Industry 4.0 in the opinion of LUPEON. 3D Printing as a Fundamental Tool in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The expression Industry 4.0 is present in all companies that, like LUPEON, want to face the digital transformation, but to what concepts does it refer to? Fourth industrial revolution, intelligent industry or interconnected industry? All these terms are related to the use of new technologies and their use allows to speed up the manufacturing process and make it more efficient, carrying out the same in a flexible and personalized way for each client. This revolution is going to change the way company and client relate thanks to the use of data.

Industrial revolution stages from steam power to cyber physical systems, automation and internet of things

Today, the global interconnection of production processes, logistics and services is a major problem for virtually all major manufacturers in Europe, the United States and Asia, but this is a challenge that should serve as the driving force towards change. Cyber-physical systems could form the basis of the next Industrial Revolution.

Its influence is permeating all sectors of industry, and the economy in general. Industry 4.0 is already changing the landscape of competition with far-reaching consequences for the entire workforce, and for infrastructure in general. In short, Industry 4.0 is nothing more than a fully integrated value creation system, with a major impact on Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) for the industry.

For the first time, concepts such as cyber-security, big data and digital manufacturing can be brought together under one roof to meet society’s massive demand for personalisation, and perhaps, most importantly, the word ‘sustainability’ becomes relevant. However, the road ahead is full of obstacles and achieving this ideal digital ecosystem is not easy.

INDUSTRY 4.0 PHASES

Revolutions happen in waves, and the 4.0 revolution is no different:

  1. Phase One: Automobile manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as industries that deal with logistics, have begun their digital transformation by initiating a series of extremely relevant programmes.
  2. Second phase: It will affect the bio-medicine, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering sectors, as well as energy systems.
  3. Third phase: It will be the turn of the chemical and aerospace industries, which are slightly behind schedule.

How can we apply it? Each company must individually review its own business model in the digital world, which means identifying changes which might be potentially disruptive, and reviewing the digital competence of the organisation. Companies must select their digital partners, as global digital competition requires a joint approach. In the medium term, the industrial and the digital worlds will work much more closely than ever before. The secret is knowing where to start.

Industry 4.0 provides the framework for efficient employment, taking advantage of an increase of up to 40 percent in ROCE and improving machine productivity by 65 to 90 percent. While job losses will be inevitable in the short term, up to seven million new jobs will be added to the labour market in services and IT alone.

THE FOUR LEVELS

How exactly can companies prepare for these waves and deal with the digital transformation to achieve the best possible outcomes and avoid losses? How can you implement a proper strategy within your organization and across all companies to defend your competitive advantage? There are numerous aspects of Industry 4.0, ranging from defining roles and responsibilities within the organization in terms of investment in innovation, to periodic updates regarding cyber-security measures. Generally speaking, these are the four elements of leverage for digitization:

Digital Data. Generated by network machines and mobile devices, as well as client interfaces. Everything revolves around data, giving rise to new areas of application, such as optimization of sales channels.

Automation. Artificial intelligence is on the rise; robots and machines are working hand-in-hand with humans in increasingly more areas, especially those requiring intelligent information processing.

Connectivity . A business model powered by intelligent devices enables better synchronization of processes and real-time reactions, as well as improved accelerated innovation.

Digital Consumer Access. The new data collection platforms know clients almost better than they know themselves, allowing them to offer total transparency and new types of services.

Benefit provided by the LUPEON core 4.0 to our clients

For LUPEON, the most important thing is our clients. We invest a lot of time and effort to cover the aspects of Industry 4.0. Our engineering department exchanges project experience with leading companies in the industry 4.0 and has been keeping up to date with the latest research and developments for years, be these examples of good practices, automation processes, analysing new possibilities of additive manufacturing or cloud-based business models.

Industry 4.0 solutions are developed as a symbiosis between classic production technologies and new IT technologies. We understand both worlds thanks to our belonging to the VICALSA group. This has always represented a competitive advantage for LUPEON.

Source: Roland Berger