In the case of small and medium-sized companies, which is the most common, this Industry 4.0 path should be started by developing projects that allow companies to establish the bases for further development . For this reason, it is necessary to recognize the level of digitization of the company, which will be the starting point of the road map and essential information for subsequent actions. The impact can be even greater, it can lead to new business models and new sources of income that can be created.
However, the application of these industrial solutions, without defined objectives or without adapted planning, can also entail great costs and therefore will not bring benefits in an acceptable period of time.
In this sense, the first steps towards Industry 4.0 must be based on generating data infrastructures and digitized information from:
- The implementation of integrated management tools such as ERP or other specific tools for production planning or inventory management .
- Also the implementation of product cycle management systems or PLM together with 3D design tools.
At the next level, actions aimed at:
- Sensorize machines and processes to collect data and know in real time their status and the exact point where manufacturing is located.
And at a more advanced level:
- With this data, they are being processed in real time with advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to predict the result of the process and to be able to make decisions in this regard that lead to maintaining the quality and productivity of manufacturing lines.
Do You Know The Level Of Digitization Of Your Company?
Thus, Industry 4.0 is reached step by step, chaining projects that, little by little, manage to raise the company to its next level of competitiveness . In this sense, and taking into account that in each case it starts from a different situation and that the objectives are different, most companies require a specific diagnosis, because it is not possible to speak of a single implementation and therefore of a specific investment level.
