Navigating through Industry 4.0 post COVID-19
The coronavirus (COVID-19) situation has put unprecedented stress on businesses and the global economy and has subsequently impacted Industry 4.0.
Industry 4.0 is the trend towards automation and digitisation in manufacturing technologies and processes.
Leading academic, Professor Frithjof Klasen recently said: “Industry 4.0 and digitisation has taken on a completely new status as a result of COVID-19. This pandemic has served as a catalyst for digital transformation in many companies and we expect an unprecedented boost for digital structures in various industries and companies.”
The digital transformation we are experiencing though spans much further than the manufacturing industries and relates much more to business survival rather than competitive edge. As many organisations experienced an overnight shut down of offices, warehouses, plants and “business as usual” it has led to us all looking towards a “new normal” which undoubtedly sees software, digitisation and automation playing a much greater role.
Additionally, the COVID-19 crisis has brought forward unparalleled disruptions and challenges to the global supply chain. Professor Klasen adds: “The COVID-19 situation has made clear how largely dependent many industries are on a single source for raw materials and goods. This is no longer sustainable. There needs to be more flexibility and agility in logistics, processes and machinery so we can better deal with similar situations in the future”.
When it comes to Organisational Resilience, business leaders need to start thinking about whether “agile” is just a noun that is used in their marketing or is actually a fundamental component of their strategic planning. If there is an early lesson to be acknowledged from the COVID-19 situation, as leaders, we need to ensure we understand in real time, the data we are looking at. We need better information to make faster decisions, effectively.
The majority of organisations will be in a position to ask themselves: Where did my weaknesses lie? What costs could we have mitigated? What could have been done differently?
One of the recurring themes that has been identified is a lack of real-time visibility across the business. Visibility that if it had been available then critical business decisions could have been made more efficiently and with greater confidence.
What sort of software could make this a reality?
This isn’t about reinventing the wheel in a short space of time, this is about seeing what is on offer and available to make the organisation more resilient now in order to protect against future disaster.
- Real time reporting and dashboards – for materials, products, WIP, people, assets, risk assessments, incident reporting, symptom reporting
- Mobile Technology – empowering employees to take control of their activities using apps such as training, reporting etc
- Augmented / Virtual reality – May seem far fetched for some but the reality of training in this manner is already helping forward looking businesses explore upskilling their workforce to manage skills shortages
- 3D printing of spare parts which may be stuck in supply chain
- Replacing picking type tasks with drones if possible, to reduce reliance on workforce and enhance social distancing. Where this isn’t possible implement paperless picking processes and reduce contact points between employees
- Using technology to set up and monitor zoning in the workplace
- Managing new shift patterns and rotations digitally along with the communication and monitoring thereof
These are just a few examples of how industry is changing, the list of how digitisation and new technologies could promote organisational resilience is immense but it is time we think about ways to embrace this change for the wider good of the business instead of filing it into a “nice to have” folder.
In short, Industry 4.0 should now be about survival and resilience rather than competitive edge and order books. The question is; what changes will you make to keep up?
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