March 2019

| 42 | March 2019 www.smartmachinesandfactories.com | INTERVIEWS & REPORTS | O ne of the key criticisms often labeled at the UK when talking about Industry 4.0, is that we are perceived to be playing catch up. However when speaking to Dr Frank Melzer - head of the Industry 4.0 platform steering committee for the digitisation of business in Germany, he told me that he didn’t think there was so much of a difference. He explained that perhaps Germany was a little more advanced, but added you could argue one way or the other as to how much. He explained that the principle idea of Germany’s Industry 4.0 platform, which he now heads the steering committee for, is basically to spread the word to German manufacturers and especially SMEs to make sure they don’t fall behind. For Melzer, SMEs are the backbone of industrial automation in Germany, and concerns regarding SMEs not adopting an Industry 4.0 roadmap is as much a concern in Germany as it is in the UK. Industry 4.0 platform is a German Government initiative driven by the Government to drive digitalisation and drive the concept. Melzer says, the Government aims to have very active industry representatives “because it says Germany needs the gas from industry...” He explains that there is a very close discussion between government and industry to resolve the barriers. And this, he adds, is very positive for SMEs, because they cannot run that discussion individually. Industry 4.0 platform is also being driven globally by the German Government in two ways: First to Industry 4.0: The future is AI Festo Member of the Management Board Dr Frank Melzer has taken over as head of the Industry 4.0 platform steering committee for the digitisation of business in Germany. Smart Machines & Factories’ Aaron Blutstein caught up with him in Holland to find out which direction Industry 4.0 is heading. support industry and the companies behind that, and secondly also to promote the concept of data driven industrialisation. He emphasises that the earlier we agree on standards, and certain principle procedures and ideas, the easier it will be to adopt. However he warns that if everyone has their own standards this will have the opposite effect. Direction of Industry 4.0 One of Melzer’s key focuses during his tenure as head of the Industry 4.0 platform steering committee, will be on technology development, in particular, the further development of decentralised, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence, which he says provide us with excellent tools for optimising industrial production processes in the future. Looking to the future and the direction of Industry 4.0 is taking, Melzer says artificial intelligence, popped up five years ago as a result of the availability of computers being much more designed for it. In the future, he says, there will be a lot of computing power so we will see much more artificial intelligent machine learning within industry. Although he believes the industry itself is adopting it The Industry 4.0 platform The Industry 4.0 platform is the central network in Germany for advancing digital transformation in production. More than 300 people from over 150 organisations are actively involved in the platform, working shoulder to shoulder between politics, business, science, trade unions and associations. As one of the largest international and national networks, the platform supports German companies – in particular medium-sized businesses – to implement Industry 4.0, especially by making existing practical examples of Industry 4.0 known to companies and spreading them across the country. It also provides concrete recommendations for action and refers to support services and test environments. The numerous international co-operations of