. This enables them to act on sensory data and make continuous adjustments to automated production, without reference to human control.
Enhanced Productivity
Industry 4.0 technologies such as AI and machine learning enable faster and greater production by each piece of equipment, and by the system as a whole. Advanced monitoring and predictive maintenance will ensure that systems are kept running at optimum capacity, and maintain a steady, quality-controlled output.
At the same time, you'll be optimising the allocation of resources, reducing both wastage, and downtime through machine failure. The use of AI in warehouse management, collaboration with robots, and track and trace technologies will combine to streamline supply and delivery, and thus increase overall productivity.
Increased Profitability
Increased profitability is the ultimate result of reducing costs and increasing production. The upfront investment is going to be significant, and the benefits of Industry 4.0 won't be immediate. However, you will see long-term improvements in scale and rate of output. Manufacturing costs will fall dramatically at your facilities when you introduce integrated automated systems and make use of data management. You'll find that resources are used more effectively, manufacturing and distribution processes speed up, and overall product quality improves. Downtime will be reduced, along with wastage and overall operating costs.
Better Customer Experience
Industry 4.0 technologies enable the production of higher quality products at a higher profit margin. They can also allow a greater degree of flexibility for innovation, such as using HMLV processes to offer customised products. Traditional methods of mass production can still be used to make those products, but additive manufacturing and nanotechnology can allow for a higher degree of individualisation.
One of the greatest benefits of Industry 4.0 is the opportunity it offers to enhance your customers' experience and improve the service you offer them. RFID tagging and track and trace capabilities, for example, will help you resolve supply and delivery problems much more quickly. In addition, you'll see improvements in product quality and availability, and will be able to offer customers a great deal more choice.
Industry 5.0 complements the existing Industry 4.0 paradigm by highlighting research and innovation as drivers for a transition to a sustainable, human-centric and resilient European industry. It moves focus from shareholder to stakeholder value, with benefits for all concerned. Industry 5.0 attempts to capture the value of new technologies, providing prosperity beyond jobs and growth, while respecting planetary boundaries, and placing the wellbeing of the industry worker at the centre of the production process.
Industry 5.0 has its roots in the concept of “Industry 4.0,” which has been coined in Germany in 2011, as a future project and part of the country’s high-tech strategy to be commonly adopted by business, science and decision-makers. It was originally linked to how and to what extent the country had succeeded during the first decade of the 21st century and how it could be more effective in the coming decades in order to keep the number of employees in production largely stable. It was focused not only to better meet the economic but also the special ecological requirements of "green production" for a carbon-neutral, energy-efficient industry.