Discover how Industry 4.0 transforms manufacturing through automation, data-driven insights, and empowered workers. Learn why integrating technology, people, and processes is crucial for success.
Well over a decade after the concept of Industry 4.0 was introduced, there has been a major shift in how products are manufactured and delivered. Thanks to Industry 4.0’s focus on digital transformation as the lynchpin to its success, manufacturers have seen a drastic improvement in time-to-market, efficiency, and productivity.
Decision velocity, the ability to make informed and data-driven business decisions, has been a beneficial result of this digital era, marked by automation, analytics, and AI. The evolution of Industry 4.0 will increasingly require even deeper levels of efficiency, effectiveness, and economics, and technology will hold the key to its success.
Despite the realization of key Industry 4.0 promises, one promise that has yet to be fully realized is the integration of new technologies to provide a new level of insights and actions across the enterprise. The true fulfillment of Industry 4.0 lies in integrating disparate systems and data while ensuring that all employees and processes are rowing in the same direction.
Consider how the intersection of technology, people, and processes—the three key components of Industry 4.0—is evolving to enable a new level of manufacturing excellence.
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Innovative New Technologies
Advanced technologies and digital solutions are used in different parts of the manufacturing enterprise — from the plant floor to the business offices — enabling a new level of quality and speed. Automation and robotics are replacing manual labor. Machines handle repetitive tasks quickly and accurately, from assembly and welding to painting or packaging. Robots, often equipped with advanced sensors and machine vision systems, interact with their environments and perform complex tasks with less human intervention.
Additionally, the Internet of Things connects physical devices to the Internet, allowing them to communicate, share data, and monitor equipment. Sensors embedded in machinery track performance metrics such as temperature, vibration, and operational status, all in an attempt to reduce downtime, boost productivity, and prevent equipment failures.
The star player in manufacturing automation – Artificial intelligence (AI) – is increasingly used on the plant floor and across the enterprise. It’s being integrated into manufacturing processes to optimize operations and analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and make predictions. This can mean improving quality control by detecting defects in real time or optimizing supply chain logistics to reduce costs and delays. The recent ETQ Pulse of Quality in Manufacturing survey revealed overwhelming plans for AI adoption among manufacturers across the U.S., U.K., and Germany, with 47 percent of respondents planning to use AI in the next two years and 33 percent already using it.
A New Approach to Worker Roles
Accelerated by the increasing use of new technologies and digital solutions, the realization of Industry 4.0 is also marked by new ways of working for the people on the frontlines and corner offices of manufacturing enterprises. Today’s new technologies are not confined to upper management but are widely used on the plant floor among “connected workers.” According to results from the same ETQ Pulse of Quality in Manufacturing survey, a wide majority (85%) of respondents said that “most” or “all” plant floor workers have access to electronic devices, and 80 percent said “most” or “all” functions have access to relevant quality data. This means that the critical data being gathered through technology and stored in enterprise and quality management systems (QMS) is also accessible enterprise-wide, empowering employees to take a data-driven approach to their work.
The key to empowering frontline workers is data. According to Deloitte, “Organizations can achieve tangible benefits by elevating the frontline worker digital experience and empowering their frontline workforce with the technology, tools, and information required for the job.” They also explain, “When frontline workers are provided a thoughtful and strategic mix of technology to perform their jobs, productivity increases on average by 22%.”
The massive amounts of data within enterprise and plant floor systems, sensors, and equipment ensure safe and seamless operations. Training data helps workers follow safe operating procedures and allows them to share data that can impact safety. Data is powering AI on the assembly line to identify product quality issues before they reach end users. Data is now also becoming the purview of the connected worker, who is empowered and integrated within their working environment via technology.
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Shifting Processes and Ways of Working
Industry 4.0 is also marked by new ways of working, changing workflows, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) that are adapting to accommodate a workforce now supported by automation. Pivotal to this new automation-driven era is the integration of the new technologies into a seamless network, creating smart factories, highly efficient production systems, and enterprises with integrated quality and operational data accessible to all roles that
Industry 4.0 introduces a more collaborative work environment, where cross-functional teams become essential as diverse expertise is required to manage complex systems. Engineers, data scientists, IT professionals, quality professionals, as well as frontline workers and business roles, must work together to break down the siloes and collaborate – not only across internal teams but with external partners and technology providers as well. In fact, according to the ETQ Pulse of Quality in Manufacturing Survey, sixty-one percent of respondents claim that recalls of up to one-half of products can be attributed to supplier issues.
The complete realization of Industry 4.0 is well underway, but it still requires a strategic approach to disruptive technologies, empowered teams, and processes that recognize enterprise-wide collaboration and integration. It’s the only way for manufacturers committed to leading in an increasingly complex marketplace to realize quality excellence and true competitive advantage fully.
