5 insights from MIT Sloan School to Implementing I4.0 -It is a journey and it is not complex at all

What did I learn from MIT?

During five days I will share with you the 5 top learnings that may change the way you look at digital transformation in your business - directly from the MIT “Implementing Industry 4.0: Leading Change in Manufacturing and Operations” course for executives to implement large scale technological change in the manufacturing and operations environment. 

I invite you to join the 5 main outcomes - each day one lesson:

• Learning 1: Untap the “hidden factory” capacity of your processes

• Learning 2: The system with the faster O-O-D-A loop will prevail

• Learning 3: Three perspectives to be taken into consideration for a successful organizational change

• Learning 4: It is a journey and it is not complex at all
• Learning 5: Straight answer for the most asked questions in transformation journey

Learning 4: It is a journey and it is not complex at all

 Digital transformation (and I 4.0) fits well with the way you drive your continuous improvement journey. Lean management and Industry 4.0 are mutually enabling, and its improvement potential can be greater than the sum of the improvements achieved by either approach independently. Check below the article from BCG.

Linked to that, that is also a similar statement from McKinsey that says that the Industry 4.0 can be understood as digitally enabled lean (see article below).

 Proven lean principles (as the 7 wastes, takt, flow, pull, system stabilization / or zero defect) will remain fundamental and at the same time new technologies (e.g. sensors, automation, 3-D printing, higher computing power; data mining; etc.) will enable advanced analytics and will give to the established methods a new edge.

Now, organizations can use the revigorated lean methods to implement a new way of working on three dimensions that have long been recognized as pivotal: technical systems (processes and tools), management systems (organization and performance management), and people systems (capabilities, mind-sets, and behavior). In addition to that, a new dimension concerned with data, IT, and connectivity will emerge as another core value driver.

●      Hint 05: It is not complex. Avoid making a transformation sound too complex but more important than that is be sure that you are done the right next step.

Roadmaps are fine once introduced to support you on the communication on the way to achieve your goals, but try to keep it flexible. More important than to have a polished roadmap is to start your journey with a strategy and or a future state in mind and to implement it consistently, incrementally and quickly.

Avoid the big projects with a promise of immense returns, instead focus on picking up a lot of pennies and on using technology as a medicine to your headaches.

But do not fool yourself, you will need the basics (IIOT infrastructure and compatible systems) to achieve success in the long run.

And the most important for all, be sure about what you want to achieve and how do you communicate it into your organization. People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole! Harvard Business School Professor Theodore Levitt mentioned that over 70% of new product and services innovation fail to deliver on expectation.

●       Hint 06: Remember, it is a journey and it has its ups and downs. John Saddington posted it in a brilliant way in his post 

Emotional journey phases: 

1 - This is the best idea ever!!

2 -This will be fun.

3 - This is harder than I thought.

4 This is going to be a lot of work.

5 - This sucks and I have no idea what I’m doing

6 - #%@}!!!!!!!

7- Okay, but it still sucks.

8 - Quick, let’s call it a day and say we learned something

9- Hmm…

10 - Hey!

11 Wow.

12 -This is one of the things I am most proud of.

Stay tuned for the last learning session I will post tomorrow