What is Industry 4.0?
March 15, 2023
Industry 4.0 and the smart factory are the topic on everyone's lips. But what does it really mean and what difference can it make to you and your business?
Industry 4.0 and the smart factory are the topic on everyone's lips. But what does it really mean and what difference can it make to you and your business? Don't worry, it's not as complicated as it seems! Join us and we will explain how you and your company adapt to the production of the future.
Industry 4.0 is a concept within industry and is used to describe the connected, smart factory.
Digitization progress is clearly visible in all sectors of our society, including industry. Many companies today have clearly defined strategies for how to work with Industry 4.0.
Industry 4.0 is often referred to as the 4th industrial revolution. The concept has a close connection to what is called for Internet of Things. Here it is about things like automation, connection and information sharing. Did you know that SenseNode performs Energy mapping?
An industry where everything is connected
Let's start by clarifying what Industry 4.0 really means. Dear child has many names, they say, and in this case it is certainly true. Whether you've heard your colleagues talk about Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution, IIoT, or the smart industry, they all mean the same thing. The digital and connected factory. A factory where all machines and systems talk to each other, where you can improve efficiency and gain better control at all stages of your production chain. Simply a smart factory!
Production development
The very purpose of Industry 4.0 – or the smart factory – is to use digital means to get a comprehensive solution where all critical parts of the plant are connected and communicate with each other. Then you can work with automation in a completely different way, where computing power can be used to perform advanced calculations and algorithms. Limit values can be calibrated without human intervention and the efficiency be raised.
Another purpose of Industry 4.0 is to enable future expansions and investments. When you build out a factory, for example, you simply connect it to the existing system and can thus get started faster and more efficiently.
An efficient and proactive business
The fact that the machines and components in a factory talk to each other is not only good from an efficiency point of view, but it also means that you can get the correct data from your production, without having to spend hours of work to get it.
In the connected factory, machines and people talk to each other in a way that enables you to gain the necessary insights and make the right decisions with the right data. Everything to create as efficient and proactive a business as possible. This allows your staff to spend time on what actually makes a difference and work smart, instead of constantly being reactive and putting out fires.
Save on energy and save on bills
There are also big gains in electricity and energy consumption. With a connected factory, you have the opportunity to monitor your energy consumption and map how electricity use affects your costs. You can get help to predict power peaks but also find machines that are on and drawing energy when they are not actually being used.
A strategy instead of a solution
As you may understand, the benefits of a connected factory are many, and the most important thing is that you think about what it would mean for your business. This is not only a solution but a strategy. It is something that should and needs to permeate the entire company. Perhaps it means security in that production is kept running as intended, or it is about simplifying your work with automatic reports. Perhaps it means a reduced cost due to systematic operational monitoring in real time that can avoid unplanned downtime. Or that you have the opportunity to contribute to the work for more efficient energy use and lower your costs through careful energy monitoring. The possibilities of a connected industry are endless.
SenseNode is part of Industry 4.0
SenseNode offers a cloud-based solution where you can find a variety of IIoT modules. With SenseNode, you are one step closer to becoming the "smart factory".
The solution can be started to work with on a small scale, to then switch up and grow. For example, you can start by connecting the most operationally critical machines and facilities.
Meters are connected and all data ends up in the cloud. There, it is always available and is also not tied to the internal systems at the facility. The solution means that customers can easily work with continuous energy monitoring and do energy mapping and energy efficiency improvements with all collected data as a basis. You could say that each module found in SenseNode's solution contributes to further digitizing the business.
Companies that set up Industry 4.0 models
Companies today can advantageously set up models and strategies to work with exactly Industry 4.0. There is no doubt that the fourth industrial revolution is here. Now it's about taking outdated processes and using technology to make them smarter and more efficient.
The systems are there to handle large amounts of data. The difficulty and challenge often lies in actually lifting all the meters into the cloud. When energy monitoring and the like provide other modules with data, there are no limits to what can be achieved.
The modules are continuously developed and all of a sudden you can earn more by upgrading a program than by actually physically making changes in the factory.
Summary of the topic
Industry 4.0 is about the Industrial Internet of Things and is thus in pure Swedish the connected, smart factory.
Many companies today have realized the benefits of using cloud-based modular solutions to handle everything from energy monitoring to operational monitoring.
Industry 4.0 is often referred to as the fourth industrial revolution. The possibilities are basically unlimited when you can share information between different facilities and create an overall solution for entire factories - in the cloud.
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