Our co-founder Alexandre Del Rey, who is also a professor at FIA, comments on Industry 4.0 and its challenges in an interview with the portal A Voz da Indústria

Industry 4.0 is a change without return. After all, with the arrival of technologies and systems, businesses will have the opportunity to make the production process more efficient and, thus, reduce costs. However, the ideal of Industry 4.0 - with fully integrated and autonomous companies - is still a step that is outside the reality of the Brazilian industrial sector. After all, this type of transformation involves high investments, profound changes and qualification of people. What is the way, then, to adopt Industry 4.0 gradually and improve competitiveness without burdening the business? Read on and find out!

Industry 4.0 adoption is not overnight

The good news is that Industry 4.0 is not a sudden change. Although many companies have been adapting for a while, this does not mean that only those who manage to make a sudden key switch will have chances.

“The adoption of Industry 4.0 is a process that needs to be designed first and then implemented. In fact, it is not something that happens instantly ”, explains Alexandre Del Rey, professor of the MBA in Business Management at FIA (Fundação Instituto de Administração).

According to the professor, the first stage of this digitalization process is to outline a strategy, considering all elements of Industry 4.0. “What changes in the business, if the company's mission remains the same, where do you want to go in the future, where new technologies such as Internet of Things, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence can have an impact on the business, processes, products and services - these they are very relevant reflections ”.

That done, the professor recommends the development of a technological implementation roadmap, so that it is possible to prioritize projects. “What happens, many times, is the opposite: the company does not think about the long term and immediately starts an IoT (Internet of Things) project, which is called Industry 4.0. In this case, there is no real transformation and long-term gains are limited ”.

Small steps towards a grand transformation

Industry 4.0 is not the equivalent of throwing away all the company's equipment and starting from scratch. With good planning, it is possible for companies of all sizes to adapt and obtain returns throughout the process.

“One of the first changes that companies can implement is the data culture. It is essential for any strategy based on new technologies to be able to collect, process and analyze data ”, recommends Del Rey.

For the professor, data culture brings more intelligence to business. In addition, it allows to better define the processes and, thus, prioritize the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies. When they are well defined, it is possible to think about which sensors can collect more data in an automated way and help even more in the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes.

Del Rey also recommends that companies participate more in congresses on the topic. "There is a great lack of knowledge of what technology can do today and how it can help to make companies more competitive".

Tips for prioritizing change

Are you convinced that Industry 4.0 is something that your company can (and should) start thinking about? So, write down these tips to start implementing the changes without affecting the business profitability too much.

“Usually, it is necessary to have a transformation plan. There are many projects that are relatively easy to implement and that bring almost immediate gains. Therefore, thinking about a transformation roadmap is my main recommendation ”, says Del Rey. With that, it is possible to have an overview of the company and identify projects with affordable costs and high return, and they are the ones who will prepare the ground for more complex projects in the future.

“Placing a presence sensor in a workplace, for example, can immediately reduce energy expenditure and be the basis for other projects that require information on the flow of people. Choosing a digital camera instead of a presence sensor to monitor presence can build the foundations to enable features that require facial recognition and biometrics very quickly ”, explains the professor.

Finally, Del Rey adds that a structured digital transformation plan will make all the difference in this process of adopting Industry 4.0. After all, there are several options for interesting low-cost projects with excellent results!

And how do you see these small changes that can take your industry to another level of production? Tell us by the comments and see you next time!

Originally published at: https://avozdaindustria.com.br/pequenas-mudancas-levam-a-industria-4-0/