The fourth industrial revolution will most likely progress through gradual evolution, rather than the sudden cataclysmic disruption of a Brexit event, by contrast.
Whether you label it Industry 4.0, Industrie 4.0 or the Industrial Internet of Things, the fundamental idea is to reduce the cost of manufacturing through the convergence of information and operations technologies. The primary driver is the need for fully industrialised nations to manufacture competitively against emerging regions like China and Southeast Asia, where the labour cost component is still relatively cheap by comparison. The crucial obstacles are the conflicting requirements of interoperability through open system interfaces and the resulting cybersecurity headaches this brings with it.
In its entirety, the IIoT is a revolution in the sense that it fundamentally changes the way we will produce things in our digital factories of the future. At shop floor level, the primary disruptor is the move from traditional centralised control into a decentralised environment of intelligence distributed through networks of autonomously functioning workpieces and mechatronic modules. At the top-floor level, it is about driving new standards of business effectiveness through supply chain optimisation, energy efficiency, reliability centred maintenance and environmental awareness. All of this powered through open interfaces to Big Data analytical programs resident in the cluster of industrial cyber clouds currently forming. This is the quest for manufacturing’s Holy Grail – cost competitive production in batch sizes of one.
Despite the hype surrounding the IIoT, the technologies that enable it are not new. In fact, we already see an ever-increasing number of connected devices in applications like asset monitoring at remote locations – transcontinental pipelines for instance. What is new is the convergence of these technologies in ways that will forever change how we make things. The ‘inconvenient truth’ in the room is that manufacturing executives cannot afford to ignore the IIoT, because underneath all that marketing hurrah, there are some very real benefits on offer.
This Industry Guide is a reference point in a dynamic topology. The most likely scenario, as predicted by industry forecasters and many technology vendors, is a phased approach to adoption of the benefits of IIoT connected manufacturing. In addition, since all companies are different, one organisation’s IIoT strategy is not necessarily right for another. Contributing editor Gavin Halse writes about this in ‘How to determine the business need for Industrial Internet applications’. And what about the requirement for suitably skilled people to implement all of this? Well, Festo has it covered 'Up skilling for a converged world'.
What we hope is to have scratched the surface of this multifaceted subject just enough to reveal a glimpse of its true riches. Very few companies have the capacity to design and implement an IIoT strategy in isolation. This is as much a guide to finding the right partner as it is a guide to finding the right technology. If you haven’t already heard of the Industrial Internet Consortium, you can learn more about it in 'Industrial Internet Consortium to help accelerate the IIoT'.
At the very least, the IIoT should already be on the organisational radar screen. However, if it is not, the Africa Automation Fair organisers have been busy as well.
Hanli Goncalves brings it from Berlin
“In an ongoing effort to incorporate future trends and cutting-edge technology at Africa Automation Fair, I recently visited the IoT Tech Expo held at Berlin’s Congress Centre – a world-class event that brought together key industrialists for two days of top level content and discussion,” she writes.
“I have invited a number of these experts to present the topic of IIoT/Industrie 4.0 at Africa Automation Fair 2017, where we aim to highlight the most innovative advances influencing adoption of the IIoT. We will do this through a dedicated conference, hosted side-by-side with AAF, where there will be case studies and breakout tracks covering the entire Internet of Things ecosystem, including Smart Cities, Developing & IIoT Technologies, Connected Industry and Data & Security.”
So, take your time and review the options; then decide on an IIoT strategy to suit your budget, your staff capabilities and your critical business objectives. The next industrial revolution is likely to happen slowly. But, if you ignore it until 2020, you may find yourself left behind in the race for efficiency achieved through systems of organised assets working together in transactional networks designed for maximum profitability.
Steven Meyer
Editor: SA Instrumentation & Control
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