Everything you need to know about Industry 4.0

Mobility Work

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10/12/2021

min

Industry 4.0 is a concept that is increasingly used to refer to the technological transformations that the industrial sector is experiencing and will experience. This concept, although it refers to very concrete developments, is still unclear for many people, including industry professionals.

To help you understand what the term Industry 4.0 means and the concrete benefits you can derive from it in terms of productivity, cost reduction, performance and production quality, you will find here:

What is Industry 4.0?

Definition of Industry 4.0

The term industry 4.0 refers to a new way of organizing the means of production based on the convergence of the digital universe with the products and objects of the physical universe. The expression “4.0" comes from the fact that this evolution is considered to be the fourth industrial revolution, after those of mechanization, oil and electrification, and that of automation, computing and electronics.

Also called the industry of the future, Industry 4.0 is revolutionizing the way products are manufactured, improved and distributed, through the introduction of new technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things), cloud computing or AI (Artificial Intelligence).

What are the applications of Industry 4.0?

The applications of Industry 4.0 are numerous and vary greatly in complexity and cost:

delete paper documents : by going completely digital for the management of all documents, companies can save money and time, significantly reduce errors due to poor information transmission and reduce their ecological footprint;
control machines and equipment in real time : thanks to connected sensors, it is now possible to monitor production in real time and collect data to identify problems more quickly, prevent breakdowns and make better decisions;
optimize processes : new analysis software makes it possible to improve production processes in order to use the full potential of industrial assets;
use 3D printing : increasingly accessible, 3D printing makes it possible to quickly produce prototypes or to manufacture extremely personalized products to meet customer needs;
facilitate flows and exchanges : many applications facilitate exchanges between economic partners, for example by giving access to industrial suppliers or service providers corresponding to the needs of businesses.

While some applications require advanced skills and significant investments, others, such as a mobile CMMS for example, can be implemented easily and at a lower cost.

Industry 4.0 technologies

Cloud computing

Cloud computing is an essential part of any Industry 4.0 strategy. Indeed, the cloud makes it possible to storing And theparses a large amount of data necessary for the implementation of this strategy through the integration of the various aspects of any industrial activity (engineering, procurement, production, sales and distribution...). Cloud computing is also a cost reduction factor, especially for SMEs, which can thus adapt their resources to their needs over time.

The Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT is a technology with great potential for industry and one of the keys to the future smart factory. The machines are equipped with sensors with an IP address, which allows them to connect via the Internet to other devices such as a CMMS or an ERP. It then becomes possible to monitor the operation of a machine in real time, and to collect accurate and numerous data. The analysis of these is a valuable tool to improve the productivity of a factory, for example by reducing the frequency of production stoppages.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence, through the machine learning that it makes possible, is one of the tools available to companies to exploit the full potential of the data collected in the factory, thanks in particular to IoT, but also from other sources of information (factories in the same group, partners, suppliers, etc.). For example, AI makes it possible to set up a predictive maintenance strategy based on machine learning algorithms, in order to plan maintenance interventions as close as possible to needs.

The digital twin

A digital twin is a virtual replica of a machine, equipment, production line, or even an entire supply chain or factory. Created from data collected by different types of sensors and connected devices, a digital twin makes it possible toanalyze production processes and test changes to improve their efficiency. This technique is used in particular in the context of BIM (Building Information Modeling).

Edge computing

Edge computing refers to all the tools that make it possible to analyze certain data at the “edge”, that is, where it is created or collected. In fact, in some cases (critical safety problem for example), the detection of a failure requires a almost immediate intervention, which does not tolerate the time of transit and analysis by the corporate cloud. In addition, edge computing makes it possible to reduce cybersecurity risks, for the most strategic data.

What will the factory of the future be like?

The factory of the future, also called smart factory, will benefit from optimized decision-making, the integration of all its management tools, a better adapted supply chain and will be able to meet personalized needs while remaining profitable. Some of these characteristics are already a reality in some factories.

Better decisions through data analysis

With Industry 4.0, the quantity and quality of data is growing considerably, as is the variety of their sources: connected sensors, more reliable feedback from the field, fluid communication between different departments or different factories in the same company, facilitated exchanges with the entire ecosystem such as suppliers and distributors, etc.

Thanks to the analysis of this wealth of data, factory managers can take more informed decisions regarding their production processes and adapt their organization as closely as possible to profitability and quality requirements.

Interconnectivity at the service of information

The factory of the future will be fully interconnected in order to facilitate the flow of data and information in general. These can thus be shared between the various departments, thanks for example to the integration of the various software used (ERP, MES, GMAO...).

More personalized production

The smart factory of the future will be able to manufacture personalized products according to customer needs with better profitability than today. Reduced batches intended for a specific customer or need can thus be produced, bringing the industrial sector into the era of “mass customization”.

Industry 4.0 supply chain

Thanks to a fluid flow of information, the supply chain of the factory of the future will be better integrated to production operations. Relationships with suppliers and distributors will allowadapt the flows production needs or capacities, delivery conditions, etc.

Industry of the future and maintenance 4.0

Maintenance is an activity that is particularly impacted by the technological developments of Industry 4.0. The most remarkable trend is the development of conditional preventive maintenance and, above all, of predictive maintenance.

From condition-based maintenance to predictive maintenance

Conditional maintenance is based onobservation of the operation of the machines to adjust maintenance depending on it. Thanks to techniques such as vibration measurements, oil analysis, infrared thermography, it makes it possible to optimize the frequency of maintenance interventions and the use of spare parts.

Thanks to new technologies such as IoT, maintenance professionals can now collect a greater amount of data and monitor the evolution of their machines and equipment even more closely.

Based on this data and on “smart” technologies, a strategy of predictive maintenance (also called predictive by anglicism) can be put in place, especially for the most critical equipment. Thanks to the modeling and simulations of production processes, Preventive maintenance makes it possible to better know them in order to anticipate malfunctions, failures and breakdowns and to intervene at the best time to limit or eliminate the negative impact on production.

The final objective, as with all preventive maintenance, is to reduce corrective maintenance by optimizing the management of spare parts and by increasing the availability of the machine park at the lowest possible cost.

Data analysis in Mobility Work CMMS

4.0 maintenance tools: CMMS and IoT

In the factory of the future, maintenance management is based on a central tool: CMMS, or computer-aided maintenance management. The new CMMS solutions work in SaaS, offer a Mobile app and allow integrations with other industrial software such as ERP or MES.

A new generation CMMS makes it possible tomore easily establish more effective preventive maintenance plans by storing and analyzing the data collected, in particular by IoT sensors, in the cloud and thanks to artificial intelligence. It also facilitates the sharing of information with suppliers and distributors through community-based operations, for make maintenance more responsive and more efficient. Finally, it integrates modeling and digital twin technologies, for example through BIM.