For years, manufacturing experts have been discussing the coming wave of digital transformation that’s going to revolutionize modern manufacturing. Using terms like Industry 4.0, Smart Factory, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and the like, they’ve envisioned a future in which all manufacturing systems are connected via the Internet to provide real-time data that can be analyzed and used to make systems more efficient and productive.
It appears that those experts were largely correct in their predictions and the future they foresaw has now become the present in many modern manufacturing facilities. Industry 4.0 is indeed here, and it’s here to stay. At least that’s the conclusion you’ll reach if you read Rockwell Automation’s recently released 10th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing Research Report (“Rockwell Report”).
Rockwell Report Conclusions
According to a Smart Industry article by Scott Achelpohl, the Rockwell Report “concludes that digital transformation at industrial organizations is ‘gaining momentum,’ with more than half of respondents—56%—saying they are piloting ‘smart’ manufacturing, another 20% reporting they are running Industry 4.0 technologies at scale and 20% saying they are planning future investments.”
The Rockwell Report also points out that “of the respondents not adopting smart manufacturing at present, 69% said their companies plan to invest in the next 12 months. Also a healthy majority of manufacturers (81%) in the survey said the obstacles they face, both within their own organizations and externally, are accelerating their digital transformations.”
These findings are what led author Dennis Scimeca to conclude in a recent Industry Week article that “[s]mart manufacturing is the present, not the future. It means manufacturers have proven out the use cases and abandoned the failed pilots into purgatory. Now small and medium business[es] can venture into the field without worrying so much about wasted CapEx [capital expenditure] and time.”
Technologies Embraced by Manufacturers
What technologies did the Rockwell Report identify as primary drivers of digital transformation in modern manufacturing facilities? Let’s take a quick look at a few examples of how manufacturers are putting advanced automation technologies into action on the factory floor.
Achelpohl notes that “[h]alf of respondents plan to use AI [artificial intelligence] and machine learning to support quality control in the next 12 months and the report identifies practical AI as an immediate use case and key to their business operations and strategies.”
In addition to AI, Scimeca points out that “[r]espondents in this year’s report cite Cloud/SaaS [software as a service] investments as their top technology priority.” This isn’t surprising given that “[l]ast year’s report cited Cloud/SaaS as delivering the highest ROI [return on investment].”
Skilled Human Workers Still Key to Success
Perhaps the most important insights to be gained from the Rockwell Report concern the future of the manufacturing workforce considering the increased use of advanced automation technologies. As Industry 4.0 technologies take over the workplace, are human jobs at risk?
Achelpohl believes the Rockwell Report should give hope to all manufacturing workers that the robots aren’t necessarily coming for their jobs. Even though technology is here to stay and only gaining ground, the Rockwell Report noted that “the skills gap and labor shortages remain primary business challenges.”
In fact, the report’s executive summary concludes that “the shift towards smart manufacturing solutions is not correlated with reduced hiring. Respondents instead asserted their organizations’ plan to hire more people with technology skill sets and to retrain current employees.”
While some manufacturers are already looking to AI and other technological solutions “as a means to reduce skills gaps and alleviate labor shortages,” Scimeca believes “smart manufacturing requires smarter humans in the loop” because “[d]igital transformation equates to understanding old processes and transforming them into more efficient, digital equivalents.”
In the manufacturing sector, this equates to a three-prong approach:
- “Upskilling existing talent.”
- “Increasing productivity by shifting workers to more value-added tasks.”
- “Attracting employees with desired skillsets.”
Effective Training More Important Than Ever
Fortunately, manufacturers don’t have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to upskilling current employees or hiring workers with the hands-on automation skills they need. All they need to do is partner with an industry expert in technical education.
With more than 40 years of experience designing and manufacturing state-of-the-art training systems, Amatrol remains the world’s leader in skills-based, interactive technical learning for industry and education.
Consult with an expert at Amatrol today to learn how you can take the first step toward teaching your current workers the skills that will set them up for success in the modern workplace.
About Duane Bolin
Duane Bolin is a former curriculum developer and education specialist. He is currently a Marketing Content Developer in the technical training solutions market.
