Industry 4.0: The Evolution of the Manufacturing Sector and its Production Process
Industry 4.0 is one of the hot topics nowadays, but what does it actually accomplish? It emphasizes what?
In this blog, I will briefly discuss Industry 4.0 and will touch base on how Cosmos digiFAC (an advanced Asset Management/Monitoring Solution) is associated with it.
The core focal point of Industry 4.0 is to have "digitization" of the machines in a digital network to improve the productivity of the machine shop. The topics that I will be covering in this blog are as follows:
- What was it like before Industry 4.0?
- The origin of the term Industry 4.0
- What is Industry 4.0?
- Focus Points of Industry 4.0 and Capabilities of The digiFAC
- Industry 4.0 and Asset Management
- Industry 4.0's Impact on Asset Management Performance
- Industry 4.0 Asset Management Challenges:
- Industry 4.0 Takeaways/Conclusion
What was it like before Industry 4.0?
I will be speaking about the revolutions that occur from time to time.
Industry 1.0
The First Industrial Revolution took place in Europe and the United States between 1760 and 1840.
It was the mechanization of manufacturing processes from the conventional hand production methods to the mechanized factory system.
Industry 2.0
The Second Industrial Revolution was a period of rapid standardization and industrialization between 1870 and 1914. This was the phase when the advancement in manufacturing and production technology happened.
Industry 3.0
The third industrial revolution, also known as the Digital Revolution, was the transformation of mechanical and analogue electronic technology to digital electronics between 1950 and 1970, which continues to the present day.
Industry 4.0 (Present World)
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is called the Technological Revolution, and it enables smart technology in traditional manufacturing and production processes.
The origin of the term Industry 4.0:
The term Industry 4.0 was introduced publicly in the year 2011 at Hannover Messe, which is one of the world’s largest trade fairs in Hannover, Germany, by Professor Wolfgang Wahlster, Director and CEO of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, in the context of how companies can be successful in a high-wage region with global competition.
What is Industry 4.0:
It mainly focuses on the utilization of IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things), by which a complex network of manufacturing management can have automation, data collection, data exchange, and data analysis to predict or forecast the potential failures of an asset and to improve the productivity and efficiency of the manufacturing process.
Simply put, Industry 4.0 is the new phase in the Industrial Revolution that concentrates on automation, machine-to-machine interaction, real-time data, machine learning, augmented and virtual reality, and other cutting-edge technologies in manufacturing. Industry 4.0 technologies comprise IIoT and smart manufacturing.
Focus points of Industry 4.0 and Capabilities of The digiFAC:
Focus Points:
1) Interconnectivity:
- To connect machines, devices, sensors, and people, such as operators, manufacturers, and service providers, to communicate with each other using IoT by collecting and exchanging reliable data.
2) Transparency:
- By collecting and exchanging the data of a machine at various operating conditions, provides valuable insights to operators to take the right decision at the right time to improve the efficiency of the physical asset, thereby improving production efficiency.
3) Predictive Maintenance:
- Using IIoT sensors and interconnectivity technology, the healthiness of an asset can be identified in real-time, allowing machine operators to perform cost-effective maintenance rather than using the Run to Fail concept.
When we look at the above focus points, we can understand the core objectives of Cosmos digiFAC and its association with I4.0!
By leveraging I4.0 concepts, Cosmos digiFAC adopts the capabilities of
- To connect machines, devices, sensors, and people, such as operators, manufacturers, and service providers, to communicate with each other using IoT by collecting and exchanging reliable data.
2) Transparency:
- By collecting and exchanging the data of a machine at various operating conditions, provides valuable insights to operators to take the right decision at the right time to improve the efficiency of the physical asset, thereby improving production efficiency.
3) Predictive Maintenance:
- Using IIoT sensors and interconnectivity technology, the healthiness of an asset can be identified in real-time, allowing machine operators to perform cost-effective maintenance rather than using the Run to Fail concept.
When we look at the above focus points, we can understand the core objectives of Cosmos digiFAC and its association with I4.0!
By leveraging I4.0 concepts, Cosmos digiFAC adopts the capabilities of
> Network Collaboration:
The digiFAC can connect multiple machines at the same time to exchange and collaborate information within the company. Also, Cosmos developed an application through which manufacturers can operate their machine shops anywhere in the world and can share model databases.
> Improving asset strategy performance by effective analysis of the data.
> Condition Monitoring and Alert Mechanism:
By leveraging machine sensors, digiFAC can analyze the data and monitor the machine as well as provide the machine alert mechanism for any kind of downtime that may occur.
The digiFAC can connect multiple machines at the same time to exchange and collaborate information within the company. Also, Cosmos developed an application through which manufacturers can operate their machine shops anywhere in the world and can share model databases.
> Improving asset strategy performance by effective analysis of the data.
> Condition Monitoring and Alert Mechanism:
By leveraging machine sensors, digiFAC can analyze the data and monitor the machine as well as provide the machine alert mechanism for any kind of downtime that may occur.
Industry 4.0 and Asset Management:
Industry 4.0 makes it possible for the tools like digiFAC to capture a machine's performance in real-time. According to the survey, 55% of manufacturers now leverage this data to employ actionable decision-making for asset management, with another 28% aiming to do so within the next year.
In fact, it is notable that among the executives defining their company's Industry 4.0 skills as "leaders," two-thirds are already employing real-time data for their asset management. Furthermore, digital leaders are rapidly deploying advanced human-machine interfaces on their plant floors, which, when combined with equipment-specific technology, can assist manufacturers in digitalizing machine operation and maintenance. As a result, digital leaders claim an increase in smart devices in manufacturing processes.
Industry 4.0's Impact on Asset Management Performance:
According to the study, the implementation of Industry 4.0 in plants and manufacturing processes and its influence on asset management activities has resulted in productivity enhancement and profitability. The vast majority of manufacturers claim that using smart devices has improved their asset management performance. It helped them be competitive enough in the market.
Industry 4.0 Asset Management Challenges:
According to the report, the impact on asset management processes could be substantially greater if network infrastructures were more capable of supporting Industry 4.0 communications. However, less than half of the network infrastructures can currently support machine-to-machine connections (e.g., sensors in one machine activate actions in another machine), and only a third of the devices can currently interface with enterprise IT systems (i.e., machine sensors convey data to the company's business systems). Due to this lack of capable networks, many manufacturers are unable to access information from the factory floor. The ratio of manufacturers who require Industry 4.0-enabled data and the manufacturers who actually have access to it is less than half.
Industry 4.0 Takeaways/Conclusion:
1) Industry 4.0 provides manufacturers with numerous opportunities to improve asset management practices and machine performance. However, many companies still don't completely utilize digital technologies to enhance them.
Industry 4.0 makes it possible for the tools like digiFAC to capture a machine's performance in real-time. According to the survey, 55% of manufacturers now leverage this data to employ actionable decision-making for asset management, with another 28% aiming to do so within the next year.
In fact, it is notable that among the executives defining their company's Industry 4.0 skills as "leaders," two-thirds are already employing real-time data for their asset management. Furthermore, digital leaders are rapidly deploying advanced human-machine interfaces on their plant floors, which, when combined with equipment-specific technology, can assist manufacturers in digitalizing machine operation and maintenance. As a result, digital leaders claim an increase in smart devices in manufacturing processes.
Industry 4.0's Impact on Asset Management Performance:
According to the study, the implementation of Industry 4.0 in plants and manufacturing processes and its influence on asset management activities has resulted in productivity enhancement and profitability. The vast majority of manufacturers claim that using smart devices has improved their asset management performance. It helped them be competitive enough in the market.
Industry 4.0 Asset Management Challenges:
According to the report, the impact on asset management processes could be substantially greater if network infrastructures were more capable of supporting Industry 4.0 communications. However, less than half of the network infrastructures can currently support machine-to-machine connections (e.g., sensors in one machine activate actions in another machine), and only a third of the devices can currently interface with enterprise IT systems (i.e., machine sensors convey data to the company's business systems). Due to this lack of capable networks, many manufacturers are unable to access information from the factory floor. The ratio of manufacturers who require Industry 4.0-enabled data and the manufacturers who actually have access to it is less than half.
Industry 4.0 Takeaways/Conclusion:
1) Industry 4.0 provides manufacturers with numerous opportunities to improve asset management practices and machine performance. However, many companies still don't completely utilize digital technologies to enhance them.
2) Given the range of opportunities to improve equipment safety, reliability, and productivity, nearly all manufacturers should aggressively invest in their development by:
> Using IoT solutions such as digiFAC to give real-time data on how machines work allows asset management teams to respond promptly.
> By implementing technologies that provide automated and proactive machine capabilities, which assist manufacturing organizations with predictive maintenance, reduce downtime, and improve their performance.