Industry 4.0: skills and benefits

What does industry 4.0 mean and where does it come from?

Industry 4.0 refers to a new production and business management model with a significant market value that attracts millionaire investments and significant incentives.

The term has entered forcefully in the common language, but, as often happens, the meaning and concrete implications in the world of work are not very clear.

Let's see together, more specifically, what it is.

The expression "industry 4.0" was born in the context of the fourth industrial revolution and was used for the first time at the Hanover Fair in 2011. When the fourth industrial revolution actually began, it cannot be established with certainty, probably because, being still in progress, this is a fact that can only materialize in retrospect. In any case, the birth of information technology marked the crucial moment of the digital age. Automation levels have increased thanks to the use of IT and factories have become increasingly digital and interconnected.

If we analyze the phenomenon in detail, we can use a definition provided by Mise which states that the elements that characterize industry 4.0 are "connection between physical and digital systems, complex analyzes through Big Data and real-time adaptations". We are talking about machinery connected to the web, analysis of information obtained from the network, flexible management of the production cycle and analysis and management of data in the cloud from which it is possible to extrapolate any strengths and weaknesses of production.

The matter has been the subject of various discussions, such as those of the World Economic Forum 2016, but also subsequent editions.

Revolution 4.0: change in the world of work

Once we understand what the term "industry 4.0" really means, it is necessary to understand what the implications are in the world of work and how current skills and professions will evolve in the future.

Let's start by saying that the Italian Internet of Things market is growing at a rapid pace year after year. From the research of the Internet of Things Observatory of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, presented on 20 June 2019 at the conference "Industry 4.0: the revolution is made with people ", it is clear that the market value of the IoT reaches 3.2 billion euros in 2018, or + 35%, an increase compared to the previous period and perfectly in line with that of other countries Westerners (ranging from 25% to 40% approximately). This, however, is a figure that has seen a strong reduction in the first months of 2019, at least according to a first estimate, going from + 35% to only + 20%.

The most widespread technologies among Italian companies

In prima posizione, con un valore di 1,9 miliardi di euro e, quindi, circa il 60% del mercato incontriamo il settore IT e, in particolare, Industrial IoT, ossia tutta la componentistica che consente di connettere i macchinari alla rete. Questa branca ha registrato nel 2018 una crescita di +40% subito seguita da Industrial Analytics che ha conquistato circa il 17% del mercato nel periodo considerato. In ultimo, il Cloud Manufacturing possiede l’8% del mercato con 270 milioni di euro. Nell’ambito delle Operational Technologies (OT) spicca l’Advanced Automation, seguito dall’Additive Manufacturing e, infine dall’Advanced Human Machine Interface. Per concludere, l’ultima fetta di mercato la possiede l’attività di consulenza e formazione legata ai progetti Industria 4.0 che, con 220 milioni di euro, dimostra come ci sia la volontà di migliorare sul fronte delle competenze, ma la strada da fare è ancora molta.

From a survey by the Industry 4.0 Observatory, carried out on 192 Italian companies (153 large companies and 39 SMEs), it appears that about 80% of them are aware of the skills revolution taking place in the industrial sector. But only one in three companies has carried out an assessment of their digital readiness, while 54% are interested in doing so in the future and 14% have never done so or intend to do so.

EDALAB is a company that has always paid particular attention to training, development and, above all, the dissemination of skills in the IoT field, and beyond, and our commitment is oriented in this direction every day. In fact, we have recently obtained the qualification of innovation manager so, thanks to the voucher introduced by the 2019 Budget, SMEs or companies that are part of business networks can request the incentive to obtain consultancy aimed at supporting the processes of technological transformation and digital through enabling technologies provided by the Business Plan 4.0. At this link you can learn more about the topic and find all useful information, such as timing and methods to request the Voucher Innovation Manager.

Industrial software, HMI and OPC-UA

EDALAB enables Industry 4.0 in several ways.

First of all, we have created various industrial software for the intelligent control of machines and production plants, including several multi-user and multilingual Touchscreen HMIs with advanced services and microservices on customer specifications.

Having been born as Software House engaged in the development of firmware and embedded systems (Networked embedded systems) we care particularly about the software component, we take care of and develop software dedicated to very specific hardware.

We have developed HMI for the control of industrial machinery in the most varied industrial sectors (as for example food, rail, textiles, logistics, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, etc.) with particular attention to the management and maintenance of the software.

Thanks to our deep knowledge of the OPC-UA protocol (standard protocol for plug&play production) we are able to guarantee interoperability facilitating the interconssion between machines and services of different companies.

Today when a new machine arrives on the production line, there is a third company that plans it and integrates it into the system, taking up to a week. With the OPC UA the same operation can be done in 10 minutes: that's why it is a fundamental standard for the development of industry 4.0.

Let's go back to the data!

The application areas of business processes

The areas that have undergone the most important transformations as a result of the revolution linked to industry 4.0, we find:

• Smart Factory with 42%: that is production, logistics, maintenance, quality, safety and compliance;
• Smart Lifecycle with 33%: that is product development, lifecycle management and supplier management;
• Smart Supply Chain con il 25%: ossia pianificazione dei flussi fisici e finanziari;
• Integration between Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT);
• Industrial Data Science: i.e. exploitatively and evaluating data from machinery, devices, products, customers, social media, news for the other business areas.

The main benefits found

Also from this research it is possible to highlight how, once 4.0 projects become part of the business processes, the benefits that they bring are high. We are talking about improved production flexibility (47%), increased plant efficiency (38%), reduced design times (34%) and opportunities to enter new markets or develop innovative products.

Some of the most perceived obstacles by companies to the development of 4.0 applications are, instead, the difficulties in the use of technology and in the adoption of standards (59%), the problems of an organizational nature and management of skills (41%), the difficulties change management (20%) and dissatisfaction with the offer (17%).

In addition, Italian companies that have begun to use 4.0 technologies in their processes find themselves managing the impact on the organization. In particular, they are attentive to process and flow changes (54.2% of the sample), to those in the activities and working methods of personnel (45.3%) and to technical skills (42.7%). Less than 20% focused on the impact on roles, managerial and relational skills and expected behaviors.

Small and Medium Industries 4.0

Thanks to the DREAMY tool (Digital REadiness Assessment MaturitY model), the Observatory was able to assess the digital maturity of processes in terms of the ability to execute, monitor and control, organize and use ICT technologies, of about 600 Italian companies.

The data analysis shows that the level of digital innovation is higher in large companies than in SMEs in each dimension and process considered. In particular, the ability to use digital technologies in the execution and management of business processes is the second structurally weaker dimension.

In confirmation of what has been said so far, another survey, the "Ey digital Manufacturing Maturity Index 2019", presented during the last stage of the Manufacturing Lab, Ey roadshow carried out in collaboration with IBM.

From the 600 projects analyzed, the gap between large and small companies which are struggling to keep up is clear. 75% of enterprise organizations already make use of innovative technologies and Industry 4.0 taking advantage of tax benefits, while two out of three companies among small businesses do not have a body dedicated to the development of digital initiatives, showing themselves weak in terms of corporate culture , governance of change and development strategy.

From here we can say that the main obstacles that SMEs face are certainly the limited digital culture of entrepreneurs and the difficulty in meeting suitable professionals. In fact, companies of this size struggle to intercept the skills needed to embark on the path of innovation 4.0 and, where found, it is difficult to keep them updated.

Having said that, therefore, the urgency to invest in human capital, looking for figures with technical and managerial skills capable of guiding the digitization of company processes and systems and who are constantly updated on developments in the sector, appears as a natural consequence of the of this period.

Subsidies for R&D projects

Two decrees issued by the Ministry of Economic Development allocate over 500 million euros aimed at relaunching subsidy interventions in favor of large R&D projects.

The first decree is aimed at encouraging those companies that carry out projects in the "Digital Agenda" and "Sustainable Industry". Specifically, in the first case, reference is made to active projects in the field of information technology and electronic communication and for the implementation of the Italian digital agenda. In the second case, however, we are talking about concessions for those who engage in specific issues relevant to "sustainable industry" such as Micro-Nanoelectronics, Nanotechnology, Photonics, Advanced Materials, Advanced Production Systems and Industrial Biotechnology. The measure is financed by the resources of the FRI, the Revolving Fund for business support and investments of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, and of the FCS, the Fund for sustainable growth of the MISE.

The second decree, on the other hand, provides for a subsidy for large research and development projects promoted in the area of ​​the Smart Factory, Agrifood and Life Sciences technological areas. in this case a quota of approximately 50 million is reserved for the regions of Calabria, Campania, Puglia and Sicily. Finally, a part is reserved for projects active in the field of "High Performance Computing" consistent with the national strategy of smart specialization.