The digital revolution is extending its insipid reach into every aspect of our communities. Contrary to widespread belief, there is nothing wrong with this. In fact, we are developing as a global community so that this does not scare us anymore.
As we move into web3, it becomes obvious that we are all well-used to the internet helping to make our lives easier. At the end of the day, that is what digitization is all about.
Digitization has thus far impacted everything from the way we order food to the way we get around. A thus far under-explored area of the digital age lies in manufacturing. The people that build the parts that turn our engines or run our factories are digitally overlooked.
Why? People assume that the level of practicality they output does not lend itself to high technology. We are here today to tell you that people are wrong.
The Digital Evolution Included Factories and Manufacturers
Digital evolution isn’t all cryptocurrencies and iGaming. It comes with the less exciting parts of technology, too. Innovative technologies are driving change across every aspect of industry and industry starts with the manufacturers who create the machinery that implements it.
This group of businesses, this sector of industry, has a name in the new digital age. It is called the IIoT – the Industrial Internet of Things. Others have taken to calling it Smart Manufacturing or Industry 4.0.
Introducing the Industrial Internet of Things
The world is going through its fourth Industrial Revolution. This is the driving premise behind the IIoT. The first Industrial Revolution was back in the 1800s when we discovered we could use steam power. The second was when we introduced electronic power, towards the end of that same century.
Once industry had powered electric street lighting and trams, it oozed over into the realms of globalization and mass production. The third revolution of the industry was when we learned how to use those electronics to build the internet, develop it into a working infrastructure, and then start adding it to the machines we built to create on our behalf.
We have been moving through the fourth Industrial Revolution during our lifetimes. We are overhauling processes in manufacturing, in service, in production, in all aspects of the industry – and we are doing it by applying that digital knowledge to the way we build. Factories are already using digitization, but the transfer seems slow. Machinery is expensive and people are reluctant to improve on working models.
The Benefits of Applying Digital Tech to Industrial Processes
Industry can benefit from the application of digital tech as much as any other sector can. There are ways digitization can positively impact how we build the cogs to turn our machines. Let us outline some of the benefits digitalization of factories can have on your overall profit margins.
Less Waste
As we move into Industry 4.0, we are moving into an era of less waste. If we digitize our packing, shipping, and construction processes in factories and production plants, we can minimize the waste caused by human error.
Efficient Speeds
Full digitization of the manufacturing process would mean production was always operating at its maximum capacity.
Error Monitoring
A side effect of operating at maximum capacity means the system is monitoring itself for errors. When it detects one, the automated system can shut itself down, reduce capacity, and even alert the human operators to the issue.
Quality Control
Items produced by set specifications will be uniform to the last degree. This loops back into producing less waste since the margin for errors and wastage is smaller. A machine will produce something the same way repeatedly, a human cannot.
Improvement Monitoring
Much like a Sat Nav will suggest faster routes, automated and digitized production processes will offer efficiency improvements. If it can adjust the efficiency of production, it can alert the human users. An automated system with the right programming could even update itself.
Improved Productivity
We will benefit from better productivity due to the improvements in monitoring for updates and errors, in uniformity of products, and in speed efficiency.
Compliance/Health and Safety
With a digital system, you can ensure compliance to all health and safety codes across all machines. You could program them to spy when something was not right and immediately shut down production to resolve the issue.
Reduced Overheads
We do not like to talk about it, but as we develop Industry 4.0, we will eventually lessen the need for employees on an industrial level. This is worrying in some areas, but in key production areas of concern, this is going to improve the safety of the workforce. The reduction in employees will inevitably result in a reduction of overhead costs.
Downsizing
We are looking a little farther into the future here, but we can see downsizing on the horizon, resulting from the adoption of digitization of factory processes. Just like our mobile phones got smaller, so too will the machines we use to build with.
Although there are a lot of pros to embracing this new wave of industrial change, there are still a few areas where people are resistant. It is not all smiles and roses. Let us examine the cons.
The Cons of Applying State-of-the-Art Technology
Similarly, there are a few drawbacks to jumping on the digitization bandwagon. Granted these are limited.
Initial Costs
The initial costs of overhauling an entire production plant’s worth of machinery into a digitally enhanced format can overwhelm owners. Initial costs are high when you overhaul your plant in one go. If you work machine-by-machine, you could spare that lump sum cutting into your profit margin.
Staff Training
Modern technology means training the old staff on how to operate it. Staff training should be a routine part of your production strategy anyway, so you should have a budget set aside for it.
Staff Downsizing
We are not going to need the same number of plant operatives in our factories in the long term. This frees up human workers for less dangerous or physically demanding roles but does take away from the labor market.
Implementation of Smart Manufacturing in UK Industry
If we look at some big manufacturers right here in the UK, we can see that these contemporary trends towards the digital are already being applied. Take the team at RH Nuttall, for example. They have employed state-of-the-art digital machinery which streamlines and upgrades their production of gaskets, washers, and other manufactured parts.
It is one thing to buy in upgraded technology to make your service run faster, but it is another thing to completely overhaul your business processes to achieve a more sophisticated method of doing business. We expect it will take the business a long time to embrace these changes and fully develop this digital age.
Reference
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/waste/waste-management/digital-technologies-will-deliver-more
https://slcontrols.com/en/benefits-of-industry-4-0/
_________________________________________________________________________
Some other articles you might find of interest:
Understand how you can maximize your time to grow your business:
Time Is Money And Your Most Valuable Resource. Use it Wisely to Build Your Business
https://www.thekickassentrepreneur.com/time-is-money
Looking for effective ways to drive and increase traffic to your startup website?
SEO Traffic Guide To Boost Your Blog Rankings
https://www.thekickassentrepreneur.com/guide-to-boost-your-blog-rankings/
Looking for effective ways to drive and increase traffic to your startup website?
3 Top Reasons Why Startups Fail and How Not to Become a Victim
