We are currently experiencing the 4^th Industrial Revolution, where machines and manual operations are being connected together to bring the benefits of automation to entire production processes and factories. The term Industry 4.0 was coined in Germany, as a proposed way for SME manufacturing companies to remain competitive and relevant in the future. Business leaders recognised that German manufacturers could not compete with low-cost manufacturing, so they must develop new and innovative manufacturing techniques.

“Industry 4.0 is not just about technologies. It is also about new ways of solving problems, creating unique experiences and accelerating business performance.” Bjorn Johansson – PwC

Benefits of Industry 4.0

Research by PwC suggests that companies who embrace Industry 4.0 will also have an advantage over their competitors. Their report talks about:

• 30% increases in productivity through increased machine uptime and usage.
• Reduced time to market for new products.
• Mass Customisation – Competitive advantage through meeting customer demand with ‘make to order’ products.

Companies who have implemented Industry 4.0 have reported an increase of 3% in ROI from cost savings (better use of labour and machinery), and also additional revenue (new digital products and data analytics services) of 3%.

Are you ready for Industry 4.0?

Once a company is convinced of the benefits of applying Industry 4.0 techniques within their company, they must assess the companies Digital Readiness Level (DRL) to understand what will be required to create a connected factory.

Our assessment of the key stages and requirements for implementing Industry 4.0 are:

• Big data from machines, manual processes and PLCs needs to be acquired and networked across the factory.
• Big data needs to be analysed and converted into smart business data.
• Machines should then be able to make the business decision currently being made by people.

“In the future, your IT infrastructure may be more valuable than your production assets”.

Consequently, the major benefit of implementing this will be reduced costs from better use of labour and machinery. There can also be additional revenue from new digital products and data analytics services.

What next?

We will take you through each of the stages required to set up and implement Industry 4.0 in your manufacturing organisation, step by step.

Read the next part of the guide: Part 1 – Creating a Secured Network Factory.

The benefits of Industry 4.0 are achieved when computers can collate production data and make production decisions that are currently made manually. The first step to implementing this is connecting each production operation and machine with a secure network connection.

Secure Local Networks

The majority of installations we have been involved in, have had secure local networks for production lines. These were connected to the internet or corporate network through a gateway computer with TLS/SSL Encryption. The connections between production devices, gateways and the processing & analytics services in the cloud or on corporate networks, must, therefore, have Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability (CIA).

By following the key rules of CIA, a system will have:

Confidentiality – the ability to hide information to those who are not authorized to view it. Cryptographic encryption must be used to ensure confidentiality.

Integrity – ensures that the data received is an accurate representation of the data transmitted from the source. Devices should use cryptographic hashing to ensure data is not corrupted.

Availability – ensures that the data is available to be accessed by the authorized viewer at any time. Devices must use cryptographic certificates to prove who they are.

The benefits of this are that the reliability of the production line is not reliant on the internet or corporate network connection. It also has security benefits that each machine network connection requires lower security standards, as they are not directly connected to the internet.

Configuring Networks

Custom machinery may be using industrial protocols like Modbus or OPC to connect to the Gateway. Therefore, ensuring the Gateway to Cloud / Corporate Network is the main focus of secure local networks.

When configuring a network like this, the Gateway Hub computer will need 2 network ports, one for the local network using a fixed IP address, and a second for connection to the internet or corporate network using a TLS / SSL Encrypted connection.

The local network should then be connected with fixed IP addresses to all devices and machines in the production line. An example is shown below:

Machine Name	Device Type	Local IP Address
Gateway Hub	Windows PC	192.168.0.90
CNC Machining Station	PLC > Windows PC HMI	192.168.0.95
Sub Assembly Station	Windows PC	192.168.0.100
Sub Assembly Inspection	Smart Camera	192.168.0.105
Assembly Station	Windows PC	192.168.0.110
Functional Test Station	PLC > Windows PC HMI	192.168.0.115

Using this network configuration, the Gateway PC will manage to communicate with the wider factory network eg. for acquiring production order data. The local network will be used to guide and manage the production process.

Additionally, a local production database can be installed on the Gateway PC to store local production data. The Gateway PC will also poll each of the production devices to check on their status to ensure that they are capable of performing production operations.

Distributed Devices

Local networks are not an option when production equipment is located in remote locations. In this case, the only option is to directly connect machines and devices directly to the internet. This requires more stringent security procedures on the machine connection, to reduce the risk of attack onto production equipment.

In this case, an encrypted connection from the device to the hub is required, as the distributed devices are susceptible to attack from outside of the organization.

Building a secure, reliable network is a key foundation of all Industry 4.0 solutions and should not be overlooked.

Read the next part of the guide: Part 2 – Connecting Devices Throughout Your Factory

Connecting production operations is the first step in creating a paperless factory. This can deliver large increases in production efficiency and reduce the lead time of manufacturing products.

Many production systems control product routings manually. A bill of materials and job routing will be developed for a product. It will be printed out and carried along with a product batch, through a factory and various manufacturing operations. This requires planners, supervisors and production operators to review each product routing and also to decide what should happen next to the product batch.

By connecting manufacturing processes together, a software system can perform all of this product routing. It can communicate directly with production machinery to select the correct production process for each product batch.

Optimising Product Routing

When all production equipment is connected to the production system, the software application controlling the process has a large amount of data about the machinery and production equipment, throughout the entire production process.

In addition, a software application can perform far more analytics and quality checking on products as they progress through the factory. Product routings can be changed based on feedback from production data, or on data from production machinery further down the production line.

The production software can optimise the production process by adding logic to change routing when:

• Bottlenecks can be avoided by balancing product routing against current process times.
• When sales order volume changes, the product can be rerouted automatically through the fastest path to delivery.
• New products can be routed quicker, with less manual decision making on the shop floor.

An example software HMI layout of a production facility with product routings highlighted.

Automatic Delivery of Job Packs

The software controlling the production systems knows all the production information about the part coming in to be manufactured. Therefore, it can be connected to CAD and ERP systems to deliver the full job pack with manufacturing information, for the production operator.

This ensures that the correct information is delivered for each product when it is required. It also makes the production of small batches of product easier.

Guided Assembly

Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) can be used to display production work instructions, guiding the operator through any manual production process. It displays production feedback from machinery that is needed for any decision making that the operator must make.

A Production Line HMI

When guided assembly stations are combined with sensors, barcode scanners and RFID tag readers, a trackable and traceable production line can be built. As the product moves along the production line, the software system will record each manufacturing operation that has been completed. It can also record component details that have been used in the product.

All this information can be stored in a production database, so that product reports can be generated detailing all manufacturing operations performed and all components used during manufacture.

Key benefits of connecting production operations

• Producing new products and products with low batch sizes quickly, as production planning and production data can be controlled through the production software.
• Track and Trace production lines with all manufacturing operations recorded and components used.
• Generating production reports for products and batches of product
• Insight into the current production status by viewing production data.

Read the next part of the guide: Part 4 – Improving Your Business With Production Data Analytics