Careers in Industry 4.0

Careers in Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0

Industry and business are being transformed by a new wave of digital technology. 

Mobile sensors can track inventory from the manufacturing floor, all the way through the shipping channel, to a retail shelf or a customer’s door. Machines send out alerts about quality control, errors, supply shortages or breakdowns. Predictive software automatically schedules maintenance for trucking fleets based on travel data and past repair timelines. Behavioral analytics help financial institutions spot suspicious activity in bank and credit card accounts.

All of this is enabled by various technologies: mobile, cloud computing, analytics, automation, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, autonomous robots, and augmented- and virtual reality (AR/VR).

This type of intelligent, interconnected ecosystem has been dubbed the fourth industrial revolution. Known simply as Industry 4.0, it’s a potent combination of technologies that adds accuracy, efficiency, productivity and personalized customer service to business and industry in unprecedented ways.

Industry 4.0 will also lower the cost of doing business.

A 2017 Accenture study estimated the average U.S. company could save $85,000 per employee via the integrated deployment of five technologies: AR/VR, autonomous vehicles, big data, machine learning and mobile.

This waning year of 2019 featured a constant flurry of commentary about how the business world is being transformed by advanced manufacturing. IIoT, 5G, 3-D printing, AI, VR, revolutionary robots and cobots – they’ve all had gallons of real and virtual ink spilled about how they’re fundamentally changing the production and supply chain picture.

Industry 4.0 is the new disruptor in the world of manufacturing globally and now in India. This industrial revolution of connectivity is clearly a global megatrend, and many MSMEs, Tier 2 and Tier- 3 suppliers are yet to fully understand what smart manufacturing is all about.

India’s manufacturing sector

The Indian government estimates India’s manufacturing sector would breach US$ 1 trillion by 2025.

However, manufacturers need to move beyond the current status, characterized by manual inputs, lack of ICT integration in manufacturing, and critical gaps in capability, to move to the next stage and fill the critical technology gaps.

To that end, government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative is providing the groundwork for both small and large companies to develop advanced manufacturing capabilities and invest in technology upgradation. Additionally, programmes such as green corridors and smart cities have been launched to support critical technology interventions across various industries. Besides creating jobs, these initiatives appeal to a new generation of workers with different values and skills that boost synergies.

Given India’s aspiration to move up the share manufacturing contributes to GDP from 16% now to 25% by 2022, creating 100 million additional jobs in the process, it is imperative that companies draw up medium and long-term strategic plans to embrace the advantages of Industry 4.0.

Structural Changes

The manufacturing sector is an obvious candidate to provide jobs on a mass scale. However, it is no secret that India’s manufacturing sector has been a laggard compared to the likes of China, the US, Japan and Germany. All of these countries, except China, have a much lower population base compared to India. Given the size of our population and of our future ambitions, we need to urgently reform and upskill our manufacturing sector and its workforce. Industry 4.0 presents that opportunity

In an extensive research paper released last year, McKinsey Global Institute calculated that intelligent automation technologies could save employers worldwide a staggering $15 trillion in wages by 2030.

Those massive labor savings raise a giant question: how will Industry 4.0 affect the job market?

Jobs displaced …

“About half the activities people are paid to do globally could theoretically be automated using currently demonstrated technologies,” McKinsey concluded, estimating between 400 and 800 million current occupations could be displaced by 2030.

McKinsey cited jobs involving physical labor, data collection/processing, manufacturing, retail, and accommodation/food services as the most vulnerable during the shift to Industry 4.0.

When researchers look at the bigger picture, however, it actually appears far brighter.

If history is any guide, we could expect eight to nine percent of 2030 labor demand will be in new types of occupations that have not existed before.

McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), “Jobs Lost, Jobs Gained: Workforce Transitions In A Time Of Automation” (December 2017)

Jobs created

If you’re feeling anxious, take a deep breath; we’ve been here several times before, including the early 1980s.

That’s when a shiny new gadget called the personal computer swept into homes and offices, transforming how and where people work. McKinsey estimates that between 1980 and 2015, the introduction of the PC displaced 3.5 million jobs in the U.S. — but also created 19.2 million new ones. The think tank believes we’ll see similar spinoff employment growth from Industry 4.0.

“If history is any guide,” McKinsey researchers note, “we could expect eight to nine percent of 2030 labor demand will be in new types of occupations that have not existed before.”

In its 2018 Future of Jobs report, the World Economic Forum (WEF) predicted strong employment growth in emerging sectors like AI, robotics and blockchain – but also in non-tech positions such as customer service, sales, marketing, training and skills development.

Making it work

McKinsey estimates 75 to 375 million people will have to switch occupations and learn new skills by 2030, “implying substantial workplace transformations and changes for all workers.”

For this monumental workplace transition to work, employers, governments and employees around the world must do their part, according to the WEF analysis.

“It is critical that businesses take an active role in supporting their existing workforces through reskilling and upskilling, that individuals take a proactive approach to their own lifelong learning, and that governments create an enabling environment, rapidly and creatively, to assist in these efforts,” the forum recommended.

In McKinsey’s view, that means employers seeking effective ways for humans to work with machines – not just replacing people with tech to cut labor costs.

“Our analysis shows that humans will still be needed in the workforce,” McKinsey concludes. “The total productivity gains will only come about if people work alongside machines. That, in turn, will fundamentally alter the workplace, requiring a new degree of cooperation between workers and technology.”

As India pursues manufacturing-led growth, it needs to move away from low-cost manufacturing and align with the global trend of embracing Industry 4.0 to boost its competitive edge.

While the government has launched several initiatives such as Make in India, Smart Cities, Digital India, and Skill India to encourage adoption of Industry 4.0, it needs to create a more enabling ecosystem. For example, incentivizing industrial clusters and creating dedicated financing options will help manufacturers, especially SMEs, to expedite implementation of Industry 4.0. Ensuring data integrity, cybersecurity and IoT security guidelines will be another important area of focus. Encouraging vocational education & training programmes should become a priority to ensure a continuous supply of highly qualified talent. Finally, a more collaborative effort across multiple stakeholders – academia, public & private industry, and service providers – will be important to drive faster deployment of these new technologies.

With a calibrated approach, India will be able to leapfrog traditional phases of development, usher in a new era of growth and sustain its economic wellbeing.

Panic? This might just be a better idea: prepare

PS this taken references from Mckinsey report , Rolls Royce India , Digital MSME, Forbes India