DIGITALISATION
RUGGED SOLUTIONS TO DRIVE
THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY by Rick Hwang, President of Rugged & Video Solutions Business Group, Getac Technology Corporation Mobile devices, specially designed for harsh manufacturing environments, can effectively help companies embrace Industry 4.0. INTRODUCTION The manufacturing industry is undoubtedly a core pillar of economic growth in Singapore, accounting for a fifth of the economy and employing more than 400,000 workers, or approximately 14% of the labour force. And it will continue to be a key pillar for economic growth. But factories in Singapore are finding themselves increasingly under pressure. Mounting regional competition, rising business costs and a tightening labour market are all factors that Singapore’s manufacturers find themselves grappling with. The good news is that the government is already working towards addressing these issues through industrial transformation. Several incentives and grants to help businesses automate their existing processes and support their digital transformation have been put in place to ensure the country maintains its position as a globally competitive manufacturing hub. According to the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Singapore’s manufacturing base has been “gearing up to adopt the Industry 4.0 model to enable digitalisation and automation of its processes, enhancing its efficiency and long-term competitiveness on the global stage. This new-age approach allows for high-level integration of information, communication and systems by connecting multiple devices and machines at every step of the manufacturing process”.
Mr Rick Hwang
technology has become the norm in manufacturing plants for driving assembly operations, forklift transportation, quality control, and management oversight, the acquisition of tools that can control everything from any location has shifted from the ‘niceto-have’ to the ‘must-have’ category. The introduction of mobile devices has enabled such scenarios and enhanced workflows within factories. But not all mobile devices are created equal. Due to the dynamic nature of the manufacturing industry, companies require mobile devices that perform even in harsh environments and are portable. That is where rugged tablets and laptops, which are designed to function in the manufacturing industry, would come in handy.
Rugged industrial-grade mobile devices Industrial tablets and laptops are becoming increasingly popular in the manufacturing industry. Manufacturing companies choose to deploy rugged tablets and laptops due to their durability, reliability, and relatively low total cost of ownership. For starters, quality control is a crucial element of manufacturing. Rugged laptops, such as Getac’s B360, come with the capability of including applications and extensions that help track and monitor production operations, to ensure that products meet the quality standards required.
As external pressures mount and as the COVID-19 global pandemic places greater strain on the industry, it is time for businesses to embrace innovation such as intelligent warehouse management systems, predictive maintenance, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI).
REINVENTION OF MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS Manufacturers looking to make the switch to Industry 4.0 will need to recognise that adopting the right technologies will play a critical role in enabling their transformation journey. In recent years, as integrated 30
THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2020
Rugged laptops are specially made to be lightweight and compact so that workers may carry them with ease or store them in small compartments when necessary.
