LEVERAGING INDUSTRY 4.0 FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
INDUSTRY 4.0, INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS (IIOT), SMART MANUFACTURING, DIGITAL PLANT, CONNECTED INDUSTRY – NO MATTER WHAT YOU CALL THIS NEXT WAVE OF INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, IT IS QUICKLY GAINING IMPORTANCE. THEREFORE, IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS INVOLVED AND WHAT BENEFITS ARE EXPECTED. Industry 4.0, the next evolution in industrial processes, promises to deliver true integration of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT), enabling dramatic improvements in efficiency while reducing costs. Where Industry 3.0 was all about automation, connecting devices, and determining what we could learn about the operations of business-critical equipment, Industry 4.0 is about
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applying advanced computer models to make more informed operational decisions. It’s less about understanding the behaviours and characteristics of individual machines and motors, and more about understanding interdependencies — cause and effect — of the entire complex production line, plant operation, and the plant itself. Getting there, however, will require industrial businesses to rethink and improve their existing infrastructure.
IIoT is making way for more flexible models of accessing process and machine data. Generating and collecting data is an important aspect of IIoT, but this alone does not enable the full benefit of IIoT. There are other components to consider: 1. Smart connected devices that are IIoT ready, deliver an “advanced sensing system” that generates information with the first level of data analysis
June 2021
