Plant Equipment and Hire May 2018 | Page 42

INSIGHT

INDUSTRY 4.0 – GROWTH, CHALLENGES,

AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR MANUFACTURERS

By Dereshin Pillay
Over the next couple of decades, rapid advances in technology have the potential to reinvent the industrial, IT, and manufacturing sectors, under the banner of Industry 4.0.

The Internet of Things( IoT), Big Data, Cyber-Physical Systems( CPS), and Smart Factory technologies( robotics) are all poised to deliver greater productivity, choice, and quality in shorter timeframes, while decreasing the dependency on cheap labour providers.

Smart automated processes that leave little chance for defect may be the shift that industry and manufacturing need to rid itself of the stigma attached to enlisting low-wage labour forces. Amid challenges that could impede adoption— not least of which is the question of the impact on jobs in an economy where the labour-intensive manufacturing sector has offered a counterweight to unemployment and poverty— Industry 4.0 could spell new opportunities for growth and development in a sector that has remained fairly unchanged for many years.
Technology breeds opportunity There has been little change to the way things have been manufactured over the past while. Although technology has seeped into the industry, most plants still rely heavily on labour to produce and assemble components, usually done separately. New technologies reimagine this process, from conception and design, to production and quality control. We look at the opportunities this creates for the South African market.
Industry 4.0 broadly covers Industrial Internet of Things( IIoT) and smart manufacturing— coextensive technology developments with the collective aim of creating universal connectedness and computation within the confines of a production environment. Together, these developments spur the ability to manage and use data in real time to boost decisionmaking, design, production, and delivery.
Cognitive systems, from robotics to Artificial Intelligence( AI), allow manufacturers to develop full autonomy of their systems. They effectively leverage the deluge of data delivered by countless sensors, smart devices, and external sources to ensure market needs and desires are met.
Built on the back of AI and robotics, and around machine-tomachine communication, edge and sensor fusion help machines to self-determine and correct problems in real time. Sensors also deliver a wealth of valuable insights into the manufacturing process to reduce wastage, cut inefficiencies, minimise maintenance, and create conditions that aim for zero defects. This, in turn, maximises output and profits.
Cloud computing enables these technologies to come together on a single, easily accessible, and manageable platform. The opportunity exists, then, for globalisation. Manufacturers can start looking at leveraging the services of skilled specialists anywhere in the world, hiring them on demand on a project or requirement basis.
The consumer demand for customised products is currently difficult to achieve in a mass-scale environment. Accessing
T-Systems South Africa outsourced services and combining them with Advanced Manufacturing Systems( AMS) like augmented reality and 3-D printing could overcome this challenge while still meeting quality and safety standards.
Ultimately, IT, industry, and production will inevitably fuse into one single stream to become the‘ new normal’. Production will hinge on technology and the adoption of automation to drive down costs and improve outputs. The challenge will be how to differentiate oneself from a competitive market using the same technology to produce goods of similar quality. It is likely that the next 10 – 20 years will see component manufacturers assuming the roles of assemblers as well as designers to deliver to a market that demands fast, custom goods.
Overcoming the barriers to adoption Of course, there are many challenges that could impede adoption of this new normal. The most highlighted one is the potential impact on jobs. South Africa’ s National Development Plan( NDP) specifically targets manufacturing as an area that plays a pivotal role in achieving employment growth goals.
So how do manufacturers adopt technology to automate, improve outputs, and reduce costs while not only maintaining, but increasing, their workforce?
In South Africa, early adoption will be higher with selfcontained, specialised industries where employees can be more easily re-tooled. Industries, such as engineering within the general manufacturing and automotive spaces, are able to introduce automation while re-skilling their workforce to become data scientists, systems maintainers, operations optimisers, and the like.
Although manufacturing is considered a domain of‘ cheap labour’, workers in these industries are skilled and experienced in their field. This opens up the opportunity for them to become specialists. In areas where automation, even backed by analytics and AI, is introduced, specialists with a deep understanding of their industry will know best how to program systems and customise them to truly automate. ■
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dereshin Pillay is the sales and service management head for Manufacturing and Automotive at ICT outsourcing service provider T-Systems South Africa.
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