Are you ready for Industry 4.0?

Getting ready for Industry 4.0 is part of the mindset to change your operational management from a reactive to a proactive approach. The value of the information obtained from the data can only be increased if your maintenance organisation is properly set up to plan, schedule and execute a quality intervention in time! The end goal is obvious: improved uptime, customer satisfaction and reduced costs.

Are you ready for your digital transformation journey? To be able to fully focus on the necessary steps and take your business to the next level, you need proactivity, innovation, change and possibly the help of AI. So it all starts with understanding, taking stock of where you are now, and where you want to go by mapping out the tasks to achieve that goal. In the rest of this article, we will therefore discuss the following elements:

1. The value of Industry 4.0
2. Predictive maintenance maturity levels
3. What's holding you back?
4. I-care and the roadmap to Maintenance 4.0

The value of Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 means the transformation to smart manufacturing (and related industries), where equipment is remotely connected and creates an environment where big data, people, processes, services and systems are used in an optimised way. In so-called 'smart factories', cyber-physical systems monitor, control physical processes and decisions are facilitated by equipment that can self-analyse and diagnose problems.

The Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication are integrated for increased automation, better communication and self-monitoring. Industry 4.0 empowers manufacturers to better control and understand every aspect of their asset's operation and allows them to leverage real-time data to boost productivity, improve processes and drive growth. In addition to increasing availability, Industry 4.0 can create value through :

• Creating a safe and healthy working environment.
• Improving costs and saving energy
• Increasing the efficiency of machine fleets
• The development of a learning, agile company, capable of adapting to a changing environment.

1. The fourth digital revolution

Industry 4.0 is the latest phase of the industrial revolution. This revolution began at the end of the 18th century and went through several phases, including the use of the steam engine (first revolution), the introduction of electricity and production lines (second revolution) and the introduction of automation (third revolution).

The fourth industrial revolution is marked by :

• a huge step forward in automation,
• a holistic approach to manufacturing through cyber-physical systems, made possible by the Industrial IoT made possible by the Industrial IoT,
• a shift to a decentralised system with embedded intelligence in independent entities,
• data models and closed loop control systems,
• product personalisation/customisation.

2. The integral technologies of Industry 4.0

The most important cornerstone of Industry 4.0 is technology. Technology is the key to accessing results and data in real time, which will catapult the industry to new levels of achievement. Many technologies are used in Industry 4.0, some of which define it at its core:

The Internet of Things (IoT) - We've mentioned this several times before. The IoT is one of the most important elements of Industry 4.0. The IoT in the manufacturing sector enables virtual tracking of assets, processes, resources and products. This gives companies full visibility, allowing them to streamline operational processes and optimise supply and demand.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning - IoT goes hand in hand with artificial intelligence. The vast amount of data is far too much for humans to interpret. AI and machine learning algorithms can accurately analyse large amounts of data from IoT-driven systems, discover anomalies and thus make recommendations.

When IoT and AI are properly implemented, manufacturers have more and better information and automated processes with the ability to intervene in a predictive or preventative manner. This prevents downtime or other problems that could affect production.

Cloud computing - Cloud computing refers to the practice of using interconnected remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage and process information. Cloud computing can offer significant advantages when it comes to the computing power needed to apply AI and other intelligent manufacturing technologies.

Big Data and analytics - With Industry 4.0 comes big data monitoring and collection. Big data analytics systems use AI and machine learning algorithms to process the data and provide decision makers with the relevant information to take the right actions.

Automation - Maximising efficiency is the ultimate goal of Industry 4.0 organisations. Therefore, automation of repetitive tasks is recommended in all manufacturing processes. In this way, the "AI colleague" assists his human counterpart. Automation is made possible by focusing on interconnectivity and communication throughout your systems and organisation.

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) - Cyber-physical systems refer to an Industry 4.0 compliant manufacturing environment that provides on-line and/or real-time data collection, analysis and transparency in all aspects of a manufacturing operation.

1. The Industry 4.0 Maturity Index

Upgrading digital skills is a continuous process. In order to objectify your current maturity, the Industry 4.0 Maturity Index, consisting of 6 levels, has been developed. This framework was developed by the Industry 4.0 maturity centre.

• Level 1 - Computerisation: Digital solutions are used and production data is collected individually. However, a lot of manual input is required.
• Level 2 - Connectivity: At this stage, digital solutions are already connected, for example via the internet, and can be read. However, it is not yet possible to check production events in real time.
• Level 3 - Visibility: Plants are now able to improve the reliability of their assets by using the data acquisition systems in place. Real-time information on physical objects or processes can be obtained.
• Level 4 - Transparency: Transparency is achieved by learning to understand and monitor the data collected. At this stage, the software to perform this analysis is already available.
• Level 5 - Predictive capability: At this stage, real-time data is not only acquired and interpreted, but can also be used to predict what will happen in the future. This allows the user to anticipate predicted events in order to increase the reliability of the system.
• Level 6 - Adaptability: The final stage is fully automated decision making. Digital systems can operate autonomously and intervene to prevent failures without human intervention.

By choosing this benchmarking based on the maturity of the organisation in its digitalisation, the path to optimisation becomes manageable. Ultimately, this reveals and generates great opportunities: you will be able to optimise the relevant stages of production and your maintenance, minimising losses and maximising your return on investment. In this environment, executive decision making can be considerably accelerated while remaining informed and supported by "on-line and/or real-time data". Digital solutions simply make the necessary information readily available.

What's holding you back?

Although the purpose and benefits of Industry 4.0 are clear, the huge change in the world of maintenance and asset management also creates new challenges. However, driving innovation across the organisation is difficult. Do you find it difficult to take the right steps in your own company? There are several reasons why your change process does not take off or may stagnate.

McKinsey & Company's latest Industry 4.0 Sentiment Survey, conducted in 2019, found that after starting their Industry 4.0 journey, most companies found themselves 'stuck' in a pilot trap (PoC). At the time, only about 30 per cent were deriving value from full-scale Industry 4.0 solutions. Another 30% had not even begun to implement pilot projects. Approaches were dominated by proposing forward-thinking development rather than progressively identifying the areas of greatest impact and linking them to Industry 4.0 value drivers.

1. The challenges of Industry 4.0

According to the McKinsey survey, the main barriers to moving from pilot to deployment are
deployment are the following:

2. Lack of resources/knowledge

Industry 4.0 transformation will only deliver value if the organisation is used to taking advantage of new and available tools. Often new tools are too technology or IT driven and therefore find little support within the organisation.

3. High cost of implementation

Companies are reluctant to make high upfront investments in process IT (and also see significant risks) to connect their entire manufacturing footprint to an IoT cloud.

4. Difficulty in justifying a business case without a short-term return

The use of Industry 4.0 requires upfront investments in new technologies, which are often not amortised in the same year. However, the expected gain - connected and intelligent devices and an automated production process - promises a significant return on investment. The investment costs for a data infrastructure cannot be borne by a single project.

5. Pilot projects demonstrate unclear business value

Too often, pilot projects that exploit a "fancy or attractive at first glance" technology are chosen in the first wave of implementation. Such choices can limit the contribution that these use cases can make to improving the bottom line and mask the business value created. Adopting an immature or overly "risky" technological approach can therefore lead to pilots whose business value is unclear.

6. Too many use cases to prove

Value-based prioritisation is essential to keep pilots focused, and only focus leads to success. In many cases, companies have lots of ideas for identified use cases, but struggle to quantify and prioritise the key value drivers to be considered.

2. Industry 4.0 and COVID-19: both motivating and limiting

The role of Industry 4.0 has become even more important in a crisis like COVID-19. For many manufacturers, the pandemic has greatly increased the need for specific tools to work in today's reality. As the COVID-19 virus spreads, digital technologies such as predictive maintenance and real-time information have allowed companies to continue to work at the same speed, if not faster.

Although the case for further digitalisation after the crisis will be stronger than ever, COVID may also derail Industry 4.0 initiatives; the main reasons being uncertainty and cost savings. Nevertheless, it makes sense to start the Industry 4.0 adventure on a small scale, no matter how big, so that it can be expanded quickly once the small-scale PoC (Proof of Concept) has proven its value.

3. Successfully implementing Industry 4.0: you don't have to do it alone.

The road to Industry 4.0 is lucrative, but certainly not simple. It encompasses many technologies and steps to be taken. With your current maturity level in mind, I-care can help you successfully implement Industry 4.0, focusing on the most important and impactful steps to be taken. We focus on what we call Maintenance 4.0: measuring specific predictive maintenance data (such as vibration and temperature - but not only....), enriching it with process data and giving you the right information to make it an intelligent set for decision making.

BEMAS suggestion: Why choose I-care?

Their experience is what sets them apart in the world of maintenance 4.0. A whole range of skills is needed to implement a complete roadmap. This involves much more than knowledge of assets, industries, programming, databases and how to link them together. Before companies can enter the world of AI, data must be generated and collected. I-care has been working with a maintenance 4.0 methodology since 2004, combining its approach with its knowledge of the industry and especially their assets, historical data and experience for data-driven decision making. That's why we have absolute confidence in their Maintenance 4.0 approach: by guiding customers on their innovation journey, I-care helps them value the path to success!

Would you like to know more about the 4.0 possibilities for your company? Don't hesitate, we'll put you in contact. 

By I-care Group and Olivier Dengis, 4.0 Solutions Officer at I-care