Complete your production with Industry 4.0
IT operations teams play a key role when it comes to using smart technologies and networked systems to optimise production and support the transition to Industry 4.0. The focus is increasingly on increasing efficiency through process automation and data analysis and finding innovative solutions that improve both productivity and sustainability.
How can efficiency be increased?
It is important that the core areas in a company are strengthened. This can be achieved through the integration of Automation solutions and analytical tools that make it possible to optimise processes and reduce resource consumption at the same time.
In production, for example Machines The new machines run better and both waste and energy consumption are significantly reduced.
Of course, it is important that connectivity is reliable and that the data can be utilised intensively. Processes can run faster and more precisely if employees can move around in a networked environment. They have all the information and tools they need to intervene quickly and make changes. Smooth data availability enables companies to react more quickly to changing market requirements and optimise production planning.
Networking also makes it easier to make forecasts. For example, you can plan ahead in production when raw materials run out or when a device needs to be repaired or similar. Of course, this also has an impact on your warehousing, because if data can be better predicted, you need less storage space or stock turnover in the warehouse can be much faster. The use of AI and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) enables continuous data collection and analysis, which brings transparency to the performance of employees, processes and technologies.
As a supplying company, you can also use AI to optimise your transports, for example. Analyses can be run on optimal loads and the perfect time for delivery so that traffic jams or roadworks can be avoided. This allows transport operations to run faster and more smoothly. With this help, you can also better analyse customer behaviour and thus better plan your order quantities. This in turn helps the warehouse and gives you a decisive market advantage.
What are the risks of introducing Industry 4.0. into your systems?
The greatest danger in all networked systems is always the Cybersecurity. This is the first and most important factor that you should look at beforehand. Your IT The infrastructure must be designed in such a way that it can be expanded into networked systems. The volume of data is also important here, as considerably more sensitive data is stored than before.
Once you have resolved these two points, it is important that you protect your IT environment against attacks from the internet. Greater networking and the use of IIoT devices also means that the attack surface for cyber criminals is growing. However, you can also look on the bright side, as the new environment can also help you to ensure that the Cybersecurity is improved. You can install sensors in your IT structure that can automatically recognise anomalies and security risks and take appropriate countermeasures.