Industry 4.0 outcomes
Reading time: 20 min
September 26, 2023
AUTOR
Pascal NAPARTY
CEO & Founder
In a nutshell
The industrial revolution is a process marked by milestones which identifies major stages of technological innovations adopted by the planet.
The different waves of the industrial revolution transformed the social, economic, political and cultural landscape of countries.
The industrial revolution emerges staggered in time and space depending on the country.
The countries that experienced the industrial revolution also all experienced demographic changes.
Industry 4.0 is the 4th wave of the industrial revolution and is marked by the use of 3D printers, laser cutters, the Internet of Things, the virtualization of production processes, and control by artificial intelligence.
Introduction
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​Human progress has made it possible to reduce famines, combat diseases, increase life expectancy, develop and spread knowledge, develop culture and reduce wars.
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Technological innovation has gradually eliminated the arduousness of repetitive and tiring tasks. It increased production output and promoted the improvement of working and living conditions.
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Society has adapted to new possibilities. Farmers left the fields to join the mines to power the steam engines. Then miners joined mass production factories. Fianlly the workers left the factories to take jobs in the tertiary sector.
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The industrial revolution consists of the introduction of disruptive innovations, which allow the economy to take leaps by producing differently. It allowed companies to benefit from these changes, and politicians to agree on development plans and the required regulation.
Culture has also seized on this dazzling evolution to bear witness to the transformations of society while also adopting new media for capturing and communicating art.
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In this study we present to you:
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A leap into the past to understand how previous waves have modified the world,
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A list of the major inventions of the industrial revolution,
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A zoom on industry 4.0,
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A list of technologies accessible to businesses
A little history to understand the basics
The industrial revolution is marked by a series of inventions that transformed the social, economic, political and cultural landscapes of countries.
The first industrial revolution was born in the middle of the 18th century, with the appearance of the steam engine (1769). England will be the country that initiates this change. Previously based on agriculture, Europe's economy will undergo a profound transformation. The energy, transport (boats and trains), textile and metallurgy sectors will benefit directly from this technology. The farmers will leave the fields to enter the mines and extract the coal useful for the machines. It’s the rural exodus. The manufacturing industry will revolve around mechanization which will allow it to produce in large volumes. This is the birth of Taylorism and assembly line work. A new organization accompanies this revolution, but the working conditions are very precarious and dangerous. The first multinationals are born, it is a precursor to globalization. The gap between rich and poor countries is widening. There are now "industrialized" countries and the future "third world". We associate the term “Mechanical Production” for this first wave.
The second industrial revolution appeared in the middle of the 19th century and was marked by the appearance of electricity, the chemical and oil industry. The mastery of electricity allows the widespread use of electric motors, the lighting of factories, towns and homes. It will make it possible to rationalize production through a new layout of factories that better respects the stages of production. The yield is better. The quality improves considerably. Costs are falling. We then witness the explosion of manufactured products, which will be the prelude to the consumer society that we know. The factories were able to leave the valleys and the coal mining areas by spreading across all the territories. France, the Americas, Germany and Canada will follow England in the industrial transition. The transport of materials and manufactured products will propel the development of railways, maritime transport and roads, boosting the metallurgy and construction sectors. We associate the term “Mass Production” for this second wave.
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The third industrial revolution, also called the computer revolution, began in the 1970s with the invention of the microprocessor (Intel 1971), the desktop computer (Apple 1977), consumer software (Visicalc 1979), printers, networks then the Internet. These technologies will enable the automation of industrial production. The number of workers will decrease in favor of tertiary professions. Subcontracting is growing and companies are specializing, while employees are becoming versatile. It is also an information revolution with a considerable boom in telecommunications and finance. It is also accompanied by an increase in social inequalities. We associate the term “Automated Production” for this third wave.
Industrie 4.0 : the fourth revolution
Since the creation of the microprocessor in 1971 we have seen the computer world explode with creativity and accelerate its development.
IT has entered our daily lives and controls many processes and many machines. We train pilots of planes, boats, trucks and trains in completely computer-controlled simulators that create more or less complex scenarios that drivers may have to face in real life. After the "portable" computer, it is the smartphone that no longer lets us go because we have developed a dependence on all the services that we have to carry with us at all times: staying connected has become our way of life.
More recently, the “Metaverse” has also entered our homes with virtual reality or augmented reality (VR/AR) glasses. Thanks to this innovation, it is now possible to overlay the digital twin of a product onto the physical world around us to make an evaluation and make a decision. For example: buying that red sofa that you've wanted for some time. Will it fit in the living room and how much space will be left? Today you can do this evaluation with your smartphone using its camera and software that works on the 3D model representation in relation to your viewing angle.
But alongside the escalation computing power of computers, we have seen the development of new versions of design, collaboration and simulation tools, also increasing human interactions to design better and produce with the lowest possible carbon footprint.
The industry which until now produced parts by subtraction of the material (in the factory a block of metal by removing pieces from it until the desired part is obtained), is now competing with additive manufacturing: the 3D printer adds material exactly where it needs to be. Less waste, we go straight to the point.
The result lives up to expectations! In 2015, Airbus 3D printed the structural parts of its aircraft partitions. The result is clear: the new method brings a reduction in the weight of the partition structure by approximately 45%, or 30kg per partition. The plane will become lighter and its performance will be improved.
Research does not wait, it is continuous to enable innovation to make a difference on a commercial level.
The Internet of Things (IOT) has also become accessible thanks to the computing power of computers which are capable of analyzing the oceans of information captured by physical sensors of all kinds: temperature, pressure, image, energy consumption, etc. Humans can now access the state of physical equipment in near real time and can be assisted in their decision-making.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the next stage of “Machine Learnings” making up the IOT architecture. The AI ​​processes the mass of information collected in real time, sorts it, analyzes it and constructs a response that is understandable for the user who interacts with it. It allows the evolution of preventive maintenance through contextualized maintenance of production units. We become even more precise.
All these technologies open the door to a revisiting of production processes.
With the fourth wave, we have entered the era of product customization. Consumer needs have evolved and they now want a completely customizable product, which will be unlike any other.
The industry must meet this new challenge, while maintaining (or reducing) production costs, while the volumes of personalized products will be lower. The company must seek to connect the consumer directly to the production tool, in order to give them the flexibility to intervene on their product until the last minute... or even to monitor the progress of production in time. real.
So companies today allow you to change the color of your car before it is painted, or to change the color of the seats before they are ordered and attached to the chassis. Amazon notifies us of the progress of our order and sends us a photo of the delivery of our package, in the entrance of our house, even though we have communicated the code of the entrance lock to Alexa for the delivery man to pass through .
Managing the life cycle of the product from its design, manufacturing to operation has allowed the “Digital Mockup” to become democratized. The teams come together around the contextualized product to analyze a problem and find a solution. The company sees its employees creating and innovating more.
The fourth wave of Industrialization, which addresses the personalization of products, also introduces intelligent man-machine coexistence and reviews working conditions to remove the arduousness of many tasks. The “Cobot” (association of the Collaborative with the Robot), is less expensive and less dangerous than a traditional robot and works alongside the operators, moving at reduced speeds. It is easy to program and replaces human hands on simple tasks.
Adopting the flexibility offered by Industry 4.0 means getting closer to consumer demand. This inevitably involves the introduction of technologies to process data in real time in order to introduce change into production... where its cost is highest. But it is the ultimate possibility to differentiate yourself... currently!
The criteria for success, as you have understood: it is mastery of data. To do this, the company must engage in work to rationalize, clean and standardize its data model. The platform is a concept whose mission is to bring together all the data produced by the company. It provides the place of truth. It implements security and information processing mechanisms to provide data in context, to the right person, at the appropriate time.
Major inventions
In their race for innovation, men and women have created countless solutions to meet everyday challenges. Developing a product is often a long process that involves several discoveries over time. We sometimes forget the names of the inventors who enabled the consolidation of several principles to obtain a workable solution. But history honors them and their achievements inspire us. ​
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From the very long list of inventions, we have selected the most significant ones of change but also retained a few of them, which we encounter in our daily lives without really thinking about the path that led to their creation.
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Imagine your life without the existence of these inventions... imagine what the future holds!
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1769 Scottish James Watt develops a steam engine which transforms the steam produced by water heated with coal into mechanical energy,
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1779 the British Samuel Crompton developed a mechanical spinning machine: the mule-jenny,
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1825 the British George Stephenson invents the locomotive and creates the first railway line open to the public,
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1792 the British William Murdock developed gas lighting,
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1793 the American Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin,
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1825 Englishman William Sturgeon invents the electromagnet,
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1827 Frenchman Joseph Niépce invents photography,
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1837 the British William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone developed electric telegraphy,
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1839 the American Charles Goodyear developed vulcanized rubber,
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1855 the Englishman Henry Bessemer invents the Bessemer process which facilitates the production of steel,
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1858 the Franco-Belgian Jean-Joseph Étienne Lenoir invents the gasoline internal combustion engine,
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1863 Frenchman Louis Pasteur developed pasteurization,
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1869 Russian Dimitri Ivanovich Mendeleev publishes his periodic table of elements,
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1871 the Belgian Zénobe Gramme invented the first electric generator: the dynamo,
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1876 ​​Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone,
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1882 the American Thomas Alva Edison and the British Joseph Wilson Swan invented the electric light bulb,
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1886 Using his internal combustion engine, the German Carl Benz developed the first automobile,
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1895 French brothers Louis and Auguste Lumière screen the first cinematographic film,
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1895 Frenchman Édouard Michelin develops the removable car tire,
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1896 Italian Guglielmo Marconi developed the first radio communication: wireless telegraphy (TSF),
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1898 Frenchman Pierre and Polish naturalized Frenchwoman Marie Curie succeed in isolating radium, thus opening the way to nuclear physics,
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1903 the American brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first powered flight,
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1911 the American Frederick Winslow Taylor publishes The Principles of Scientific Management where he presents a scientific organization of work (OST) through the separation of tasks,
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1914 the American Henry Ford establishes a new working method: assembly line assembly,
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1971 the American Marcian Hoff and the Italian Federico Faggin, engineers at Intel, invented the microprocessor, thus opening the era of microcomputing,
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1972 Frenchman François Gernelle develops the microcomputer,
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1977 Americans Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak develop the Apple II,
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1981 the American Bill Gates (Microsoft) develops MS-DOS,
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1993 British Tim Berners-Lee develops the World Wide Web.
Available solutions
This section presents, in the form of a glossary, the elements of solutions (technologies or techniques) which are used and/or which are popular in companies. They provided specific or integrated responses, addressing numerous issues for companies and their employees.
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These elements of solutions could constitute the basis of a reflection to improve your daily life:
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3D printing or additive printing
is the ability to create a physical object from a digitally encoded design by deposition of materials via a 3D printing process.
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​Artificial Intelligence (AI)
applies advanced analytics and logic techniques, including machine learning, to interpret events, support and automate decisions, and take action.
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Business Process Management (BPM)
is a discipline that uses various methods to discover, model, analyze, measure, improve and optimize business processes. A business process coordinates the behavior of people, systems, information, and things to produce business results in support of a business strategy.
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Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
is a business strategy that optimizes revenues and profitability while promoting customer satisfaction and loyalty. CRM technologies allow to strategize, identify and manage customer relationships, in person or virtually. CRM software provides functionality to businesses in four segments: sales, marketing, customer service, and digital commerce.
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Data Center
is the service of a company that hosts and manages the back-end IT systems and data stores: its mainframes, servers and databases. Market and industry trends are changing the way businesses approach their data center strategies.
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Database Management Systems
a DBMS is a product used for storing and organizing data that usually has defined formats and structures.
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Digital Mockup
is a digital representation of a real-world entity or system. A digital twin implementation is an encapsulated software object or model that reflects a single physical object, process, organization, person or other abstraction.
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Enterprise Information Archiving softwares (EIA)
combine products and solutions for archiving user messaging content, such as email, instant messaging, SMS, and public & business social media data. This also includes other types of content, such as data stored in Enterprise File Synchronization and Sharing (EFSS) platforms, files, website content, and voice. The majority of EIA spending is on email compliance and retention.
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Internet Of Things (IOT)
is a network of physical objects that contain embedded technology to communicate and sense or interact with their internal states or the external environment.
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Manufacturing Execution System (MES)
monitors and synchronizes the execution of physical processes in real time involved in the transformation of raw materials into intermediate and/or finished products. Coordinates the execution of work orders with production scheduling systems and corporate systems.
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Metaverse
is a shared 3D virtual collective space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality.
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Middleware
is the software "glue" that helps programs and databases (which may be on different computers) work together. Its most basic function is to allow communication between different software.
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Open source
describes software that comes with permission to use, copy, and distribute, as is or with modifications, and that may be offered for free or for a fee. The source code must be made available.
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Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
is a process and disciplines supported by software for managing products through the stages of their life cycle, from design to decommissioning. As a discipline, it has evolved from a mechanical design and engineering focus to application with many vertical industrial product development challenges.
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Robotic Process Automation software (RPA)
execute "if, then, else" statements on structured data, typically using a combination of user interface (UI) interactions or by connecting to APIs to drive client servers, mainframes or HTML code.
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Software As A Service (SAAS )
is software that is owned, provided, and managed remotely by one or more vendors. Vendor provides software based on a set of common codes and data definitions that are consumed in a one-to-many model by all contracted customers at any time on a pay-as-you-go basis or under form of subscription based on usage measurements.
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Supply Chain Execution (SCE )
focuses on execution-oriented applications, including warehouse management systems (WMS), transportation management systems (TMS), global trade management (GTM) systems, and other execution applications, such as real-time decision support systems (e.g. dynamic routing and sourcing systems) and supply chain visibility systems within the enterprise, as well as throughout of the extended supply chain.
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Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
is defined as the ability to deliver an integrated suite of business applications. ERP tools share a common process and data model, covering broad and deep end-to-end business processes, such as those found in finance, human resources, distribution, manufacturing, services and supply chain.
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Cloud
refers to servers accessible on the Internet, as well as the software and databases that run on these servers. Servers located in the cloud are hosted in data centers located around the world. The use of cloud computing frees users and businesses from the need to manage physical servers themselves or run software applications on their own equipment. There are four types of cloud computing services: SAAS (Software As A Service), PAAS (Platform As A Service), IAAS (Infrastructure As A Service), FAAS (Function As A Service)