What do you know about Industry 4.0? Are you prepared for how it could affect your business? Everyone’s talking about it – but what does it actually mean? Klugo and Rigby Cooke held a learning luncheon to delve in and discuss Industry 4.0.
Industry 4.0 is said to be the fourth major upheaval in modern manufacturing. It refers to increased productivity through intelligent, networked production systems, aka ‘The Smart Factory’. Production in an Industry 4.0 system as a marketplace in which machines offer their services and exchange information with products in real-time.
Using internet or cloud based platforms for businesses to connect to their machinery means it enables them to digitally connect to their own production line, machinery and supply chain.
“The luncheon emphasised the need to move to a modern platform. Industry 4.0 needs to be addressed within businesses, as the future is becoming increasingly digital” says Tania Large, Business Consultant at Klugo.
Coined as the next Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0 is the latest phase in digitisation for the manufacturing sector. There are two groups of manufacturers: the traditional, first generation who may be struggling in the Australian market because they don’t want to invest in technology, and then the innovators, who are having success in a tough climate because they are open to adopting new ways.
Annaliese Kloe, CEO of Klugo explains that ‘Industry 4.0 is being spoken about everywhere, and in particular it was widely reflected at EuroBLECH 2016, a bi-annual international technology exhibition held in Germany. It will change the approach to the way that manufacturers do things. If you aren’t looking at this now then you’ll be left behind. It will transform the future of a business, and it is vital to get on board. We must remember that we operate in a global economy – manufacturers can sell to anyone anywhere, and we need to make the most of anything that can aid us with this.’
The traditional manufacturing business model is changing, and businesses must consider these new challenges and the ways in which they can lead the future of a company.
Chris Barnes, General Manager at BOC South Pacific, says that ‘this is a matter of automation and simplification. There is a need to automate within the business all the way to machinery, and to simplify processes for optimum efficiency and effectiveness. A key focus within the business is customer service. It’s about the need to improve our businesses to benefit the customer: how can we engage with our customers and how can we make our customer service the best that it can be?’
Julia Cameron, Partner at Rigby Cooke Lawyers, commented that ‘it was eye-opening to hear about some of the developments in technology being implemented by our clients. With improved technology comes a whole new set of legal challenges and we are looking forward to working with our clients to find solutions to these challenges’.
It can be so easy to get caught up in the operation of your company: it is important to step back and take a look at your own business, and to discuss industry relevant topics.
Francois Houben from National Blinds Suppliers attended the event, stating that ‘it’s so important to learn from others, so it was great to have an innovation forum for leaders from different businesses to get together and get fresh views on how you do things. It’s so easy to become glued to your own processes, so it is always important to work out how to improve.”
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