There are a lot of buzzwords and concepts that are being used within manufacturing without it really being explained what they mean: Industry 4.0, Digitisation, Smart Manufacturing, Manufacturing 4.0. - whatever term you’re familiar with, they all essentially mean the same thing: the integration of digital technologies to connect products, people, plant, business and supply chains together to create value for the organisation.
These terms have come about due the following disruptions:
- The exponential rise in storage capacity for data volumes, computational power and pervasive, high speed connectivity
- The emergence of sophisticated analytics and business intelligence capabilities
- New forms of human-machine interaction such as touch, voice and augmented reality systems
- Improvements in transferring digital instructions to the physical world, such as advanced robotics and additive manufacturing
Put simply, it is the use of technology to radically improve business performance which includes not only its operating processes (for example development, maintenance, production, planning and logistics) but also the products and services it provides and even its business model.
Recent figures have shown that although Scotland has moved from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) third quartile to second quartile in terms of productivity, there is still a large gap to be closed to reach our target of matching OECD top quartile countries. A notable factor in the productivity gap is the poor investment record of Scottish businesses. Investment in capital assets and new technologies can give the step change in productivity which would take a long way towards Scotland’s upper quartile target.
However, these technologies are not a silver bullet and there are a number of challenges a business will face when implementing them.
SMAS are working in partnership with Royal Bank of Scotland and Scottish Engineering to hold a workshop to explore the topic of Manufacturing 4.0 with a cohort of likeminded companies. This group event allows leaders/decision makers from manufacturing and engineering businesses to have an informed conversation with their peers, learn more about the why, what and how of new technology implementation and consider how Manufacturing 4.0 could benefit their businesses.
The event is scheduled to take place on the 11th of June at the Royal Bank of Scotland plc, 6th Floor, Marischal Square 2, Broad Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1BL, and will run from 9:00am - 1:00pm. This workshop is free to all. Spaces are first come, first served.
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