SBD

"The first phase is deploying the industrial internet of things at scale. There’s been lots of talk around IIOT for the past few years, and it’s not always clear what it means or who benefits. Put simply, added sensors and technology on production lines bring an increase in visibility and the ability to respond to changes in volume or what’s being made. On top of that, SBD is deploying industrial apps built internally and leveraging what’s been built by others. The goal is full visibility into the production line. Phase two involves predictive analytics and predictive maintenance, i.e., how to look at data in real time now that the factories are all connected. Value stream mapping, a basic tool of Lean, creates a visual map of production, its waste and value creation. It has some simple inputs such as taking a stopwatch and measuring how long it takes to complete a task. An advanced factory with software and sensors throughout can create that map and identify pockets of waste quickly and automatically. Visibility through a factory improves dramatically. After all, big chunks of Industry 4.0 are just tools to do current processes better."

"With phase three come automation and robotics, thanks to the falling cost of robots and cobots (robots that work on a production line closely with humans). Cheaper, better robots sound exciting, but each one represents a fairly narrow savings, replacing one to three workers, while creating a more skilled job for a human manager. SBD and other manufacturers target substantial annual labor productivity gains, 6 to 8 percent at the factory level, translating to 3 percent or more for the total corporation with some reinvestment in R&D and marketing. The lower variability, higher quality, and steadier flow across the entire company gained by automating the whole production system will result in a much broader systematic savings—that’s the exciting part of Industry 4.0."