Industry, revolution and human lives remain inextricably linked and have been so for as long as the earth existed. Every time a change, a revolution took place, it took lives to the next level of existence. When we learned to light a flame, it led to almost a forest fire in our lives! We learn to cook firstly and grew a step away from being animals and used it to secure our lives. Next came the wheel which gave us humans’ unprecedented mobility. Human migration across continents had something to do with wheels. We put together fire and wheels in a factory for mass production and came up with the first industrial revolution which was about the mass-production of goods.
The next ie 2nd industrial revolution taught us to generate and use electricity be it in factories or homes and make lives even better. The 3rd industrial revolution digitized information and cranked up computerization. PCs, tablets, smartphones and the likes were part of it. The 4th industrial revolution is bringing these and other machines and gadgets on a single platform such that they could communicate with each other, asses each other and decide on the output! Self-awareness leading to self-customization and self-optimization is the ultimate aim.
All these points in one direction: The need for change such that needs are more than met while using resources judiciously and efficiently. The last revolution i.e., the 4th Industrial revolution thus promises to be as dramatic (if not more) as the previous ones by introducing unprecedented changes in our lives! We mention a few below.
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Understanding customer needs
The customer has always been king. The only change today is that their numbers have gone through the roof and so too their needs which itself changes every now and then. What this has led to is the introduction of some very specialized computational power called big data and Artificial Intelligence. Between them, they gauge what the King (or Kings!) want(s), when, how and where and processes production capacities to suit the customers’ needs.
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The blurring of lines between consumer and industrial
When a producer can understand the needs of the ultimate consumer, intermediaries and intervening parties either disappear or change forms so drastically that they become consumers themselves, expecting change of a very different kind. Take for example the 3D printer. Today it prints on plastics and polymers and can do so right where the customer wants it. In doing so, the 3D printer goes from becoming an industrial activity in distant factories to a daily activity that the ultimate consumers can do on their own within their own premises, including their homes! Today’s plastics will surely be tomorrow’s steels and composites. It’s at this stage that the lines between factories for production and one’s homes shall forever disappear.
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Supply can be from anywhere
Set ideas of production are bound to be broken under Industry 4.0. With machines interacting between themselves to decide the best course of action, course correction if need be and also warning of variances, it’s only a matter of time when they decide where to produce! Plants worldwide lie idle due to varied reasons. Using Industry 4.0, one can know exactly where production can take place such that prices remain within range and quality guaranteed. China’s Alibaba is the perfect example. You order anywhere in the world and you get it at your door-step. It’s not necessary that production takes place only in China, Alibaba’s parent country. It can exist anywhere, and its output supplied anywhere.
- Asset ownership does not matter
Pay as you go, be it for industrial assets or consumer assets. The concept of owning machines or fixed asset shall undergo change as it involves large outlays which affects an organization’s working. Industry 4.0 will also spawn the likes of Uber which is a tech platform and not a taxi service. It holds an essential grid and software network which facilitates taxi owners to ferry passengers and make money for themselves and the grid. The same shall take place on an industrial level where capacities are taken up by an aggregator who liaises with consumers or those who represent consumers.
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Technology can change everything
Continuing from the above, in the industrial scenario too, it’s a technology that shall finally rule. Machines won’t matter but their interoperability would. And the one who brings machines together would be the most regarded in the system. With IoT increasingly appearing to take up this space, it’s only a matter of time before it is logically extended to include an aggregator of industrial production. Helping this revolution would be excess/ idle capacities and stuck finances.
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AI & processing of big data is at the core
More than the production of the product itself would be the processing of information on what exactly the client wants! AI & processing of big data would be at the core. If a driver-less can be thought of, why not an operator-less machine? Yes, with AI to the aid, even this is possible! And if it’s all about machines, products such as CalibroMeasure’s in-process inspection systems like Roll-Smart could be a great hit. Not only would it be seamlessly adjusted into the entire system of production but it would in real-time even inform on variances and problems with the production system! A great hit, roll-smart can then get things rolling in the right direction for an operator-free inspection system where absolutely nothing gets left to chance!
The 4th Industrial Revolution is upon us. Ride the crest of the wave. It shall only take you higher!
