Is Industry 4.0 a Pipedream?
Trade media has been awash with articles about Industry 4.0 for several years — but where does the concept originate from? Back in 2011, Dr Henning Kagermann, Dr Wolfgang Wahlster and Dr Wolf-Dieter Lukas introduced Industry 4.0 to visitors at Hannover Messe. At the trade show, they described their vision to invest in smart technologies, to build on Germany’s success in the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors.
Today, discussions about Industry 4.0 have gone far beyond Germany’s political landscape. Despite the global hype about this trend, Industry 4.0 has remained relatively theoretical.
While there’s plenty of media coverage about the potential benefits of Industry 4.0, most day-to-day manufacturers are unsure of what they need to do to be a part of the revolution.
Let’s face it, Industry 4.0 is not a product that manufacturers can purchase off-the-shelf. Instead, it is an idea and vision that, to implement properly, requires planning, cultural change and new technology. So, is Industry 4.0 really just a pipedream?
Implementing Industry 4.0
At the heart of Industry 4.0 is the digitalization of manufacturing facilities. This could refer to the deployment of industrial hardware, investing in new technology or the use of innovative software. Don’t get us wrong, this doesn’t require an entire system overhaul, nor does it require investment in expensive and state-of-the-art technology.
In industry, there is a sense of urgency to innovate, but this can be dangerous. When rushing to digitize, manufacturers risk investing in automation without fully understanding how it will impact their operations. Digitalizing just for the sake of being competitive will not be beneficial to a business. Manufacturers may choose the wrong technology or not change their culture accordingly to use the new system to its full potential.
The Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF) argues that Industry 4.0 is a journey with three distinct milestones — conception, evolution and revolution. Every company is at a different stage to this journey and should focus on their own business and what’s realistically needed, as opposed to simply investing in the most exciting new technology.
Incremental steps to Industry 4.0
Achieving Industry 4.0 isn’t a one step process. And luckily, a major factory overhaul is not the only path to digitalization. Retrofitting a few key-components can be an easy, quick and cost-effective way to take the first steps in Industry 4.0.
Retrofitting involves adding connectivity to existing machines, so that they can communicate and interact over the Internet and can be remotely monitored and controlled. The simplest way to do this is to add sensors for data acquisition, or invest in technology to measure vibration, temperature, current and power consumption. These parameters indicate how equipment is performing and can communicate this information automatically.
For example, an accelerometer could measure the frequencies at which the rotating elements of a machine vibrates. An increase in vibration amplitude signals a problem in the rotational elements of the machine, such as insufficient lubrication. This information can be communicated to a maintenance engineer trained in vibration analysis, who will be able to identify the issue and schedule the necessary repairs before the machine breaks, causing unexpected and costly downtime.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? This is the reality of Industry 4.0 in practice.
Removing the mystery
In this example, manufacturers do not need to purchase a new machine with embedded connectivity or overhaul the way they currently manage equipment maintenance. Adding an accelerometer is enough. Realistically, most Industry 4.0 transformations can be achieved in a similarly simple and cost-effective manner.
This also removes problems related to compatibility and obsolescence — common issues for manufacturers investing in brand new technology to work alongside legacy equipment. Obsolescence is the natural consequence of continuous advances in technology and Industry 4.0 exasperates this. It is impossible to eliminate obsolescence completely but taking the retrofitting approach to Industry 4.0 can lessen the potential impact.
Managing obsolescence in Industry 4.0
Consider this as an example. A Human Machine Interface (HMI) has broken down. Unfortunately, it is a discontinued model, so the manufacturer cannot source an exact replacement from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Pipedream visions about Industry 4.0 would dictate purchasing a brand-new HMI.
However, this option would mean the HMI is unlikely to be compatible with the rest of the equipment on site, creating more costs and downtime.
Manufacturers might think it is impossible to find obsolete parts, hence they might adopt two strategies: substituting the whole machine with an updated version or, worse, opt for the cheapest substitute products. Neither is a good choice. The best option is to have a partnering agreement with a reliable supplier which specializes in obsolete components, like EU Automation.
As one of the first step of implementing Industry 4.0, manufacturers should make a list of components on site that are already obsolete and rank them by importance. Critical applications, which are essential to operate the entire system, should be prioritized. Using this method, manufacturers won’t be forced to embark on a system overhaul if something breaks down.
Industry 4.0 can be confusing, but manufacturers needn’t believe that achieving Industry 4.0 connectivity is unattainable. The advantages of this concept can be experienced even with small and incremental investments. Combined with a clear obsolescence management plan, implementing Industry 4.0 isn’t such an intimidating process as first anticipated.
To Adopt Industry 4.0, We Must Look to the Lighthouses
Lighthouses have been the key to maritime navigation for centuries, emitting light to guide sailors across treacherous seas. Recognised by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Lighthouse facilities can also act as a guiding light for the manufacturing industry, as it navigates the technologies of Industry 4.0. But what makes a Lighthouse factory, and what can other manufacturers learn from them? Here, Dieter Heimerdinger Vice President of Supply, Sandvik Coromant at high-tech engineering group Sandvik, explains.
A study by WEF in 2018 found that over 70 per cent of businesses are investing in technologies such as big data analytics, artificial intelligence and 3D printing, but are not able to take these projects beyond the pilot phase. But it seems that tides have changed. 2020 has been a difficult year for many manufacturers to navigate, but its impact on digitalisation is clear. In May 2020, a Fortune survey found that 77 per cent chief executive officers believe the crisis will force their companies to speed up their digital transformations. But how can they get it right?
Overcoming hurdles
Certainly before 2020, the manufacturing industry was sometimes slow to adopt digital technologies. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions have been implemented at a sluggish pace, and are yet to scale across industry. It’s been typical for manufacturers across many sectors to rely on legacy systems to collect and analyse data, preventing them from realising the main benefits of digitalisation: data-driven insights to run equipment more efficiently, to react automatically and to boost operational speed.
There are many reasons why digital progression has been stalled. Stagnation may come from a lack of skills in the workplace, with new technologies requiring a different set of competences.
The investment in reskilling, training and hiring new specialists can leave many manufacturers questioning whether digital transformation is really worth it. But it is. Having 70 per cent of manufacturers struggling to get new projects off the ground teaches us is that — while many want to implement digital technologies — it’s difficult to find ways to prove their continuous benefits. It’s those manufacturers that are in need of a guiding light.
A beacon of hope
To date, the WEF has identified 69 facilities across the globe as “Lighthouse Facilities”. The network has been selected from a survey of over 1,000 manufacturing sites, based on their success in adopting Industry 4.0 technologies. They represent a range of industries, such as automotive, additive manufacturing and consumer goods.
Described by WEF as “the world’s most advanced factories, which are leading the way in the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies”, the recognition demonstrates a clear motive. For WEF, showcasing the 69 facilities as Lighthouses means they can show the way for the 70 per cent of companies stuck in “pilot purgatory”.
Just like maritime lighthouses shine light on danger at sea, Lighthouse facilities are here to dispel the myths that make digitalisation seem hazardous. Contrary to concerns about skills gaps, the Lighthouse factories are not deploying IIoT technology to replace operators.
A McKinsey report suggests that less than five per cent of occupations consist of activities that are completely automatable, while over 60 per cent of occupations have at least one third of automatable tasks. Consequently, employees in production enjoy a working routine that’s less repetitive, and more interesting, diversified, and productive.
An evaluation of the facilities has uncovered several other findings that demonstrate the value of implementing Industry 4.0. The facilities are more agile and showcase greater customer centricity across end-to-end manufacturing, and are quicker to recognise shifts in customer preferences.
Increased automation and upskilling and reskilling efforts also means these facilities operate at speed, giving them a greater advantage over competitors. This speed and efficiency is also leveraged to make processes more eco-efficient, reducing waste and using fewer finite resources.
Gimo: factory of the future
In 2019, Sandvik Coromant’s production facility in Gimo, Sweden was awarded Lighthouse facility status. At the factory, Sandvik Coromant manufactures machine tools and metal cutting inserts, which customers use to produce anything from small machining parts to aircraft engines. Activities are divided into two plants, one for the inserts and one for the tool systems. Both of these are the biggest production plants in the world in their respective fields with a total surface area of 110,000 square metres. Running through the factory is a digital thread that unites production activities with data driven insights.
One area of production praised by WEF is Gimo’s ‘touchless changeovers’, which allow tool design patterns to be changed automatically, even during unmanned shifts. Historically, design patterns in production cells had to be changed manually, with operators from the day shifts preparing machines to run through the night. This took time and resources, and limited flexibility during unmanned shifts.
Seeking an alternative, Gimo invested in smart automation with ultra-flexible robots, machines, tools and fixtures, which together perform complex, touchless changeovers without the need for any human oversight.
This is just one example where digitalisation boosts productivity and takes the strain of performing monotonous tasks away from human workers. Digital technologies are also used to deliver improvements in other areas at Gimo, such as maintenance. Increasingly, sensors are being fitted to plant equipment, collecting data for a growing list of parameters such as pressure, temperature, vibration and acoustics. This data, combined with sophisticated analytics, can reveal patterns and problems before downtime occurs.
Businesses looking to invest in digital technologies should look to the Lighthouses for guidance. Their agility and resilience set them apart before the pandemic, and are part of a strong foundation to withstand the changes it has brought forth. With more businesses recognising the need to go digital, but perhaps not knowing how to sustain the benefits, having 69 guiding lights is key to industry’s future.
3 Ways to Improve Industry 4.0 OEE
Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) has been a leading manufacturing performance metric for decades. As Industry 4.0 has taken off, manufacturers now have a range of new tools and techniques that can improve their OEE scores. As facilities rely more on high-tech equipment, this metric has also become increasingly crucial.
As of 2019, there were 97.7 million connected devices in use in the manufacturing industry. Experts predict that figure will surpass 150 million connections by 2025. With so many connections gathering such vast amounts of data, manufacturers have more resources than ever to use in their OEE calculations.
While Industry 4.0 provides the means to improve machine health monitoring, it also raises the need for it. Industry 4.0 has made manufacturing a faster, more flexible, and less wasteful sector, raising consumers’ expectations. As key industry players become faster and more resilient, they set a new standard that others must meet.
In Industry 4.0, manufacturers must deliver higher performance to meet rising demands. At the same time, this trend equips them with the tools they need to pursue those goals. With these factors in mind, here are three ways manufacturers can improve Industry 4.0 OEE.
1. Continuous Operational Monitoring
Machine health monitoring is a central part of calculating OEE, and Industry 4.0 provides new and improved monitoring methods. The days of periodic manual checks are now fading. The internet of things (IoT), Industry 4.0’s foundational technology, enables continuous remote monitoring.
By integrating “smart” or internet-connected sensors into machines, technicians can track a machine’s operational parameters remotely in real-time. This includes factors like temperature, vibration, noise, and even variables like motor lubrication. In the past, technicians would have had to pause operations to check some of these data points, but now they can do it without interfering with production.
This data improves OEE calculations by providing readily accessible, real-time insight into the underlying causes of a machine’s score. For example, a robotic welding arm may be running slower than normal, holding its OEE rating back. IoT sensors can reveal that the arm’s electrical insulation, the cause of 56% of electric motor failures, is damaged without workers stopping production to investigate.
Since manufacturers can access this data from the cloud in real-time, it leads them to the root of the issue faster. They can then address the problem and improve the machine’s health and performance sooner, leading to faster OEE improvements. Manufacturers can even use these systems to provide real-time alerts, helping them improve machine performance before a scheduled check.
2. Predictive Maintenance
Traditionally, most manufacturing operations either perform preventive maintenance according to a schedule or reactive maintenance, where they run machines to failure. Industry 4.0 enables manufacturers to adopt predictive maintenance. This practice, which builds on operational monitoring, provides the benefits of each alternative without their respective downsides.
Predictive maintenance uses big data or AI-powered analytics modules to analyze historical and current operational data. With this information, these analytics engines can then predict when a machine will fail or need maintenance. Manufacturers can then schedule a time to fix it and resolve the issue before it becomes a more pressing concern.
This approach minimizes unplanned downtime that would arise out of reactive maintenance since it prevents breakdowns. Considering how this downtime costs manufacturers $50 billion each year, predictive maintenance represents considerable savings potential. Improved uptime will also translate into higher OEE, as it raises a machine’s availability score.
Predictive maintenance also reduces costs associated with schedule-based preventive maintenance. While these maintenance strategies also prevent breakdowns, they may lead to unnecessary downtime and expenses due to unneeded repairs. Since predictive maintenance is data-based, not schedule-based, it only recommends due repairs, maximizing uptime.
These IoT-based machine health monitoring strategies also improve OEE by minimizing machine health-related quality issues. If a laser cutting machine, for example, were overheating or getting stuck in one position, it wouldn’t consistently produce quality products. Predictive maintenance would fix these machine health issues before they affect quality, preventing waste.
3. Targeted Notifications
Industry 4.0 technology can further improve OEE calculations by offering more granular, targeted insights and alerts. In addition to providing a continuous stream of remotely accessible data, IoT sensors in machines can offer more specific readings. This specificity lets manufacturers address any issues more effectively, enabling more in-depth OEE analysis and improvements.
Targeted notification systems can send alerts to only those who need them based on pre-set parameters. A smart, rule-based system analyzes the data at hand to determine which employees an update is most relevant to, then alerts them. For example, if it detects a machine is running at an abnormally high temperature, it could alert a technician who specializes in the overheating components.
This targeted approach to analysis and notifications improves overall productivity by not sending superfluous alerts to employees who don’t need them. It ensures that only the people most relevant to or most skilled in the task at hand see these updates. In turn, the most qualified workers to handle a given issue are the ones who address it, ensuring the most effective responses possible.
With machine learning algorithms, these systems can take note of how experts maintain a machine or what they do with given data. If an expert is unavailable when an alert arises, the system can then find the next most relevant worker and show them how the expert typically handles similar situations. As this process continues, manufacturers will foster a more highly skilled workforce.
Ongoing data collection and analysis will also reveal which changes have led to the most significant OEE improvements. These insights enable manufacturers to tweak their OEE calculations and future initiatives on a more granular, effective level. Facilities can embrace a spirit of continuous improvement by focusing on these small, ongoing changes.
OEE Is a Crucial Part of Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is inseparable from OEE metrics. Since it both raises the need for them and provides the means to improve them, manufacturers embracing Industry 4.0 can’t afford to overlook OEE calculations.
These steps will help manufacturers make the most of their Industry 4.0 investments. By capitalizing on these technologies, manufacturing facilities can push their OEE higher than ever before, helping them stay competitive in a rapidly advancing industry.
Managing Obsolescence in Industry 4.0 - Obsolete Doesn’t Mean Game Over
In September 2018, Sony Japan revealed that it would no longer be repairing its PlayStation 2, closing the curtain on one its most beloved products. This is a classic example of a consumer technology being rendered obsolete by the introduction on the market of a more recent alternative. The same happens in manufacturing, where rapid advances in digital technology are leading to greater obsolescence and the rise in legacy equipment and components. In this scenario, can manufacturers remain competitive without going through a cost-prohibitive factory overhaul? Yes, according to Claudia Jarrett, US country manager at automation parts supplier EU Automation.
New technologies in the fields artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality and 3D printing are fundamentally changing the manufacturing industry, ushering our society into what experts are calling the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
In this scenario, Germany occupies a position of excellence. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), with 309 industrial robots per 10K employees, Germany is the most automated country in Europe and third most automated country in the world, following South Korea and Singapore.
However, the backbone of the German economy is primarily comprised of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that might not have the technical and financial resources to invest in sparkling new facilities and state-of-the-art equipment. As a matter of fact, most German manufacturers still rely on legacy machines to run critical applications in their facilities.
This, in itself, is not a problem — if equipment still performs to the desired standards and is compliant to current regulations, there’s no reason to get rid of it. However, there are two major factors to consider when working with legacy equipment: the obsolescence of components and the lack of connectivity. Let’s examine how manufacturers can cope with them, without breaking the bank.
The problem with obsolescence
Obsolescence is the natural consequence of continuous advances in technology. As such, it is impossible to eliminate it completely. However, it is possible to manage it strategically to minimize its negative impact on your business.
Consider this as an example. A Human Machine Interface (HMI) panel in your facility has broken down. Unfortunately, it is a discontinued model, so you cannot source an exact replacement from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). You can potentially find an alternate replacement from the same or a different manufacturer or try to find the nearest equivalent substitute part.
But what if you need to find an exact replacement? The chemicals industry is a good example. When a breakdown occurs, manufacturers in this sector will be in a situation where, for traceability and validation purposes, the new part will have to be identical in every way to the old one.
Manufacturers might think that this is hard or impossible to find on the market, hence they might adopt two strategies: substituting the whole machine with an updated version or, worse, opt for the cheapest substitute products. Neither is a good choice. The first is costly, causes long downtime, requires new training for the workforce and ultimately has a negative impact on the environment.
The second may result in lower performance and shortened product lifecycles, and in some circumstances may expose manufacturers to counterfeit parts. Parts sourced through unauthorized distribution channels, or the grey market, may result in manufacturers inadvertently using counterfeit parts. These will typically lead to high rates of breakages, will almost certainly not be compliant and often pose serious safety hazards.
Plan strategically
The best option is to have a partnering agreement with a reliable supplier who specializes in obsolete components, so that when obsolete machinery breaks, you’ll have the right contacts to source that part quickly and efficiently. This can be the difference between four hours of downtime or four days.
Even better is to plan ahead by implementing a strategic obsolescence management plan in your facility. This starts with a comprehensive system audit to know the present state of your machinery. How old is your machine and what does the aftermarket supply of parts look like? If you compare your answers with the life expectancy data provided by the OEM, you should be able to determine the life stage of your equipment to know how long it will serve you.
Make a list of components that are already obsolete and rank them by importance. Critical applications, which are essential to operate the entire system, are ones you should prioritise when putting together an obsolescence plan.
For components that are already obsolete, evaluate the possibility of stockpiling some spares while they’re still relatively abundant on the market. For end-of-life (EOL) components, OEMs may send a product change notification (PCN), provide customers with a final opportunity to buy parts, and even provide special quotes. This might be the best time to squirrel away some spares.
Based on your analysis of how critical a part is to your process, the speed at which it will wear and its risk of becoming obsolete, you should draw up a plan of where you can source these parts and how quickly. Forming relationships with a specialised supplier is an integral part of a successful obsolescence management plan.
Finally, collate all the data you’ve gathered into a clear, simple spreadsheet. This information is precious and needs to be readily accessible to the plant’s personnel in case of a component’s failure.
Retrofitting: the smart option for the smart factory
Now that you have a solid obsolescence management plan, you might want to move a step forward and make your legacy equipment fit for Industry 4.0. Again, a complete factory overhaul might be unnecessary. Not only is this a costly approach, the huge amount of time required to source new parts, uninstall existing equipment and retrain your workforce is enough to rule out this approach.
Instead, retrofitting your old machinery with connectivity sensors is a far better option. Manufacturers can simply opt for third-party and IoT-ready products such as IoT gateways, OPC servers and sensors, out-of-the-box solutions that can be installed with no downtime.
This approach can be entirely tailored to the business’s needs, meaning only useful sensors are put in place. Compare this with buying brand new equipment, which would include hundreds of inbuilt sensors that aren’t all relevant to the factory’s needs, and this wrap-and-extend approach is much more suitable. These retrofit sensors can track parameters such as temperature and vibration, to provide valuable insight into the health conditions of your equipment.
For example, an accelerometer can measure the frequencies at which the rotating element of a machine vibrates. An increase in vibration amplitude signals a problem in the rotational elements of the machine, such as insufficient lubrication. This information can be communicated to a maintenance engineer, who will be able to identify the issue and schedule the necessary repairs before the machine breaks, averting unexpected and costly downtime.
In this example, the manufacturer doesn’t need to purchase a new machine with embedded connectivity, adding an accelerometer is enough. This could mean the difference between a few hundred euros, and tens of thousands. However, this small investment can have a real impact on a business.
This extends beyond the costs of missed productivity and maintenance caused by unexpected downtime. Data provided by sensors can help identify in a timely manner when obsolete components need to be replaced, so that plant managers will have time to contact a specialised supplier who will find the best deal on the market.
Many legacy machines have been built to last and this is definitely a positive. New technology means the lifespan of this legacy equipment can be elongated even further through preventative maintenance schedules. Sony’s PlayStation 2 may be a thing of the past, but your trusted legacy equipment definitely isn’t.
Humanity 4.0: The pandemic lesson
By Kamal Bali
In the last few months, while countries are desperate to flatten the curve, Coronavirus has been changing its epicentre and affecting millions directly, and billions indirectly, by clutching both at health and economy at the same time. It is hard to ignore both the disruptive nature of the ongoing pandemic and the simultaneous transformations being affected by emerging technologies. We are also receiving some important lessons in humanity – of mutual trust, of care for all including mother earth, of respect for dignity of labour and to find the delicate balance between life & livelihood.
It is time we created an inclusive and humane future by taking informed and conscious decisions. And, there is a special challenge in the Indian circumstance – keeping in mind our diversity and contrasts. However, the new era beholds immense opportunities for India because of its oft enumerated strengths.
Do we take the Digital & Industry 4.0 path?
To create wealth for its people, India needs to fire all its growth engines. For that to happen, we need to be competitive – as a market, as well as a global supplier. Emerging digital technologies will help to optimize operations more efficiently –using less resources, minimizing waste and environment footprint.
India with its digitally informed and skilled workforce stands to gain a lot. A chance to lead the innovation-driven economy. However, all this comes with two key concerns – the loss of some existing jobs as well as the need for upskilling and reskilling for the new jobs. Therefore, there are two important imperatives:
- Making Indian manufacturing ready for the future
- Generating Jobs for the 10m+ workforce each year.
Creating learning organizations: While we are concerned with the consequences of Digitalisation and Industry 4.0, this is not new. Consider this - Volvo Trucks from being mostly mechanical units, less than two decades back, now include software codes that - if written on A4 sheets - would pile up to the height of Eiffel Tower. The shift to electro-mobility demanded that our engineers learn new competencies in the areas of motors and batteries. New safety technologies such as ADAS, Emergency Braking& Platooning require strengths in the domains of Connectivity, AI, Machine Learning and a host of emerging tech solutions. This requires the need to establish a method for continuous learning and upskilling.
A Learning & Development Eco-system: Not all organisations will set up their own training resources. Here a country-level collaborative eco-system (may be on PPP mode) in emerging technologies can help all in learning, as well as establishing a direction, setting standards, with a shared vision.
Culture and Vision for the Future is key: Emerging technologies are disruptive. This means employees will need to go beyond their own competency domains, would need to collaborate with new partners and stakeholders. If the organisation culture is not ready for this – it could cause insecurities and resistance.
A new culture in Industrial relationships too : Manufacturing has anchored several countries like Germany, Japan, South Korea for several decades, imbibing the principles of automation and higher productivity, through good collaboration between unions and employers. India can follow the same path.
India Inc. should choose its own pace: The fact remains that labour costs in India is still low; we have an abundant workforce population and we have a large number of MSME’s which may like to seek the right balance, pace and investment for future.
Catering to the future workforce of India: India needs to create jobs for about 10 million youth every year. The education and skilling system needs a reset as 50% of our workforce drops out before secondary education. Clearly, our learner’s pipeline is out of sync with industry needs and this has to be fixed.
So, how do we rationalise this dilemma? The answer lies in not resisting the future but, instead, organising ourselves to take advantage of it by:
Creating Aspiration & Branding for Skill Based Training: We need mass scale awareness to make future workforce aware of the upcoming skills required coupled with avenues where they can get trained.
Starting early to offer digitisation experience: Our future workforce will come from those in the current age group of 1-14. We need school curriculums to make them comfortable with aspects of digitalisation.
Corporates Offering on-the-job training: The most lasting learning happens on-the-job and who better to offer it than the industry itself.
Collaborative Skill Development infrastructure: It is important that the missions of academia, government and industry are aligned - joining hands in building the common direction as well as jointly investing into the infra.
Creating the future trainers: Not only the future employees, but we need to regularly upskill the teachers and trainers
We live in a VUCA world where the future is likely to be even more disruptive, affecting lives and livelihoods. The one thing we can do is to create organisations that empower employees to learn and build capacity, thereby building a nation that comes together to offer learning opportunities and a road-ahead for the millions of children today who will become the workforce of tomorrow. And, this will not happen merely by good intentions, but through missions and synchronised movements for the transformation to a new culture. A culture of learning, inclusivity and sustainable development.
Vedanta invests in automation to stay relevant in the metal industry
As the global population grows, demand for metals continues to rise. Aluminium is the second most important metal in the world and the metal industry plans to invest substantially in digital operation solutions over the next five years across the globe. This investment is translating into an increasingly advanced level of digitalization and integration, resulting in substantial operational cost savings, safety, and sustainability of the business as well as social inclusiveness.
Apart from digital technologies, companies in the metal industry are relying on Industry 4.0. The technology allows manufacturing heightened connectivity and automation to add value to operations and products and to develop new kinds of offerings to address their markets, which is the need of the hour for the aluminium sector in India to sustain and re-invent itself.
Vedanta Ltd - Aluminium & Power is one of the India’s largest Aluminum producers which can never go out of business and has to ensure operational continuity even during the lockdown. The company has put industry 4.0 and other automation technologies as a priority in their business tech strategy.
“We were already well into our journey of automating and digitizing our operations and the pandemic really accelerated the deployment and more importantly, adoption by users. Technology deployed at our plants links various stages of supply chain into a robust IT-enabled ecosystem. Our Industry 4.0 setup allows the manufacturing operations to gather and analyse data from across a wide range of activities and from partners, suppliers, collaborators, end-users and end-customers in ways that enable faster, more flexible processes to produce higher-quality output, sometimes highly customized at reduced costs,” Avijit Deb, CDO, Vedanta Ltd - Aluminium & Power Business said.
The framework which includes cyber-physical systems (OT-IT), industrial internet of things (IIOT), cloud computing, cognitive computing, and artificial intelligence has moved from being a ‘nice to have’ or augmenting capability for the aluminium industry to something that is now vitally important for differentiation and is becoming a disruptive force. It is delivering supply chain agility, deeper process understanding, and higher production utilization.
The Aluminum producer is collaborating with premier educational institutes, global R&D organisations and start-up companies to incubate and co-develop Intelligent Automation and Industry 4.0 Solutions. It has developed technology Innovation Centres in the plants to democratize innovation across rank and file and fuel more initiatives across the organisation.
“The digitalization, integration and automation opportunities have enabled us to collaborate both internally and across value chains in ways that can provide a step-change in productivity as well as design and quality. And these are the opportunities that are increasingly important as our industry seeks to stay relevant as the era of digitally-connected smart infrastructure develops,” Deb added.
Plant automation for operational efficiency and safety
The company has already embarked on the journey of Intelligent Automation and Digitalisation with a laser focus on cost optimisation, efficiency improvements and operations sustainability at best in class benchmarks.
“In these times, we are pushed to think of disruptive technology operational models and deployment agility for purposeful adoption. Intelligent Automation & Digitalisation is a way of life in Vedanta Aluminium & Power. Vedanta has been sustaining the plant operations due to its sustained investment in intelligent automation over the past 2-3 years with minimum manpower,” Deb emphasised.
The plant operations’ critical parameters are available second by second on mobile phones with deviation alerts. Collaboration platforms are now used to connect employees working from home, remote service providers and plant sites anytime. The collaboration platforms help employees to share video and image content and critical operation parameters with all the stakeholders for sustaining the operations 24x7.
Logistics Automation has enabled a totally paperless process from mine to plant and within the plants to capture all operational parameters ensuring there is minimum physical proximity. Temperature sensors and AI-enabled video-surveillance monitor all entry points. RFID sensors are installed at each operational point to capture critical parameters within the plant.
“Implementation of SAP & MES in plants process fully automated plant operations and enable visibility and decision making remotely. Thus our employees are able to maintain social distancing and while fulfilling their activities at the plant floors. Drones with cameras are used to keep close eye on the compliances of COVID 19,” Deb said.
Data for health and safety
Currently, amid the pandemic also, the company has deployed a smart combination of high-end technology and in-house innovations to ensure health and safety of employees while maintaining continuity of business operations.
“We have established a digital Emergency Control & Command Center for monitoring movement inside plant premises, keeping a tab on collective health status at plant and township, and keeping employees and families updated with information and government guidelines as well as report medical emergencies or seek help. Telemedicine facility has been enabled in the Vedanta township-based hospital for patients to phone-in for consultation with doctors instead of physical visits. Additionally, a 24x7 medical helpline and home-delivery of medicines has also been initiated. A multi-level virtual war-room has been created to monitor the evolving COVID situation daily and take decisions accordingly,” Deb highlighted.
Even to manage footfall and social distancing at township stores selling vegetables, milk, groceries etc., an online time slot-booking portal has been developed in-house to regulate the number of people and timings during which they can go to the neighborhood shops to buy essentials.
“The metal industry is at an inflection point and disruptive factors, like new processes and smarter technologies provide this sector the opportunity to change its course. Heightened connectivity and automation have given us the opportunity to not only add more value to our products, but more importantly, develop focused and customized products to cater to various target markets. We are looking forward to more technology investments and digital driven innovations which will add value to top and bottom lines of our business,” Deb said.
From a buzz to biz lever: How new technology is becoming central in a post-Covid world
Industry 4.0, robotics, artificial intelligence — all were thought of more as buzzwords than necessary business interventions until recently. But the coronavirus pandemic has forced us to reconsider not just how we consume things but also how we produce them.
The Economic Times got together the leaders of four companies at the forefront of the adoption of automation and artificial intelligence in manufacturing. Fast-changing business realities are forcing manufacturers to innovate and rethink age-old conventions, they said at The Economic Times-Back to Business Dialogues - Automating Business, Accelerating Growth: Increased role and impact of automation in manufacturing.
The session’s moderator, Daisy Chittilapilly, set the tone for the conversation around the fourth industrial revolution and Covid-19 by quoting Lenin: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”
Excerpts:
Daisy Chittilapilly, managing director, digital transformation office, Cisco India & SAARC
What are some of the new behaviours, habits and rules that are shaping your industry today and will have a long-lasting impact on the manufacturing industry in the country post-pandemic?
Sanjeev Sharma, MD, ABB India
Our ability to adapt and to be able to serve our customers with the kind of restrictions these circumstances have put on us has increased. And, for us, the ability to service customers remotely with the expertise they used to get at their plant is one of the crucial factors. And that’s where we are seeing quite a strong shift in behaviour, both on the customer side in accepting it and in our abilities to deliver it.
Sunil Mathur, MD, Siemens India
We are in an environment that is getting more and more volatile every day. At the same time, customers are becoming even more demanding. The challenge that most manufacturing companies are facing is how to balance these two.
As you move towards meeting the demands of the customers, you are tending towards trying to figure out how to manufacture a batch size of 1. On the other hand, it has become painfully obvious during Covid-19 times that you need to be watching your costs and capex and be able to adapt very quickly.
All that put together, I think this is exactly the right time to be discussing how automation and digitalisation can provide these benefits of greater efficiencies, greater cost competitiveness, productivity and shorter time to market.
Pawan Goenka, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra
Anytime there is a crisis, all organisations and customers go through a behaviour change. But if I go back to the last 3-4 crises, the changes reverted to what it used to be before, after some time. I think that’s a big difference this time — the changes are here to stay. And the reason is that we have realised that it is all for the better. Coming to the consumers, there is going to be the digitalisation of everything, whatever we do.
Touchless selling is going to be the big thing where customers want everything sitting at home — not just for convenience but for safety and for maintaining social distancing. How we sell things will go through a complete overhaul. For example, with cars, the need for physical dealerships, salespeople or test drives — all of that will go through a change.
The impact of that on business will be that the way we do planning, going all the way back to the tier-III supplier, would be a lot more efficient. Since everything is digital, a lot more artificial intelligence (AI) can come in and we’ll be able to predict demand much more precisely. Therefore, the whole supply chain will get compressed. The kind of inventories we carry today, which in the auto industry from end-toend would be about two months, could come down to one month. If the inventory is half, you are taking out a lot of working capital, space requirement, and a lot of loading-unloading that happens.
Automation is going to benefit the most out of this whole thing because of the need for social distancing at our plants. Automotive plants are never designed for social distancing. How do we maintain distancing there? By replacing a human with a robot in some places. And that’s the reason automation will become a lot faster than the normal speed at which it was going to grow.
Chittilapilly: When you talk to clients, are there any new points and considerations with regards to the automation conversation?
Milan Sheth, Executive Vice President, IMEA Region, Automation Anywhere
We always assume that the physical goods which get delivered have to be coupled with a physical process. One fundamental shift that we see across customers is that digital solutions are now being thought first and then where physical touchpoints are needed is thought later. At least in the services industry that shift has happened. They are talking about whether to keep branch offices and distribution offices.
Probably the manufacturing industry will take a while to follow. There is also the thought process to bring automation to improve productivity in the entire cycle and not just the manufacturing process. For example, a shipment reaching from port to the factory involves three days of processing time at the port, two-days of trucking and then some time for offloading. While automating these processes doesn’t add to manufacturing productivity, it helps in reaching faster to the customer.
And finally, the conversation on technology is no longer a CTO/CDO-only domain. People involved in operations and the business leaders now have a strong view about this.
Chittilapilly: If automation is a subset of Industry 4.0, how easy is it to embrace the fourth industrial revolution and how ready are we?
Goenka: We first need to take a step back and define what is industry 4.0. Many people think that it simply means automation, which is not true. Industry 4.0 is to put the end consumer at the centre of everything. The roadblock is that the competitive advantage of being an industry 4.0-enabled company is not so easily seen yet. The moment a company sees this, they will work on achieving it.
There is also a perceived sense of it not being affordable. The costs that it (industry 4.0 implementation) saves are sometimes unseen costs, it doesn’t go into the cost of supplying a product.
Chittilapilly: Where do you see the adoption of AI/ML for automation in the manufacturing space?
Sharma: We have about 8,000 robots globally working at customer locations. We are connected with them online and we monitor them out of the India centre. This equipment is giving us a lot of data and so we are able to analyse what kind of issues can come in different equipment. By using AI and ML routines on top of the data that we have gathered for the last 5-6 years, we are able to predict certain reliability issues for the customers. We can predict when they need to plan routine maintenance or maybe do a small intervention so that there is no outage and the availability of the production line is higher. That is one example.
Chittilapilly: Are the talks on industry 4.0 and automation equally applicable to small and medium businesses?
Mathur: If anything, it is even more applicable to small and medium businesses. Everyone is talking about how industry 4.0 takes a lot of capex and how it is very complicated. We decided to do an experiment. We have a factory in Mumbai where we were manufacturing 80 variants of conductors.
We needed to do many more, but there just wasn’t a business case for it as an additional business line was needed to put in and it needed a lot of capex. We instead decided to implement automation into the process. We went from doing 80 variants on three lines to 180 variants on one line. Production time went from 21 seconds down to 9 seconds and a lot of space was saved too. We used the same labour to produce three times as much. That is the real benefit for small and medium enterprises who don’t have the money to expand.
Sheth: It is unfortunate that only larger industries are where technology and digital changes are being adopted. One of the reasons other than capital is also the talent. The talent pool in an SMB (small and medium business) is either focused on revenues or operations. Where the digital or technology element occurs, there is a talent gap. In Germany’s SMB ecosystem, there are a variety of cloud-based service providers for SMBs to consume. Unfortunately, today we don’t have a similar ecosystem in India.
Chittilapilly: If you were to go back a year, would automation help you to deal with Covid-19 better than it is being dealt with now?
Goenka: I would probably say that if I had known Covid-19 is coming, I don’t think we would have done anything much differently. Because we were already on a path of automation. In some sense, we are lucky that Covid-19 didn’t happen two years ago. The kind of digital tools available today are a lot more and a lot better than they were two years ago. I think we did very well as a country. The way the Government of India has digitised is mind-boggling.
Chittilapilly: We are challenged by an economic downturn. Do you think automation has a role to play in addressing cost as an outcome?
Sharma: Most of the time, automation leads to a reduction in cost, but not all the time. That is why it is very important that when you deploy automation as a process or a plan, you should be very clear what kind of return you will be expecting out of that investment. If you keep customers as the centricity of the organisation, automation makes a lot of sense.
You make the processes more predictable, repeatable and measurable so by the time you finish producing the product, you have not only manufactured it within the assured standards, but you also have captured the data about it. In case an issue props up, you can do the root cause analysis and overwrite it with customer experience.
Covid just gave Industry 4.0 the push it needed in India
Industry 4.0 has started making inroads in Indian manufacturing, real estate, IT-ITes and other sectors and is seeing a steep adoption, with the COVID-19 pandemic further accelerating the digitization process by at least a decade.
According to a report by diversified professional services and investment management company Colliers, , Revolutionized Sector- Emerging Economies & Markets, having digital technology at the core of everything can make a business more resilient, and faster to adapt to any headwinds.
The report aims to provide a snippet to investors, manufacturers, developers, and policymakers to get a sense of the present situation and plan for the future as Industry 4.0 concentrates on the end-to-end digitization of all physical assets and their integration into digital ecosystems.
"India is at the cusp of a digital edge where young talent plays leading roles through their start-ups, and organizations are adopting technologies for a paradigm shift. This is the era where Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Cloud Computing act, analyze and alert for the next steps of decision making,” said Ramesh Nair, Chief Executive Officer, India & MD, Market Development, Asia.
As per the findings of the report, Industry 4.0 will usher in a new age of connected technologies and data-driven insights, and change the way people work and interact with each other. Innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), mass automation, industrial communications, Big Data, robotics, and 3D printing are transforming the global manufacturing landscape.
“We recommend developers to diversify and expand their industrial portfolio in segments like Cold Storage, Warehouse, Logistics, Robotics, Edge Data centres, etc. The focus should be to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure & technology usage,” said Subhankar Mitra, MD, Advisory Services (India).
Currently, Industry 4.0 is being applied in the heavy and light engineering industries, automobile and auto components industry to some extent. However, a more significant digital transformation is expected with greater application in the future, especially in the Data Centres segment, Défense sector, Aviation, and FMCG industries.
The report highlights that there is a huge gap in digitalization due to high investment, lack of adequate cybersecurity norms and lack of infrastructure.
The report mentioned that companies should create 5-7-year strategies instead of 3-5-year business plans. Further, wider policy reforms such as subsidies, tax breaks, higher budget allocation, corporate incentives & new government initiatives are needed apart from investment in the workforce to improve technical skills and increase employability.
“Telecommunications network and digital infrastructure to be strengthened to ensure global competitiveness and cost-effectiveness. Digital Transformation will spur productivity leaps in the next 15 years, requiring the manufacturer's commitment to continuous improvement,” said Nair.
Overall migration to the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a complex procedure with organizations still in the early stages of preparation for 4.0. However, with more significant benefits of I-4 coupled with the government's initiative of "Make in India" and "National Policy for Advanced Manufacturing" would play a significant role in augmenting the manufacturing sector's share in India's GDP by 25% by 2022.
Currently, advanced economies like Germany, Japan, the USA, and Singapore have embraced Industry 4.0 to increase their manufacturing competitiveness. At present, India lags behind its global peers in Industry 4.0 adoption.
Industry 4.0 and the role of Virtual Reality
By Dr C S S Bharathy
The Covid 19 pandemic has reshaped the way we live, breathe and conduct business. It has brought the world economy to a complete standstill causing insurmountable continuity challenges to every sector. Till a vaccine is found, businesses are looking at solutions that can help them bounce back, and the role of technology is absolutely critical in making this happen.
For most firms, some of the key challenges include the inability to travel, fewer on-site staff, lack of face to face communication and hands on training for new equipment. This is leading to unexpected downtime, low productivity and design reassessments. In the current scenario, Industry 4.0 technologies can play a pivotal role in the return to normalcy.
While most analysts speak about analytics, IoT and AI in the context of Industry 4.0, one of the biggest transformational technologies that is often not spoken of in the same breadth, is Virtual Reality (VR). Immersive virtual reality solutions are a part of industry 4.0 and use a blend of hardware and software to transcend the user to a virtually created environment.
There are many ways in which virtual reality solutions can be leveraged in these unfortunate times. Let us look at some of the key areas which showcase the practical adoption and application of VR:
Industrial Training
The most tactical VR application can be seen in manufacturing and processing as it fulfills multiple demands erupting in an industrial setup. It is a big contributor to gaining workforce excellence through effective VR training sessions, which is much needed today. VR-Training imparts more than 70% effectiveness based on proven case studies compared to 25% achieved from conventional classroom-based training.
The training session gives the workforce enough time to gain competency without risking life in the real world. Also, adhering to the social distancing norms in the current scenario, VR provides the best alternatives for field training, where trainees can quickly apply their virtual learning experience in the real world with minimal human contact.
Risk-free Medical Training and Interactive Learning
A high degree of medical expertise is what the world expects and needs to cope with the pandemic. Hence, competency in medical training is becoming critical. Large scale manufacturing of drugs and life science equipment is often prone to high man-machine risks. Also, there is a certain level of expertise needed to operate in the complexities of pharma manufacturing. With realistic simulations of sophisticated machinery and the production cycle, the operators can better understand the process.
The healthcare industry can use VR-simulations to train doctors, nurses, and health workers virtually without any risks or mistakes to cope with the anticipated influx of COVID-19 patients in India.
Conferences and Exhibitions
The events and exhibitions industry also took a direct hit under the shutdown, leaving an uncertain future. According to EEMA (Events and Entertainment Management Association), the Indian events and exhibition sector is expected to take an Rs 1 trillion hit. In such circumstances, interactive virtual-events can help the industry safely conduct their affairs without any contact.
The current situation is gradually transitioning the Industry 4.0 solution from an “option” to a “necessity” in the post-pandemic world. This will make Industry 4.0’s fleet of next-generation solutions, including augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), as an essential commodity for businesses. VR tools are bound to become as relevant as the world looks to step up to learn, work, interact, and reboot the economy in the aftermath of COVID-19.
IIT Kharagpur develops novel Industry 4.0 tech for advanced manufacturing sector
IIT Kharagpur has developed a novel Industry 4.0 technology for remotely controlled factory operations and real-time quality correction during industrial production in India’s advanced manufacturing sector, the Department of Science and Technology said on Friday. The present innovation upgraded the industrial process of friction stir welding to a multi-sensory system of Industry 4.0.
The innovative technology developed by Suriya K Pal, professor in-charge at the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing Technology, IIT –Kharagpur, in association with TCS, will acquire real-time information about the welding process through multiple sensors and ,enable online control of weld quality by means of cloud-based communication with the friction stir welding machine. “Welding is at the heart of any industrial operations. If we can improve the weld quality in real-time during batch production we can reduce rejections in post-production sample checks,” Pal said. Explaining the new technology, he said, “Our multiple sensor process involves various signal processing and machine learning techniques to predict the ultimate tensile strength of the weld joint is fabricated.”
This technology is connected with a vast experimental knowledge base to conform to a standard system and prediction of the weld joint strength, he noted. “Any defect identified during the monitoring procedure is corrected in real-time by sending modified parameters to the machine thus ensuring standardised quality of the process,” he said. The concept of this technology can further be evolved for real-time control of other industrial processes and such work will be carried at the centre with other industrial partners soon, Pal added.
“It (the technology) has not only set the course for remotely controlled operations in the Indian industrial sector but has also enabled real-time quality check and correction during the production process.
“This will make it possible for industrial houses to achieve standardised quality goals throughout the production process and reduce rejection hence lowering the cost of production,” the DST said in a statement.