{"id":31040,"date":"2019-12-16T16:34:22","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T16:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dvirc.org\/insights\/why-you-know-more-about-industry-4-0-than-you-think\/"},"modified":"2023-03-08T14:02:03","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T14:02:03","slug":"why-you-know-more-about-industry-4-0-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dvirc.org\/insights\/why-you-know-more-about-industry-4-0-than-you-think\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Know More About Industry 4.0 Than You Think"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author: Aaron Fox<\/a><\/p>\n

If industrial manufacturing had a buzzword of the decade, it might be \u201cIndustry 4.0.\u201d The concept is inescapable, yet it can be hard to define, especially for small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs). After all, SMMs\u2019 capabilities, needs, and budgets look very different from the large companies who often drive the latest innovations and trends. However, Industry 4.0 is so pervasive that many smaller manufacturers know more about the technologies than they might think. Below, we define Industry 4.0, then explore ways that SMMs can and do implement it already.<\/p>\n

What Is Industry 4.0?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To date, there have been\u00a0four major technological trends<\/a>\u00a0over the past few hundred years that have revolutionized industry and manufacturing. The first was the combination of mechanization with both steam and water power. The second joined mass production and electricity. The third was the rise of electronic and information technology (IT) systems, and with them automation.<\/p>\n

We are now well into the fourth era of development, called Industry 4.0. According to\u00a0PwC\u2019s Insights<\/a>, Industry 4.0 \u201crefers to the fourth industrial revolution, which connects machines, people, and physical assets into an integrated digital ecosystem that seamlessly generates, analyzes and communicates data, and sometimes takes action based on that data without the need for human intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n

While this definition may sound complicated, Industry 4.0 is both more common and easier to implement than you might think.<\/p>\n

How SMMs Are Already Thinking About Industry 4.0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Many of the technological components of Industry 4.0 are already in place, which is why this revolution is about bringing machines, processes and products together. In fact, many smaller manufacturers have already begun to implement Industry 4.0 solutions, including:<\/p>\n