Building a smart factory – Part 1: from automation to autonomy

About ten years after entering the global manufacturing sector’s consciousness, Industry 4.0 seems to have lost much of its novelty. Its principles, technologies, market drivers, and national government policies have become known quantities. Smart factories, the intelligent, hyper-connected production plants that lie at the center of Industry 4.0, have become detailed analysis and development objects.

Analysts predict robust future growth for smart factories and their contributions to global economic growth. Within the next five years, the study claims that intelligent factories will contribute up to $500 billion in value to the worldwide economy.

Analysts now look to smart factories producing more goods and services at lower costs as the source of these gains. Manufacturers predict that by 2022, smart technologies will drive a sevenfold increase in annual efficiency gains. The report indicates that with smart technologies, some industries will nearly double operating profits and margins.

Whether one believes that the oversized benefits these and other reports describe are believable, smart factories’ global manufacturing growth is a real trend, one worth another look.

Big changes in the global manufacturing sector

Global manufacturing operations have undergone tumultuous times. Under globalization, developing economies joined the global manufacturing value chain and fulfill the work at the lower end of the supply chain. In comparison, first-tier manufacturing nations stay at the higher end. The system has proven to be vulnerable in a case of a choking recession, cutting off market demand due to an unpredictable event like COVID-19, manufacturing verticals and employment will face a severe tumble.

Through all these difficulties, manufacturing activity remains a critical part of developing and technologically advanced economies. Manufacturing provides a path to better incomes and living standards. In developed economies, manufacturing still provides a vital source of competition and innovation. It is a significant source of exports, research and...