Industry 4.0 is the brainchild of the German government and describes
the next phase in manufacturing, known as the post information
revolution. I came across a great primer from Boston Consulting Group
that neatly describes the nine pillars of technological advancement that
underpin Industry 4.0, all of which IT professionals must understand in
order to effectively compete in the next 10-20 years.
Big Data and Analytics
In manufacturing, analytics optimizes production quality, saves energy,
and improves equipment service. According to BSG, in an Industry 4.0
context, the collection and comprehensive evaluation of data from many
different sources—production equipment and systems as well as
enterprise- and customer-management systems—will become standard to
support real-time decision making.
Autonomous Robots
Robots in manufacturing are evolving for even greater utility, becoming
more autonomous, flexible, and cooperative. Eventually, says BSG, they
will interact with one another and work safely side by side with humans.
These robots will cost less and have a greater range of capabilities
than those used in manufacturing today.
Simulation
3D simulations of products, materials, and production processes are
already used in the engineering phase of manufacturing, but in the
future, simulations will be used in plant operations as well. These
simulations will leverage real-time data to mirror the physical world in
a virtual model. Operators will be able to test and optimize machine
settings in the virtual world before the physical changeover, driving
down machine setup times and increasing quality.
Horizontal and Vertical System Integration
Most of today’s IT systems are not fully integrated, and nor are
departments such as engineering, production, and service. But with
Industry 4.0, companies, departments, functions, and capabilities will
become more cohesive as cross-company, universal data-integration
networks evolve and enable automated value chains.
The Industrial Internet of Things
In its report, BCG mentions that today, only some of a manufacturer’s
sensors and machines are networked and make use of embedded computing.
They are typically organized in a vertical automation pyramid in which
sensors and field devices with limited intelligence and automation
controllers feed into an overarching manufacturing-process control
system. In the Industrial Internet of Things, however, more devices will
be connected, allowing them to communicate and interact with one
another and centralized controllers.
Cybersecurity
Along with the connectivity and communications protocols that come with
Industry 4.0, says BCG, the need to protect critical industrial systems
and manufacturing lines from cybersecurity threats will increase
dramatically. As a result, secure, reliable communications and
sophisticated identity and access management of machines and users will
be essential.
The Cloud
BCG reports
that Industry 4.0 will require increased data sharing across sites and
company boundaries. At the same time, the performance of cloud
technologies will improve, achieving reaction times of just several
milliseconds. As a result of this productivity boost, machine data, and
functionality will increasingly be deployed to the cloud.
Additive Manufacturing
Companies have just begun to adopt additive manufacturing, such as 3-D
printing, which they are using to prototype and produce individual
components. With Industry 4.0, claims BCG, these additive-manufacturing
methods will produce small batches of customized products that offer
construction advantages like complex, lightweight design.
Augmented Reality
These systems are currently in their infancy, but in the future,
companies will make much broader use of augmented reality to improve
decision making and work procedures. In the virtual world, operators
will learn to interact with machines by clicking on a
cyber-representation. They will also be able to change parameters and
retrieve operational data and maintenance instructions.
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Source: http://en.ofweek.com/news/Industry-4-0-is-all-about-progressive-IT-34603
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