Over the past few years, trade and industry have invested a great deal in digitalising production processes. Nevertheless, the path to Industry 4.0 is still a long one for many companies, particularly smaller ones. It is also littered with digitalisation gaps that, like potholes in the road, slow down efficiency. Closing these gaps opens up a path towards the transformation of production processes.
George Westerman from MIT in Massachusetts once said: “When digital transformation is done correctly, it’s like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, but when it’s done wrong, all you have is a very fast caterpillar.” It is true that every digitalisation step can achieve an increase in efficiency or productivity, or both. However, the full potential of digital transformation can only be realised through the digitalisation of the entire value chain.
Data consistency as a key digitalisation goal
Analyses based on consistent data enable efficient and resource-saving control of the entire process, predictive maintenance and compliance with increasingly stringent verification requirements. In addition, data provides a sound basis for making decisions regarding further investments in machines and systems. However, the required consistency is rarely a given. It is not always easy to produce, but must be an essential goal of any digitalisation strategy.
In offices, this data consistency can be achieved by linking the various IT systems with relatively simple means. For example, integrating the technical software systems for development and work preparation into the ERP system offers considerable optimisation potential for inventory management and personnel management.
The obstacle of heterogeneous production systems
Closing the digitalisation gaps in production halls is more difficult, however. The data generated here has mostly grown historically and is heterogeneous in composition. However, in order to be able to analyse it appropriately and use it for optimisation, it needs to be standardised. Just as Rome was not built in a day, the digital transformation to autonomous production facilities in accordance with the principles of Industry 4.0 cannot happen overnight. Companies need to follow this path step by step by devising a meaningful strategy and defining where a machine can be brought up to current standards by retrofitting and where a new acquisition makes more sense. In this way, they can successively connect their production equipment with one another and with IT via modern networks.
However, the numerous processes running between the individual machines, such as internal transport and packaging, as well as predominantly manual activities, such as in assembly or quality assurance, must not be overlooked. These processes are often either not digitalised at all or simply not integrated into the digitalisation of the overall process. Many of the analogue processes can be integrated into the existing IT landscape with manageable investments and therefore linked to processes that have already been digitalised. Thus, it is by no means necessary to set the goal of a completely autonomous production plant in order to close digitalisation gaps.
Integration and supplementation: The status quo is crucial
In principle, every company that wants to digitalise its processes should first be aware of the status quo. This starts with identifying gaps in internal process data. In discrete manufacturing, these are usually found between the machines. While modern processing centres usually meet all requirements, cleaning systems or measuring machines, for example, generally still operate in manual mode. Internal transport, assembly and, not infrequently, packaging and palletising are also often not connected.
If these are modern systems, it is usually not too difficult to integrate them into the IT landscape. Nevertheless, even with modern systems, it can be the case that not all processes can be embedded in the data flow. As with older machines without corresponding data interfaces, it may therefore be necessary to procure additions in the form of additional sensors and sometimes also actuators.
Integration and preprocessing
Usually, only larger, complex sensors and actuators with integrated intelligence are suitable for direct connection to higher-level systems. They do not need a meta-level to process and feed in the necessary data. The use of existing controllers for this level usually fails due to the capacities of these controllers. In addition, existing and often certified programs would have to be extended. However, there is a risk of these programs becoming damaged in the long term.
If the use of a PLC is unavoidable, it is recommended to use single-board controllers or developer boards. As a study by reichelt elektronik shows, 77% of manufacturing companies in Europe are already using these single-board computers to close digitalisation gaps, among other things. They are handy, easy to program and no longer a significant cost factor in terms of purchase and energy consumption.
Considering the power supply
Considering the power supply is important because when additions are made, the power supply of the newly introduced components always has to be planned. Co-supply from existing machines and system parts usually fails due to the economical dimensioning of the machines’ and systems’ own power supplies.
In addition, end-to-end digitalisation of production processes only increases flexibility and responsiveness if data can flow freely. For this reason, data is often cached locally in order to safeguard it against connection failures and submit it later. It is therefore important to ensure that not only the main machines are protected against a power failure by a UPS or an emergency power generator, but also the small-scale technology for data backup in between these.
Using mobile units as additional equipment can only function on battery power and requires a charging concept. Chargers are standard for handheld devices for mobile use. Nevertheless, it may be worthwhile once again checking all mobile components for a failure risk due to an insufficient charging concept in order to avoid unexpected failures.
Integrating manual work sensibly
Complete automation is not desirable for all production processes. In some areas, manual work is irreplaceable. Nevertheless, the integration of manual workplaces with regard to data technology is also an important milestone on the road to complete digitalisation. Instructions and help functions reduce the probability of errors and mitigate the consequences of the shortage of skilled workers. In addition, increasingly stringent verification obligations can be met by recording the individual processes.
For such purposes, there is a wide range of end devices that work autonomously and can exchange information directly with higher-level IT systems via Wi-Fi. In quality assurance, it is possible to incorporate the data from intelligent measuring devices or cameras into the system.
Resizing network technology
In order to successfully digitalise manual processes, complete networking of these work steps is essential. Machining centres and robots are usually already connected to the company’s internal network, through which they receive their programs. In order to include components that have not yet been integrated into the network, such as machines that previously operated offline or manual workstations and transport equipment, it is necessary to check whether and how easily the LAN can be expanded. Wireless additions are especially suitable for integrating these units. For example, wireless routers in the hall can improve coverage and extend the network to mobile devices.
Their integration via Wi-Fi or similar technologies is usually considerably more economical than the use of high-performance mobile communication standards. Even though there is a lot of talk about 5G for industrial use at present, operation via mobile networks is a cost factor that should not be underestimated. There are also far more economical alternatives for integrating individual sensors or actuators located outside closed factory halls in the form of wide area network architectures such as LoRaWAN.
Amazing simplicity
A seamlessly automated production and value chain is no longer a dream of the future. However, even with only partial use of automation equipment, astonishing improvements can often be achieved with little effort. Small and medium-sized companies in particular can use technologies such as RFID to cost-effectively expand their own data basis in order to close digitalisation gaps and therefore significantly improve the profitability of their value chain. But even large companies often have unexploited potential in their processes. Only those who understand how to make use of this potential will be able to switch to Industry 4.0 in the long term.
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