Delivering Industry 4.0 through cooperation
23 January 2020
Steve Sands, Head of Product Management Festo GB, provides an insight for UK manufacturers based on Germany’s Industry Platform 4.0.
The goal of the German government-sponsored “Industry Platform 4.0” initiative is the digital transformation of manufacturing. More than 350 stakeholders from over 150 companies, associations and trade unions, as well as science and politics, are actively supporting the developments. Festo has been a member of the network since it was founded in 2013 and last year, Dr. Frank Melzer, member of the Festo Management Board for Product and Technology Management, took over the chair of the steering committee for the next two years.
For decades, the German manufacturing industry has been considered a guarantor of growth and prosperity. However, global trade turbulence and increasing digitalisation of the economy and society, are major challenges for the industrial production of many countries – including the UK. Industry 4.0 is at the intersection of production and state-of-the-art information and communication technology. As production facilities become increasingly intelligent, it is becoming more important within the framework of global networking. The goal is to strengthen the net production and worth of the global automation industry itself. This secures employment, good working conditions and social prosperity.
“Increasing digitalisation will open up numerous new opportunities and new business models across Europe. We have to actively shape this future, instead of just letting it happen,” Dr. Frank Melzer, member of the Festo Management Board Product and Technology Management.
Nevertheless, the implementation of Industry 4.0 is a complex venture. As more processes are linked together, more interfaces are created and they should intersect, communicating as smoothly as possible. This can only be achieved by creating consistent standards. In our private lives for example, this could be a USB cable connecting a printer to a laptop or the transfer of music from an MP3 player to a mobile phone via Bluetooth. In the first example, many component manufacturers agreed common interfaces and uniform hardware and software standards – a process that is now also lying ahead for industry. A standard in this arena will only be accepted by consumers if components from a wide variety of manufacturers work perfectly together within the system. "Cooperation between companies and other stakeholders is the only way to deliver Industry 4.0 to the manufacturing sector, accepting new standards as well as innovative products and services. Only working together will we be strong," says Steve Sands.
Festo has been there right from the start
Festo has been involved in virtually all aspects of Industry Platform 4.0 since the network came into existence – in the management committee, the steering committee, the research advisory board or in working groups. Dr. Frank Melzer has been heading the steering committee since late 2018, presiding over the most important topics within Industry 4.0: including strategies, technical solutions and recommendations being developed collaboratively. Above all, the experts are involved in topics like reference architectures, standards and security of networked systems. "For me, the cooperation in the Industry Platform 4.0 is of great importance, because it proves to our customers that we, as co-creators of Industry 4.0, can support them in solving their problems with intelligent products and decentralised systems," says Frank Melzer.
The Roadmap to the future
However, such a large project does not work without a plan. Therefore, the Industry Platform 4.0 has developed a roadmap for designing the "digital ecosystems of the future." The "2030 Vision for Industry 4.0" was published in 2019. Based on the three central values of Sovereignty, Interoperability and Sustainability, it identifies fundamental fields of action for the collaborative design of digital ecosystems in a global context.
Creation of a sovereign digital infrastructure
Sovereignty is the field of action about the freedom of all stakeholders within the market to make their own, independent decisions and compete fairly with each other. This includes a data infrastructure for example, that is secure, sovereign and open to all participants. Data protection, IT and information security, which are the basic prerequisites for Industry 4.0, are a part of sovereignty, too.
Establishment of internationally valid standards
The second pillar of interoperability is the ability of different systems, techniques or organisations to work collaboratively. In the context of Industry 4.0, this means that components and systems are communicating with each other at the field level. In concrete terms, this involves the creation of common standards. The goal is to shape the architecture and the standardised environment in the field of intelligent industrial components. This must happen on an international level. Therefore, it is necessary that every component, every object and every system is surrounded by a so called "administration shell." This means that each component receives a standardised and digital description with its existing features, parameters, functions and capabilities. It is the creation of a digital twin. In the future, the administrative shell enables all components of Industry 4.0 to interact openly and independently from their manufacturers in an Industry 4.0 network. The administration shell standard was initially defined by Industry Platform 4.0 and is currently being finalised. It will become the digital basis for autonomous systems and AI, which will play an increasingly significant role in the future.
Efficient use of resources
The third major pillar of 2030 Vision for Industry 4.0 is sustainability, which includes social participation, good working conditions and education; as well as the topics of climate protection and the circular environmental economy. It deals with questions such as how the Industry Platform 4.0 can support the most efficient use of resources with digital methods or how the working world can be shaped with Industry 4.0 for the benefit of mankind. Industry makes a significant contribution to maintaining a high level of employment and thus a high standard of living. The concrete implementation of 2030 Vision for Industry 4.0 is now the main task of Industry Platform 4.0.
“Continuous learning is essential for all of us stay abreast of rapidly changing technology. This is certainly one of the biggest challenges for the industry,” Steve Sands.
International cooperation
Although Industry Platform 4.0 and the 2030 Vision for Industry 4.0 were created from a German perspective, they are open to partners in Europe and the world alike. For this reason, the Industry Platform 4.0 has entered numerous collaborations with international alliances. In addition, results that have been obtained by the Industry Platform 4.0 are publicised to open a global discourse and therefore encourage a common cross-border exchange on digitalisation in production worldwide. The work of the Industry Platform 4.0 is globally unique, connecting stakeholders from every corner of the world and including their different perspectives and interests into the discussion.
In the UK, the Made Smarter programme is the government-industry partnership charged with the responsibility to inspire the UK’s next industrial revolution based upon Industrial Digital Technologies. Organisations such as Innovate UK, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) have identified five key technology areas:
1. Artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics
2. Additive manufacturing
3. Robotics and Automation
4. Virtual reality and augmented reality
5. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and connectivity
At the 2019 Digitalising Manufacturing Conference, organised by the MTC Coventry and co-sponsored by Festo GB, the UK’s progress since the 2017 Made Smarter review was examined by key UK stakeholders. Looking at the progress in digital integration and innovation, there is still work to be done, particularly to ensure SMEs can access and utilise the technology advances. In 2018 the UK government investment was focused in a North West pilot although the conference expressed the hope that this would be expanded depending on the new government’s priorities.
Festo continues to drive progress in Industry 4.0 working within many Industry 4.0 initiatives including MANUFUTURE, EFFRA, the European Factories of the Future Research and the platforms4CPS project.
Frank Melzer says, "now, it is up to all of us to seize the opportunity, based on the 2030 Vision for Industry 4.0, to find a way that builds on sovereignty, interoperability and sustainability and secures our global competitiveness."
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