For the past 40 years, the Asia Pacific region has played an important role in the global industrial manufacturing sector. The region adopted a modern industrial infrastructure quickly and developed knowledge and aptitude in order to sustain success and adapt to the changes of global demand.
As a result, manufacturers in the region built a competitive edge over their global counterparts and have been creating highly sophisticated products that require technologically advanced equipment and competence. This begets the question - how can Asian manufacturers maintain their competitive edge in the next 40 years?
To enjoy continued growth and success, manufacturers in the region need to think about how to stay ahead and differentiate themselves from their competition globally and regionally by focusing on productivity and proficiency.
To achieve this, the next step would be to evolve towards an Industry 4.0 manufacturing model. Otherwise known as the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0 describes how manufacturing technologies will undergo automation and digitisation and will see the shift towards the development of “smart factories”.
Evolutionary Integration
This evolution will require greater levels of integration among information, communication, and manufacturing processes that we’ve never seen before. The first two industrial revolutions introduced mechanisation to factories and mass production respectively. The third revolution automated the manufacturing process due to the proliferation of digital computing in factories.
Industry 4.0 is the next phase of digitisation within the manufacturing sector made possible with cyber-physical systems, such as Internet of Things and cloud computing.
Big data analytics and vertical system integration are some of the technological advancements we can expect to see in Industry 4.0. Digitisation and advanced analytics in the manufacturing sector enables industry player s to get more accurate and practical insights at a faster rate to improve their productivity and performance.
This also includes gathering insights and looking for solutions to improve equipment per formance, addres s environmental concerns, and minimise heal th risk s. However, not many companies are fully aware of the technologies available. A McKinsey survey reported that only 48 per cent of manufacturing leaders consider themselves prepared for Industry 4.0.
Another report cited how the manufacturing industry may have experienced some of the most tumultuous times with the recent economic crises in 2001 and 2008. Companies who were quick to invest in new technologies to improve productivity and performance found themselves facing slow returns on their technology investments when the markets suddenly crashed.
To be continued: Digitalisation Of The Manufaturing Sector (Part II)
APMEN Sept 2016, Features
