Every time there is a generalized change in any sector you can bet a bottom that a word will be coined next to it, and the new buzzword for the combination of industry and the current Internet of Things (IoT) technology is the industry 4.0.
Think about what the industrial revolution did for the Victorians and have an idea of the wholesale exchange rate that the industrial sector is already taking. You are probably wondering exactly what it is.
First came the steam and the first machines that mechanized part of the work of our ancestors. The next was electricity, the assembly line and the birth of mass production. The third age of the industry arose with the advent of computers and the beginnings of automation, when robots and machines began to replace human workers on those assembly lines.
And now we’re entering Industry 4.0, where computers and automation will come together in a totally new way, with robotics remotely connected to computer systems equipped with machine learning algorithms that can learn and control robotics with very little participation from human operators
We defined Industry 4.0 as the next phase in the digitization of the manufacturing sector, driven by four interruptions: the amazing increase in data volumes, computational power and connectivity, especially the new low-power wide-area networks; The emergence of analytical capabilities and business intelligence; New forms of man-machine interaction such as tactile interfaces and augmented reality systems; And improvements in the transfer of digital instructions to the physical world, such as advanced robotics and three-dimensional printing. (However, the four trends are not the reason for the “4.0”, but the fourth great stir in modern manufacturing, after the poor revolution of the seventies, the outsourcing phenomenon of the nineties and the automation that took off. 2000 years).
smart factory
Industry 4.0 introduces what has been called the “smart factory,” in which cybernetic systems monitor the physical processes of the factory and make decentralized decisions. Physical systems become the Internet of Things,communicating and cooperating with each other and with human beings in real time through the wireless network.
For a factory or system to be considered Industry 4.0, it must include:
- Interoperability: machines, devices, sensors and people who connect and communicate with each other.
- Transparency of information: systems create a virtual copy of the physical world through sensor data to contextualize the information.
- Technical assistance – both the ability of systems to support human beings in decision making and problem solving and the ability to help human beings with tasks that are too difficult or unsafe for human beings.
- Decentralized decision making – the ability of cybernetic systems to make simple decisions for themselves and to become as autonomous as possible.
The Industry 4.0 is not limited to factories. After all, smart products do more than actively control their own production process; Once they are delivered to a customer, they serve as a platform for new business models. In the future, there will be billions of smart products that are connected to the Internet throughout their lifetime, and will save huge amounts of data (big data) on their own operating conditions and product states in the cloud. All the data they have collected can be used to optimize the products. Moreover, intelligent algorithms can link existing data with new information (intelligent data).
smart services
They provide a basis for offering customers personalized services based on data (smart services) in addition to the physical product. For example, operators of diagnostic devices can collect and analyze data on all devices that are operating in the area they are responsible for and use them to generate new services, such as possible diagnostics. Compared to current business models, the underlying database will be exponentially better.
But as with any major change, there are inherent challenges in adopting an industry 4.0 model.
Data security problems increase considerably when integrating new systems and greater access to these systems. In addition, proprietary production knowledge becomes a computer security problem as well
- A high degree of reliability and stability is needed for reliable cyber communication that can be difficult to achieve and maintain.
- Maintaining the integrity of the production process with less human supervision could become a barrier.
- The loss of highly paid human jobs is always a concern when new automations are introduced.
- And avoiding technical problems that could cause costly production cuts is always a concern.
In addition, there is a lack of experience and a systematic workforce to create and implement these systems, not to mention the general reluctance of stakeholders and investors to invest heavily in new technologies.
benefits
But the benefits of an industry 4.0 model could overcome the concerns of many production facilities. In very dangerous work environments, the health and safety of human workers could be dramatically improved. Supply chains could be more easily controlled when there is data at all levels of the manufacturing and delivery process. Computer control could produce much more reliable and consistent productivity and performance. And the results for many companies could be higher revenues, market share and profits.
Reports have even suggested that emerging markets like India could benefit greatly from industry 4.0 practices, and the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, has declared itself a “test town of Industry 4.0” to encourage investment and innovation in the manufacturing sector.
The question, then, is not whether Industry 4.0 comes, but how quickly. As with big data and other business trends, I suspect early adopters will be rewarded for their bravery by jumping on this new technology, and those who avoid the risk of change become irrelevant and fall behind.
Most of these digital technologies are brewing for some time. Some are not yet ready for scaling up. But many are now at a point where their greater reliability and lower cost are beginning to make sense for industrial applications.
To take full advantage of the Industry 4.0 technologies and overcome the first line with a digital business model, companies will have to take one step: prepare for a digital transformation. Manufacturers must start today to join the search for the best digital talent, and think about how to structure their digital organization.
Data management and cybersecurity will be critical problems to solve. Many companies will find that a “two-speed” data architecture can help them deploy new technologies at the required speed, while preserving mission-critical applications.
Autor: Rubén García.