Industry 4.0 – what is it, and how does it improve factory operations?

Industry 4.0 is a concept that has been around for quite a few years in the effective factory subject management and optimization of production processes. However, there is much more to this concept than efficient production management. It is a tool that improves the entire company operation – regardless of its industry or size. So it’s time to find out: what is Industry 4.0, and how does it improve factory operations?

In our article you will find answers to the following questions:

• What is Industry 4.0?
• How does Industry 4.0 work?
• How does Industry 4.0 affect company management?
• How does Industry 4.0 affect the company’s finances and whether it pays off for the company?
• Industry 4.0 and individual industries
• Is Industry 4.0 for every factory?
• What do Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things have in common?

What is Industry 4.0?

Industry 4.0 is the fourth industrial revolution, based on the communication of industrial systems and devices to obtain data that allows for work and processes optimization. The three previous revolutions were related to:

• mechanization (industry 1.0) – introduction of a steam engine,
• electrification (industry 2.0) – transition to electric production lines,
• digitization (industry 3.0) – automation of production lines and production control by computers.

The concepts of Factory 4.0 and Production 4.0 are also related to the idea of Industry 4.0. They all revolve around the possibility of creating an ecosystem between IT systems, machines, production workers and management. Its main task is to transfer information smoothly among these components. To create such a network, we need the Internet and all kinds of information technologies. On their basis, we integrate machines and systems using data collected, processed and analyzed in real-time. It allows reacting in real-time to all kinds of deviations and constantly improve the production operation to increase its efficiency, the quality of production and profits derived from it.

How does Industry 4.0 work?

As we have already mentioned, Industry 4.0 works based on a communication network that allows collected data between devices, systems and employees. It applies to almost all systems and processes in the enterprise.

How does it look in practice? Industry 4.0 covers the entire production chain, from placing an order and delivery of materials, through their storage, quality control, production process and shipment to the customer. This core chain is supported by systems operating in production-related departments, such as the laboratory. In this way, in the event of defective raw materials, the system allows you to stop the production of products. However, when errors are discovered later, after releasing the products to customers, the connection with the warehouse and logistics system allows you to quickly track the batches on the market and lead to their recall. It is an advantage in industries as agri-food and pharmaceuticals, where response time is essential.

All this is possible thanks to the smooth flow of information that allows for its collection, quick processing and analysis. Based on this data alerts inform not only about errors but possible stock shortages. It again avoids downtime, ensuring smooth operation.

Reading information from machines also enables workers to respond to failures in real-time and prevent them. Analyzes and reports can indicate the degree of use of individual machine elements, and thus when they need to be replaced, to avoid unnecessary downtime at work. Industry 4.0 cares about ensuring the optimal operation of devices.

How does Industry 4.0 affect company management?

Industry 4.0 influences company management, primarily by streamlining and optimizing its processes. It also allows you to react to failures and deviations in real-time and long-term conclusions based on more precise analyzes and reports. Based on them, the company can create more effective action plans for each department – from production, through finance, to marketing campaigns.

Access to detailed data provided by Industry 4.0 is an opportunity for improvement in every aspect. Thanks to them, it is possible not only to detect and eliminate bottlenecks and defects in the enterprise and outside, e.g. in the field of deliveries. The combination of systems into one ecosystem allows for data analysis from an overall and random point of view. In this way, you can extract information about the suppliers of raw materials – under what conditions they are transported, and thus how they affect their quality.

The improvements also concern warehouse issues. Employees can receive data on the number of stored materials or their expiry dates. They can also perform quick transfers between warehouses or order missing components already at the production planning stage. Industry 4.0 helps you manage waste production, allowing for its reuse, proper disposal or sale.

This environment also offers modern tools for management, providing remote access to transparent reports and comprehensive analyzes recorded in real-time. These data are related to the current operations of the company. You can also create reports for a specific department or topic, receiving the data relevant only to them.

These and other activities offered under Industry 4.0 also affect the company’s profits and costs.

How does Industry 4.0 affect the company’s finances and whether it pays off for the company?

If it pays off for Facebook to collect and process information, then any other company, especially in production, also pays off. If we care about efficiency and control, especially about the workload of machines, their failure rate, or planning service activities, industry 4.0 is recommended. The same applies to the optimization of production planning.

Industry 4.0 is irreplaceable support for the entire company team, giving employees, managers and management access to almost any data at any place and time. Thus, it affects the quality of products and personalization to meet the customer needs. It also allows you to quickly react to market changes, making production processes more flexible and thus making it easier to change them.

The impact of industry 4.0 on the company’s finances is extremely beneficial. It allows you to reduce production costs, and by being able to respond faster to changing customer needs, it provides a competitive advantage and greater profits.

Industry 4.0 and individual industries

Industry 4.0 is a very flexible environment that allows you to adjust solutions to the requirements and needs of the industries. For example, in production and automotive, its most important task will be process optimization and ensuring continuity of production. And in logistics, topics related to route analysis, determining the time-optimal transmission or vehicle packing will become key. What we want to achieve and how depends primarily on the algorithms on which we will operate. It is important how they will be planned, because this will affect the processes optimization, regardless of the industry.

The high interest in Industry 4.0, caused by the noticeable results, meant that a large number of ready-made algorithms are available on the market. They are even scientific papers, which makes the implementation of these solutions in the enterprise much easier.

However, it is worth remembering that, contrary to earlier predictions, Industry 4.0 will exclude blue-collar workers from factories, the opposite has happened. The staff is always the strongest asset when carrying out the implementation in the enterprise and later receiving tangible benefits from it. They are the ones with the practical knowledge behind the successful transformation of the factory into a Factory 4.0.

The Industry 4.0 environment itself provides better operating conditions and greater job satisfaction. The company becomes more effective both in terms of quantity and quality.

Industry 4.0 and individual industries

Yes, industry 4.0 is a solution that will work in any factory – regardless of its size or industry. It primarily ensures the standardization of processes in production, which is a great advantage. It makes work easier, especially in the case of developing companies that hire more and more new employees and buy or build new factories. It allows you quickly prepare them for work and profit from them.

In the solutions offered by Kotrak for Industry 4.0, we also place a strong emphasis on integration with automation systems. They allow you to reduce manual work. We also focus on the implementation of the solution enabling the structuring of the obtained data – presenting it in the form of reports and analyzes that are readable to recipients. We know that the standardization of processes is also very important in terms of information collection – especially in large, multi-branch corporations. We make sure that the data is collected in a way that, at any level of the company, it allows you to make various strategic decisions.

It is also worth noting that Industry 4.0 offers solutions for smaller – one or two branch factories. At a lower cost, they can introduce solutions that optimize and organize the work of the production. In such places, the so-called production kiosks are very popular. They do not require integration, so for smaller enterprises, they are affordable.

The production kiosks in our offer are equipped with clear and convenient interfaces for operators, which can be operated without any problems, even with thick work gloves. They record data such as:

• the time of work begins and ends
• what was implement
• work breaks and their types – breakdowns, machine retooling, maintenance, etc.

These devices are a great power in obtaining information because they can be programmed according to the customer’s expectations. In this way, they provide the data we want. They are also universal to use for all employees, including older ones.

What do Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things have in common?

Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT for short) have a lot in common. From their cooperation were created Factories 4.0, in which information, the method of obtaining it and what it is to serve, become the factors determining the optimization and development of the company.

IoT enables everything to communicate with everything – machines, systems and operators. It allows you to obtain sensitive information from specific devices. For example, it can record data related to the operation of specific parts, e.g. rolls responsible for the speed of movement of the raw material on the production line. The recording period shows the time from the start to the end of the transport. When data is collected over a longer period, we can extract production-relevant information. For example, notice that from 16 seconds you suddenly need 25 seconds to transport a given part. It is measurable data, especially when the company is concerned with time. When such a difference is multiplied by the number of operating hours, you can see how long the delay is and how important the benefits will be from the early replacement of bearings.

When we know what data we care about and what elements we want to obtain them from in the factory, we can easily collect and analyze them using IoT solutions. The benefits of these improvements will significantly impact the efficiency of the factory and the entire company.

The article was written in cooperation with Paweł Ogiela, Senior Software Development Manager at Kotrak S.A.

Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT for short) have a lot in common. From their cooperation were created Factories 4.0, in which information, the method of obtaining it and what it is to serve, become the factors determining the optimization and development of the company.

IoT enables everything to communicate with everything – machines, systems and operators. It allows you to obtain sensitive information from specific devices. For example, it can record data related to the operation of specific parts, e.g. rolls responsible for the speed of movement of the raw material on the production line. The recording period shows the time from the start to the end of the transport. When data is collected over a longer period, we can extract production-relevant information. For example, notice that from 16 seconds you suddenly need 25 seconds to transport a given part. It is measurable data, especially when the company is concerned with time. When such a difference is multiplied by the number of operating hours, you can see how long the delay is and how important the benefits will be from the early replacement of bearings.

When we know what data we care about and what elements we want to obtain them from in the factory, we can easily collect and analyze them using IoT solutions. The benefits of these improvements will significantly impact the efficiency of the factory and the entire company.

The article was written in cooperation with Paweł Ogiela, Senior Software Development Manager at Kotrak S.A.

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