March 2019

| 44 | March 2019 www.smartmachinesandfactories.com | INTERVIEWS & REPORTS | ‘I ndustry 4.0’ in practice: Manufacturers have long felt the pressure to invest in new technologies. In the so-called age of Industry 4.0, this pressure has been heightened by an influx of products and initiatives, all claiming to help manufacturers digitise their operations. However, Stefan Reuther, chief sales officer at COPA-DATA warns that unfortunately, some of these schemes are nothing more than a waste of money: “Don’t get me wrong, there is certainly value in investing in technology to enable digitalisation in factories’ practices. However, rushed approaches have led to some manufacturers making haphazard investments. For example, some have delegated digitalisation to third parties and as a result, are not in charge of their own automation.” He explains that before embarking on a digitalisation scheme, manufacturers should first examine which technology is practical to their facility. A good place to begin is to Predictions for manufacturing: Industrial trends for 2019 Industry 4.0, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) or the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) - regardless of the phrase used to describe digitalisation in manufacturing, there’s no denying that a shift has already taken place. But, is the age of industrial buzzwords coming to a grinding halt? Smart Machines & Factories spoke to Stefan Reuther, chief sales officer at COPA-DATA, who gives his three predictions for industrial automation in 2019. listen to the people on the factory floor. Understanding how technology can practically help workers can ensure that investments are pragmatic. Another thing to consider, he says, is simplicity, by reducing complexity of processes and gaining a clearer overview and full control. Manufacturers should choose technology that is easy to understand, implement and scale up in the future. Looking forward to 2019, digitalisation should be approached in a more practical manner — a steady, incremental transformation is better than a failed one. Less data hoarding, more data use: Software is another area that has been constantly hallmarked as a method to speed up manufacturing digitalisation. However Reuther comments that before investing in software for data collection, manufacturers should begin 2019 by implementing a coherent data strategy: “Rather than simply collecting and storing data, manufacturers must identify the results that they want to achieve and decide how data can help them to meet these business objectives. Consider this as an example. Let’s say a manufacturer wants to improve return on investment (ROI) in the facility by reducing the amount of materials wasted from production. To identify areas of improvement, manufacturers would need to collect production data and compare this with data from Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).” He explains that without a pre- determined strategy like this, manufacturers run the risk of simply collecting and storing hordes of data: