Industry 4.0, also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is ushering in a paradigm shift that will profoundly change the way we work, live, and interact affecting both industrialized and developing economies.
How does Industry 4.0 Impact the Current Industry?
The physical, digital and virtual worlds are intertwining, resulting in the development of Smart Factories, products, and practices. The most recent industrial revolution, known as Industry 4.0 not only aims to increase industrial structures’ adaptability, compliance, and durability but also enhance their 21st-century efficiency.
All these elements capture real-time information from industrial organizations. IoT, AI, and Digital Twin are the primary areas of Industry 4.0, which intends to significantly boost the productivity of industrial technology.
Modern businesses require productivity and comfort in managing the full Product Life cycle (PLC) in order to compete in today’s fiercely competitive market environment. Innovative predictive maintenance is made possible by IoT, and these cutting-edge technologies generate a significant amount of industrial data.
Industry 4.0 will have the greatest impact on manufacturing systems, supply chains, and industrial activities. Therefore, the construction of smart factories will have a significant impact on production processes and operations, allowing for greater operational flexibility and more efficient resource utilization.
Skill development, which will result in demographic and societal changes, is one of the most important fundamental factors for the successful acceptance and implementation of the Industry 4.0 framework.
In the future work vision, this new industrial paradigm will significantly impact the labor market and professional roles, and it will be critical to ensure that more jobs are generated than are lost.
Success Stories with Industrial 4.0 Technologies:
Innovation and scientific advancements are critical in businesses, industries, and countries. However, as technology advances and interconnectivity grows, businesses are expected to operate on Industry 4.0 systems using the applications of Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things(IoT), Digital Twin, and Big Data.
Artificial Intelligence – Traditionally, AI has meant using computers to mimic human intelligence, but the term has recently expanded to include “analytics” and “big data”. Sensor-enabled operations are generating massive amounts of data that can be mined using AI techniques to uncover previously unknown relationships between processing conditions and outcomes, which can then be used to improve process design and control.
Success story: Process automation is in charge of using production management software or robotic machines to automate complex processes in manufacturing. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that uses AI-based software to handle high-volume repetitive tasks that previously required a human workforce.
These tasks can include recording maintenance, answering queries, performing calculations, etc. A French multinational company decided to use RPA to eliminate tasks that added no value (such as automating document preparation etc.) As a result, the company was able to save time for their employers, allowing them to refocus on activities aimed at customer satisfaction.
Digital Twin: Digital twins are virtual replicas of processes, production lines, factories, and supply networks created by industries as a result of digital transformation.
Digital twins are becoming a business necessity, allowing data analysis and system monitoring to head off problems before they occur, preventing downtime, developing new opportunities in a cloud-based system, and even planning for the future using simulations, Think of a digital twin as a bridge between the physical and digital worlds.
Success story: According to research and markets, the digital twin market is expected to grow to $36 billion by 2025. A growing number of healthcare organizations will aid this trend. The concept of digital twins is already being used to improve the quality of COPD treatment.
By incorporating digital twins into treatment, doctors can visualize medical responses to a specific condition without administering medication. Even before a doctor or nurse sees the patient, the data is entered into an EHR (Electronic Health Record), creating a digital twin with historical data and diagnosis reports.
The data points from the digital twin are then studied and analyzed to arrive at an accurate diagnosis for ongoing treatment. Health-centric sensors are sometimes integrated with the digital twin model, which tracks the health vitals and disease progression.
As a result, digital twins can identify a pattern that will influence how the medical condition is treated.
Big Data: The impact of Industry 4.0 big data on manufacturing is expected to grow and create new opportunities. Production, supply chain, and sustainability would be impacted to increase business efficiency and profitability and improve decision-making.
Success story: One of the US-based manufacturers and distributors of electronic test tools and software has helped clients in improving asset maintenance by providing maintenance teams with solutions that can effectively analyze crucial asset information in real-time.
They have ensured reactive and preventative equipment maintenance based on real-time asset data rather than a predefined calendar. As a result, the client’s asset maintenance has improved, and maintenance costs have greatly dropped.
Additionally, the second-largest airplane manufacturer in the world chose to integrate Big Data technologies into their business practices despite producing 6000 turbine fan blades annually and producing 3 petabytes of data annually.
Engine Health System controls the RR engines (used by more than 500 civil and 150 military entities worldwide), employing up to 100 parameters at any given time. This data is recorded in the flight recorders and examined after the flight.
Internet of Things (IoT) platforms: The term “Internet of Things” (IoT) refers to any device that can collect data, transmit it over the internet, and connect to other devices. According to a report, between 1992 and 2018, the average price of a sensor dropped by more than 90% (from $22.00 to $1.40), while microprocessor clock speeds increased by a factor of 991. (from 29 million to 28,751 million Hz). This convergence of cost reduction and increased processing speed has enabled the vision of a vast array of interconnected sensors on machines, people, and products that can take actions based on real-time sensor readings.
Success story: One of the companies in Amsterdam built a smart IoT-powered office building for the global audit with 28,000 sensors that sends resident-generated data for adjusting the building’s efficiency.
To boost workplace productivity, sensors track employee movements and activities and direct them to the most available or convenient working spaces via a dedicated mobile application.
This way, the workspaces are distributed evenly and rationally, so that the staff does not waste time looking for an unoccupied meeting room at the last minute.
Industries need to use the latest technologies for their production processes not only to go to market faster but also to reap the following benefits:
Implementation of Industry 4.0 is Not Without Challenges:
Many manufacturing companies are embracing Industry 4.0 technologies, but they are not without challenges. I dare you to go a day in the manufacturing industry without hearing the phrase “Industry 4.0.” And, in an age when most businesses are aiming for digital transformation, it stands to reason that manufacturing technologies are evolving to fully encompass both automation information and data exchange.
However, many businesses continue to struggle with successful adoption; for example, according to Industry Week, two out of every three companies piloting digital manufacturing solutions fail when scaling up to large-scale deployment.
Industries have to cope with many real-time manufacturing issues such as breakdowns or slow-down equipment, efficiency crisis, disruptions of flows, etc.
Many businesses may face the following challenges and risks as they implement Industry 4.0.
Industry 4.0 is on a Growth Path:
According to Forbes Business insights, the global Industry 4.0 market size was estimated by Fortune Business Insights to be at USD 114.55 billion in 2021. According to projections, the market for Industry 4.0 will increase from $130.90 billion in 2022 to $377.30 billion in 2029.
Take a look at the global market of Industry 4.0:
Makoro™ helps accelerate the Industry 4.0 Journey:
Makoro™ uses IoT, Digital Twins, Artificial Intelligence, and Advanced Analytics to continuously give insights and recommendations that optimize industrial supply chain processes.
Makoro™ uses AI & advanced data analytics to formulate asset performance management recommendations in the natural language of the user so they can easily understand and act upon the recommendations. This enables faster, better, and more compliant decision-making.
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