Exploring Industry 4.0 – What is it exactly?
The proliferation and implementation of digital technology are becoming increasingly paramount in different verticals of business and life. We have seen online shopping, online teaching, video conference, virtual exhibitions, and many other digital technologies taking over the traditional lifestyle. All these technologies point out one direction- “Automation”. Automate and make life simple!
This automation has started creating a lot of changes and there is a shift, or an industrial revolution taking place. Welcome to Industry 4.0 the peak of today’s industrial revolution, where major changes and transitions in manufacturing and industrial process with new innovative technologies take place.
Industry 4.0 connects machines and systems inside a factory. For example, if one machine undergoes a breakdown, it can inform other machines to operate automatically. Or in simple words, machines can interact with each other without any human intervention. Hence, machines can think and communicate.
Industry 4.0 is thus a new phase in the industrial revolution that has introduced intelligent networking of machines and processes for the industry with the help of information and communication technology. It connects the physical world with the digital world.
Litaflex’s 4.0 Smart factory initiative
We at Litaflex deploy HYDRA for the implementation of its dynamic smart factory solutions. Let us explore 4 core benefits on how our process can help you as well.
1) Increasing production efficiency, reducing waste, and lowering the high cost of rework.
With real-time data visibility, production planners will reduce their planning efforts from a day to 5-10 minutes, versus the entire workday when done manually. Laborious planning tasks can be reduced to a single drag-and-drop button click in a user-friendly graphical interface.
With a centralised communication system via the MES (MOC & AIP), information will no longer be fragmented and dispersed as it was previously. This will make internal reporting and auditing easier.
Remote planning and execution capability is possible, which is critical during the COVID-19 when travel restrictions apply. This tool has become indispensable in monitoring our production and carrying out production plans making it more accountable.
We can significantly reduce opportunity costs associated with machine breakdowns by being ‘proactive’ in our machinery and tool maintenance rather than ‘reactive,’ in which we only call for repair or purchase spare parts when the machine is down. Machinery, tools, and resources can be tracked and planned intellectually and their lifespan can be adequately monitored.
2) Premier quality and timely customer service
We have real-time visibility of production data and status to make quick decisions, such as revising production plans, scheduling urgent orders, and proceeding with predictive maintenance work, among other things.
Instead of emails and phone calls, the sales Team as well as the management will be able to track production orders/status, labor hours, and machine statuses in a matter of seconds which increases productivity and the speed exponentially increases benefiting our customers.
3) Rapid and informed decisions
The speed to making decisions can be improved when you have the smart factory 4.0 solution. It accelerates the purchase of machines, spare parts, and tools. Manual data collection can be tempered with so automation is the key to growth for all manufacturers and hence adoption of technology is imperative. We envision a smarter approach to data collection in the future and we all know that technology can aid any organisation in transforming it to a leader.
4) A Motivated Taskforce
Employees are critical to any organisations or them to sustain and grow. So equipping them and ensuring that their workload is more optimised is the key to overall employee satisfaction. Labour times/hours can be recorded in the AIP (shop floor client) using the process monitoring flow, and this can be easily tracked and monitored by our managers for performance appraisal and talent development. This is to ensure that the staff are well evaluated and they understand their roles better and naturally to be more productive in their tasks and daily routines.
Through job/process redesign, we can assess work quality and improve our workforce’s skill sets and knowledge. Our workforce will in turn focus on “high value” jobs rather than low-value ones.
Have you explored implementing Smarter solutions ?
Digital technologies and increasing data volumes are transforming manufacturing, requiring the entire industry to think and act differently. A narrow focus on what occurs inside the factory will stymie digital transformation. It is critical to consider the entire ecosystem, from supply chains to customer outcomes. And it is the customers themselves who are driving change. It is critical to respond.It is very significant to ensure quality and speed is imbued in your manufacturing process. At Litaflex, that is what we do best coupled with our excellent orientation towards the needs of our clients.
At Litaflex , you come first.
