Industry 4.0 Use Cases
Selecting the correct technology is going to be paramount for your business’s success.
TSR can help you understand where you are and what Industry 4.0 technologies will get you to where you want to be.
Asset Tracking
Asset tracking refers to the ability to locate and track equipment, tools, and Work in Progress (WIP). Traditional solutions include the use of Quick Response (QR) codes, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Short-Range Wireless (SRW) (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi), and Ultra-Wideband (UWB).
More reliable and efficient asset tracking leads to enhanced Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and, therefore, more effective deployment of equipment, personnel, and management of input components and output products. This leads to operational savings. In the example of the Tier One German automotive factory, these efficiencies generate USD 60.1 million in operational cost savings over the 5-year period, which is equivalent to 0.8% of factory TCO expenses, both CAPEX and OPEX."
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) can be deployed for troubleshooting and support, which is the case for several of Ericsson’s 5G manufacturing sites. In the case of troubleshooting, Ericsson found that the ability to remote-in an expert resulted in 50% less downtime, 50% fewer service trips, and an 85% reduction in training time.
AR can enable hands-free access to information as well as improved productivity and better efficiency. New workers are quickly trained, which also increases productivity. The number of active users of AR in the manufacturing and logistics industries is forecast to reach 57.6 million by 2025, up from 4.8 million in 2019.
Based on ABI Research’s Industry 4.0 ROI analysis, a Tier One German automotive factory could generate USD 37 million in operational cost savings, which amounts to an operational cost savings ratio of 0.5%."
condition-based monitoring (cbm)
One of the main goals in manufacturing is to maximize production efficiency. It is not productive to send a technician to tend to a machine that does not require maintenance, nor is it efficient if a machine goes down because it has not received the attention it needs. To solve this, CBM and predictive maintenance applications remotely keep tabs on the status of connected assets (temperature, vibration, pressure, etc.), so that maintenance is performed proactively, on a just-in-time basis.
CBM makes one of the most significant operational cost saving contributions for the smart factory, as it reduces operational downtime, streamlines Information Technology (IT) maintenance, and minimizes the amount of spare parts inventory that has to be carried by the factory. By using CBM to implement predictive maintenance, a Tier One German automotive factory can generate USD 90.5 million in operational cost savings, the equivalent of 1.2% TCO expenses. This is mainly attributed to reduced downtime and reduced IT personnel support."
mobile robots
Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) rely on pre-defined paths to navigate. They follow paths defined by fiducial markers, such as Two- Dimensional (2D) barcodes or magnetic tape on the ground, enabling movement on a virtual grid system. Unlike AGVs, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) can navigate autonomously using technologies like Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), and computer vision to determine the optimal route, while avoiding collisions with objects, humans, and other robots.
Within ABI Research’s ROI analysis, the operational cost savings for integrating more modular, more flexible AMRs, AGVs, and robotics support stood at 1.8% of overall TCO expenditure for a Tier One automotive factory in a German factory. This equates to USD 136 million."
provisioning connected products
The products being assembled in factories are not only becoming more complicated but also software and firmware dependent. Consider the fact that more than 50% (48.7 million) of all new vehicles shipped in 2020 will come with embedded connectivity, and more than 70% (66.1 million) by 2024. All of these vehicles need to be provisioned with the initial software and tested at some point.
Relying on a wireless install that is highly reliable and quick has been demonstrated to minimize stoppages and reinstalls. For an automotive plant, the assembly line needs to keep to a specific cadence; otherwise, it backs up production through the entire process. By mitigating stoppages and allowing for the assembly line to be sped up, according to ABI Research’s ROI analysis for a Tier One automotive factory, the operational cost savings are expected to be USD 33.6 million, or 0.4% of overall TCO over the 5-year period. The report also described that by provisioning connected products early on in the manufacturing process, the connectivity could be smartly and effectively used as a digital thread to track progress throughout the factory."