L'Industria 4.0 è un nuovo modo di produrre che sta portando le aziende verso la quarta rivoluzione industriale. Fa perno sui robot e sugli oggetti connessi
Il mondo è sempre più interconnesso e, in futuro, la produzione industriale sarà totalmente automatizzata. La trasformazione è in atto, quindi, e le industrie devono conoscere le potenzialità che scaturiscono dalla digitalizzazione, così da utilizzarle a loro vantaggio.
Ma per farlo, bisogna sapere che cos’è l’industria 4.0 e dove ci porterà.
Che cos’è l’industria 4.0
L’Industria 4.0, grazie a un mix tecnologico di automazione, informazione, connessione e programmazione, porterà secondo gli esperti alla quarta rivoluzione industriale. Si tratta della diretta conseguenza della digitalizzazione in campo produttivo avvenuta ormai da anni. Un processo definito dagli analisti come "digital transformation". For the first time, this new transformation will bring companies face to face with a dual reality: physical and virtual resources will have to be managed in the same way, considering them as a single company production system.
History up to Industry 4.0
Industrial processes are generally divided into four phases. Industry 1.0 (1784) dates back to that which developed from the discovery of the steam engine onward: a forced mechanization that increased output and decreased production time. Industry 2.0 (1870) is the daughter of the discovery of electricity, which later became "dependent" on oil. The industry 3.0 (1970) starts from the entrance in the factory of the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) of first generation, in which computer science and electronics further increased the levels of automation both in production and organization. This is how we arrive at Industry 4.0, a technological mix of robotics, sensors, connection to the Net and programming capable of changing company management and production models forever. An industry that has lost its concept of immobility and physicality also thanks to the cloud and co-working, taking advantage of the opportunities of Big Data and the Internet of Things.
How Industry 4.0 was born
The term Industry 4.0 was used for the first time in 2011 at the Hannover Fair, in Germany. The reference at the time was to a project hypothesis from which a working group started out and in 2012 presented the German federal government with a series of recommendations for the implementation of the country's Industrial Plan. In Italy, however, the term only officially appeared in 2016, in the document Piano Nazionale Industria 4.0 2017-2020. It is a set of measures that can encourage investment in the new sector.
Groups of experts and market analysts, such as Boston Consulting or McKinsey, have reported three levels of breakdown in the Industry 4.0 era. It starts with Smart Production, which involves a set of new manufacturing technologies that create interaction between all production-related assets. This fosters collaboration between people, machines and systems.
Then we move on to the second level, Smart Services, which indicates a new generation management of IT and technical infrastructures, designed to help control and monitor systems, taking advantage of the logic of maximum integration between all players, including customers.
We finally arrive at Smart Energy, the level of new energy supply systems, which pays particular attention to monitoring consumption. This makes the infrastructures more efficient, economic and ecological. An aspect that also has an image return for companies.
Italy announced its plan for Industry 4.0 on September 21, 2016, contained in the 2017 Budget Law. The goal of the plan was to mobilize additional private investment totaling 10 billion, with 11.3 billion in private spending on development, research and innovation, with a focus on Industry 4.0 technologies, in addition to 2.6 billion for early stage private investment.
How will work change with Industry 4.0
Every innovation leads to profound transformations and, even in the case of Industry 4.0, the changes will be many in the world of work. Many new professions will be born, and many jobs will disappear. The areas that will play a central role will be finance, IT, engineering and management, while there will be losses in administrative and production areas. Due le abilità e le competenze che avranno sempre più rilievo: la creatività e il problem solving.
Le fabbriche nell’Industria 4.0
I timori sono sempre gli stessi, e non si placano: le macchine sostituiranno l’uomo? Non si sa con certezza, fatto sta che secondo un rapporto di GE Digital con la società Vanson Bourne, la manutenzione dei macchinari da parte dei macchinari supererà qualitativamente quella degli esseri umani entro il 2020. Un cambiamento fondamentale, e vicinissimo.
Cosa vuol dire, questo? Che le macchine saranno totalmente interconnesse tra loro, dialogheranno l’una con l’altra e saranno in grado di effettuare una manutenzione preventiva, oltre ad auto-ripararsi. I robot lavoreranno fianco a fianco con gli uomini, imparando da essi. Gli impianti saranno talmente flessibili che si arriverà addirittura a personalizzare i prodotti per ogni singolo cliente e, in generale, la fabbrica sarà Smart, in tutto e per tutto.