BUZZWORD BREAKDOWN MAY 2019
BUZZWORD BREAKDOWN: THE
FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
Make UK helps to dispell the mystery behind the Fourth Industrial Revolution,
explaining what it is and how it could impact your business in the near future
BY STEPHEN TULIP, SOUTH WEST REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, MAKE UK
Manufacturing and technology have
always gone hand in hand, with each
major step forward being driven
by the introduction of a new set of
technologies. We are now in the early
stages of what is often termed the
Fourth Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0, or
4IR – an exciting time for manufacturers as new
technologies become available to help them take
the next leap forwards.
The First Industrial Revolution was powered
by steam and water, the second by increased
speed of transport and communications, and the
third by microprocessors and automation. Each
one of these stages led to significant changes in
the way the world produces products and does
business. Mass production, complex supply
chains, multinational business, online trading,
just-in-time manufacturing – all of these things
have been made possible by leaps forward in
technology.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is
characterised by the merging of physical and
cyber systems. This is driven by breakthroughs
in a number of areas, including Artificial
Intelligence, Augmented and Virtual Reality,
processing power needed, cloud computing, true
automation, additive manufacturing, robotics and
connectivity. The rate of change has also vastly
increased in speed, with new technologies arriving
at seemingly constant rate.
New technologies
Robots have been used in industry for several
decades but they are now becoming smarter.
‘Cobots’ can work side by side with humans,
completing the repetitive manual work and heavy
lifting before handing the components over to
a human. This enables production lines where
people are freed up to work on areas that are
better suited to human experience, like quality
control or repair. Systems like this have already
been implemented by South West manufacturers
to increase productivity. One company I deal with
has implemented this technology while increasing
the workforce by some 300 heads – demonstrating
that implementing robotics
doesn’t necessarily mean a
reduction in human jobs.
Augmented Reality
nirutft /stock.adobe.com
is transforming the way
companies can share and
experience information.
Field engineers can hold
their tablet computer up to
a component and instantly
see essential information
on the part and instructions
on how to service it overlaid
onto the real time image on
the screen. This increases
efficiency as the worker isn’t
having to go back and forth to
instructions and means that
workers are better equipped to
work on components they are
less familiar with, increasing
flexibility. This technology has
again already been implemented
by several companies in the
South West.
Virtual Reality delivers
training for hazardous or
confined working environments
that can be undertaken in a safe
environment. Engineers can be
trained to service complex and
expensive machinery before
letting them lose on the real
thing. VR can also be used
Companies of
all sizes are
harnessing 4IR
technologies to
enhance their
productivity
as a platform to show your
non-production staff what
the end user of their products
experiences, particularly
useful for defence or extreme
environments.
Artificial intelligence is
also enabling solutions to
automate back office work, so
increasingly humans to do less
repetitive and administrative
tasks. As automation has
done for the shop floor, AI
technology is taking the
repetitive, heavy lifting away
from office workers and
enabling them to do work that
is more productive for the
business, rather than wasting
time with processes that could
be automated.
How to start a revolution
You may be thinking that
4IR sounds good, but the
technologies will be expensive.
The good news is that the cost
of these technologies is falling
all the time and products are
becoming more and more
user friendly.
The Fourth Industrial
Revolution is happening now.
Companies of all sizes are
utilising new technologies to
increase their productivity and
improve their products.
Many businesses in the
South West are leading the
way and if you would like to
see the benefits first-hand,
keep an eye on the Make UK
website for our events where
you can visit businesses who
have successfully implemented
these technologies.
50 www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
Elaelo /stock.adobe.com
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/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk