Table of Contents
Published on: April 1, 2022
Once you are a part of any manufacturing industry, Industry 4.0 will be a general point of discussion.
This is an age of competition and an issue of being first amongst equals. Once your competitor starts drawing advantages from applying Industry 4.0 solutions, you need to get it as well. In long run It may be a question of one’s survival. Present manufacturing technologies are evolving to fully encompass both automation information and data exchange. They are integrating all existing systems through using cloud computing with cyber-physical systems, augmented reality, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In short, one’s journey to future does not even begin without applying Industry 4.0 solutions.
Benefits of using Industry 4.0
A. Increase of productivity- As already explained the three components of productivity get instantly affected positively through application of Industry 4.0 solution. Machine availability the biggest challenge is first benefit by ensuring better maintenance schedule and pre-empting breakdowns. The clear visibility in RM supply chain and quality output gives a much larger control over this one most important factor.
B. Remaining competitive- Proper management of efficiency in production and optimization of supply chain can help an organization to fulfill the orders of the customers in different market segments. On top of this effective distribution strategies helps an organization to remain competitive in highly competitive manufacturing industries.
C. Increased Knowledge sharing & collaborative working- Industry 4.0 comprises cloud-based information to share technologies that help sharing relevant information within different departments so that good practices by one can be shared across the organization virtually seamlessly. Also, it ensures dismantling of departmental silos so common in large organizations. Team collaboration which results makes it easier for the organization to achieve the organizational targets.
D. Cost effectiveness- The ability provided by Industry 4.0 platform is performing repetitive tasks without any error. The chances of human errors also remain less in this process. On the other hand, it also becomes possible for the organizations to re-organize their workers as per task complexity rather than task repeatability. As a result, the labor cost of the company per unit of production reduces significantly.
E. Flexibility & agility- Scaling of production up and down or to include new products lines becomes much easier. One has to only provide crisp SOPs for the changed process. Hence Industry 4.0 opens opportunities for one-off manufacturing systems and high-mix manufacturing systems.
F. Better customer experience- Quality enhancement and near instant root cause analysis ensures reduction of human errors in manufacturing. The overall control on each aspect of production and finished goods handling helps enhance the customer satisfaction. to manage the availability of the products in different markets so that the customers do not face issues in availing those products.
Challenges of using Industry 4.0
A. Cyber Security Issues- The use of IoT-based technologies and cloud- based technologies can lead to cyber security issues. Cyber-attacks performed on the servers and databases of the companies might lead to issues like data losses and data manipulation. Ecubix provides a highly protected platform and if demanded we can provide a security which is the highest possible in the industry. Through this we can assure no possibility of data theft or any kind of manipulation.
B. Technical issues- Improper maintenance of these technologies or inefficient handling of the machines can lead to technical issues. Such technical issues can also create inconveniences in managing operations. Ecubix provides a complete AMC of the systems it provides. Hardware to software. We are end-to-end service provider. This makes us the best possible maintainer of our systems.
C. Increase of technology maintenance cost- Any form of technology once applied is liable to get redundant as well as rendered useless as organization grows. However, the platform provided by ecubix is scalable to a virtually infinite level. Our customers have been with us since the time we have implemented solutions there.
D. Challenges related to employee training- After implementing industry 4.0, it is very important for the manufacturing organizations to train their employees properly for using digital technologies and smart machines in the production activities. Without proper training, they cannot handle those technologies properly and, it would lead to technical issues. Ecubix provides a continuous training through premade schedules as per the experience an organization gains though the industry 4.0 usage.
