What Is Industry 4.0?

Industry 4.0 is the subset of the fourth industrial revolution that concerns any industry. Industry 4.0 factories have machines which are augmented with wireless connectivity and sensors, connected to a system that can visualise the entire production line and make decisions on its own.
In essence, industry 4.0 is the trend towards automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies and processes which include cyber-physical systems (CPS), the internet of things (IoT), industrial internet of things (IIOT), and few more.The concept includes:
• Smart manufacturing
• Smart factory
Industry 4.0, fosters modular structured smart factories, with electronic sensors (cyber-physical systems) monitoring physical processes, create a virtual copy of the physical world and help to make decentralized decisions. Over the Internet of Things, sensors communicate and cooperate with each other and with humans in real-time both internally and across organizational services offered and used by participants of the Company’s Value Chain.

Steps to Decision Making for adopting Industry 4.0:-

There are four design principles here which support companies in identifying and implementing Industry 4.0 scenarios as below:
• Interconnection: The ability of machines, devices, sensors, and people to connect and communicate with each other via the Internet of Things (IoT) or the Internet of People (IoP)
•Information transparency: The transparency afforded by Industry 4.0 technology provides operators with vast amounts of useful information needed to make appropriate decisions. Inter-connectivity allows operators to collect immense amounts of data and information from all points in the manufacturing process, thus aiding functionality and identifying key areas that can benefit from innovation and improvement.
• Technical assistance: First, the ability of assistance systems to support humans by aggregating and visualizing information comprehensively for making informed decisions and solving urgent problems on short notice. Second, the ability of cyber physical systems to physically support humans by conducting a range of tasks that are unpleasant, too exhausting, or unsafe for their human co-workers.
• Decentralized decisions:The ability of cyber physical systems to make decisions on their own and to perform their tasks as autonomously as possible. Only in the case of exceptions, interferences, or conflicting goals, are tasks delegated to a higher level.

What can be achieved by Industry 4.0?

1. Digitization and integration of vertical and horizontal value chains:
• Vertically, Industry 4.0 integrates processes across the entire organization for example processes in product development, manufacturing, logistics and service.
• Horizontally, Industry 4.0 includes internal operations from suppliers to customers plus all key value chain partners.
2. Digitization of product and service offerings.
• Integrating new methods of data collection and analysis for example through the expansion of existing products or creation of new digitised products, helps companies to generate data on product use.
• Gathering product use information from the End users becomes very much feasible using such practices. Example: Pharma companies can have the direct end customer and small dealers feedback using a mobile application.And this, helps to refine products in order to meet best the customers’ needs.