ch14 smart factories

• The heart of Industry 4.0 in conceptual terms is the Smart Factory
• Everything from the supply chain, business models, and processes are there to provide the Smart Factory
• All external interfaces from supply chain partners, smart grids, and even social media conceptually have the smart factory at the hub
• A Smart Factory hosts smart manufacturing processes
• Smart Factories can produce and deliver productivity well beyond expectations
• Smart Factories bring together technologies that provide the optimum methods and techniques in manufacturing
• Smart Factories are not just intelligent machines and robots communicating through advanced software, but also through advanced software, algorithms, and industrial processes
• Smart Factories have been present for at least a decade
• Smart Factories can reduce waste and inefficiency by identifying products on the production line and determining their status and history
• Smart Manufacturing

  Reduce waste and inefficiency by identifying products on the production line and determining their status and history
• RFID tags can be embedded into a label or use NFC for Smart Factory applications
• RFID tags are perfect for Smart Factory applications where the speed of the production process must not be compromised
• DR. Uwe Dittes of SAP SE: 'Technical and Operational Solutions for Industry 4.0 in ERP'
• Production line for shampoo variants

  Construct a production line to produce all products even though they differ in label, color, and perfume
• Identifying and classifying each product traversing the production line

  Through individual identification and data storage via RFID tags on the products themselves
• Manufacturing process


  Knowing what the product is, how old it is, and what the next stage of manufacturing should entail
• Additional information such as storage conditions or handling methods is advantageous for the manufacturing process and the entire product lifecycle
• Smart manufacturing line

  Utilises Industry 4.0 principles to improve production efficiency
• Weaknesses of standard modern factory production

  • Serial production line failure impacts the whole line
  • ERP or MES failure blocks production
  • Difficulties in expansion or reconfiguration due to interfacing issues
  • Real-time updates between MES and ERP are not always feasible
• Industry 4.0 implementation


  Replaces resources with Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) to create a flexible and intelligent production line
• CPSs in Industry 4.0

  Can self-diagnose, communicate with each other, and take over tasks of failed CPSs for improved availability and resilience
• Smart products in Industry 4.0

  • Fitted with RFID tags to identify brand, variant, production state, and next production stage
• Smart products in Industry 4.0

  Extend intelligence beyond production line into warehouse, reseller chain, and customer service for predictive maintenance
• Shift in maintenance approach

  From break-fix to fix-before-break for improved service availability and downtime
• Smart ERP (SERP)


  • Communicates directly with CPSs to control production in Industry 4.0
• Shift in maintenance strategy

  From break-fix to fix-before-break
• The MES is becoming redundant to smart design
• Smart ERP (SERP)

  • Communicates directly with CPSs to control production of products
  • Learns real-time status of production, CPS health, and sensor data
  • Uses in-memory databases for real-time streaming analytics
• The concept of the smart factory is flexible, agile, and intelligent, reaching beyond CPSs and factory walls into products and the entire value chain
• Significant collaboration is required among companies, governments, and academic institutions to create the manufacturing revolution
• Initiatives in the EU and the United States fund and encourage smart manufacturing
• Countries with smart manufacturing initiatives

  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Britain
  • France
• France and the UK are likely to benefit from smart factories by bringing manufacturing back onshore for cost and efficiency savings
• Germany is unlikely to contribute much to EU targets for increased efficiency and value-add to GDP as they are already near optimum efficiency levels
• The UK and France can make significant contributions to manufacturing efficiency improvements as their current performance levels are underperforming
• The industrial internet consortium sponsors collaborative projects focusing on different steps of the manufacturing process
• Collaborative project


  • Asset efficiency testbed by Infosys, Bosh, PTC, and Intel
• Asset efficiency testbed focuses on reducing waste and improving maintenance and uptime of industrial assets
• Industry 4.0 will result in winners and losers, with developed countries benefiting more from smart manufacturing initiatives
• Smart manufacturing will make manufacturing in developed countries more cost-effective and mitigate the low wage advantage of competitors