Today, we are always on. The “Internet of People”, as digital experts call it, is already old hat. More recently we bring objects to life and even change our working environment.
Fridges, clothes, cars – any everyday item is connected to the internet today. The result is a totally new kind of service environment helping us to make our everyday lives more effective, more secure and more entertaining.
This kind of progress opens up lots of new opportunities for companies. However, it also causes some uncertainty. CEOs have to rethink and invest, if they want to stay competitive. Employees are afraid of being replaced by computers soon. And consumers? Facing the new world of consumerism leaves them slightly confused.
Industry 4.0 – What Is That?
The revolution, that is going on right now, represents a change as occurs only once in a hundred years. After the introduction of the steam engine (industry 1.0), assembly-line work and mass production (industry 2.0) and the first computers and robots (industry 3.0), the internet of things is introducing itself in manufacturing. For this reason, we call the new digital revolution “industry 4.0”.
What is striking is the tearing pace of this fourth stage of development. The culmination of several innovation waves having caused a downright tech tsunami is the reason for this.
Three Streams: Big Data, Sensors and Processing Power
One of those three streams is the development of processing power. It doubles every 18 months – this is what IT insiders call Moore’s Law, according to Intel co-founder Gordon Moore. Experts engage in discussions how to interpret the formula correctly and see the potential conventional computers can live up to exhausted.
The second stream: sensors. When it comes to developing sensors, we are already moving in the range of the organic, cellular and molecular. Even nanosensors are already in use.
Innovation stream number three is big data. We have equipped our everyday items with eyes, ears and emotions – now they also want to speak to us. The utterances of connected devices are however just stupid raw data, which has to be stored, arranged and interpreted under great efforts.
Cars Have Themselves Repaired, Refueled and Disposed of
So-called “predictive maintenance” provides a vivid example of how collected data is made use of. Machines, lifts or cars become more transparent, economic and secure thanks to big data – wear and tear and risks that come from it can be predicted as well as costs for upcoming repairs. Fixed annual test dates are replaced by flexible, accurate systems.
Thanks to connection, for example, in the future a vendor or a garage will know when a certain customer needs new supplies or services. The ideal scenario: An automobile arranges for its own production, maintenance, repair, refueling and disposal.
Leveraging big data enables organizations to enhance their operative and strategic decisions. The new algorithms even provide substantially more road safety – thinking for example of the Smart City. Self-organization and automation through artificial intelligence will help to keep highly complex processes under control.
Impact on the Working Environment
When an industrial revolution takes place, this also leads to people being afraid of losing their jobs. The good news: Every industrial revolution in the past created more jobs than it cost.
There will always be enough problems left machines are not able to solve. Thus, the know-how and intuition of people will still be required in all areas. Moreover, organizations will need much more support from their employees when it comes to data management, customer service and development.
As a consequence, with its high quality and enormous productivity, industry 4.0 will create jobs and keep those which otherwise could have been switched abroad – or, at the best, even get jobs back from abroad.
It’s obvious that monotonous, simple work soon won’t be executed by people any longer. The precondition for keeping the job of a “simple” assembly line worker: People have to learn to deal with computers, data and programs.
This requires lifelong learning. Since innovation cycles have become much shorter than traditional training cycles are, training systems will have to change radically.
Elon Musk Pioneering New Training Systems
Feasible and creative solutions to problems are key here. One of the pioneers making their way towards modern approaches to training could be someone well known to us: Elon Musk.
After not being satisfied with the school his five sons went to, he spontaneously founded a new one himself in 2014. Meanwhile, 50 students receive instruction at the private school called “Ad Astra” (Towards the Stars) situated just outside of the SpaceX headquarters. On the curriculum: mathematics, science, engineering and ethics. Conversations and role plays enable kids to have a critical look at the world. There are no grades.
How Organizations Rock Industry 4.0
Going digital is an enormously huge obstacle for many company leaders. What may put them off at first is the amount of investment in hardware and software that is required in comparison to the profit to be expected, which can only be calculated roughly. Furthermore, middle sized enterprises don’t want to upload any data into the “cloud” – they are too afraid of industrial espionage.
The results of this kind of restraint already show in the world’s economy. IT companies like Google construct autonomous electric cars, while established companies like Kodak have to file insolvency due to a lack of digital competencies.
In the German automotive industry, too, there were years of making mistakes by clinging to traditions and because of way too rigid and time-consuming processes in decision making and development.
This has changed a lot within recent years. Today, even traditional automobile manufacturers are racing neck and neck with Google and Amazon towards the top positions in the fields “connected car” and autonomous driving.
The German TV station BR shows how digitalization can work out really well even in small and medium sized enterprises:
Big investments in machine technology and software is not always required, though. More and more companies take a shortcut by collaborating with specialized IoT-startups offering expert teams, flexible cloud solutions and even hardware ready to integrate. Developing from a medium-sized enterprise on the countryside to one of the global players in just a few weeks – this is also something industry 4.0 makes possible.
Conclusion: There’s Still a Long Journey Ahead
Providers of digital solutions first of all have to work transparently in order to rid organizations of their concerns about digitalization. Which kind of data is collected? What happens with this data? How do I protect it from loss or third party access?
In the same way, governments have to support companies stepping into industry 4.0 and provide additional tested safety. Modern encryption has to be anchored in law in order to protect organizations as well as consumers from digital catastrophes.
The educational sector instantly needs a set of fresh ideas: How up-to-date are degree programs and vocational training? Dealing with intelligent technology and finding creative, feasible solutions to problems and holistic approaches must no longer be left up to the private sector.
Germany has to invest in experts and information if the country wants to stay ahead. Otherwise it could happen that Germany as a pioneer in technology is merely going to act as a sub-supplier soon.
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