How Industry 4.0 Can Influence the Performance of Food and Beverages Industry?
Published on : Sunday 12-04-2020
The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) is already here bringing all digital technologies together and giving access to organizations to monitor and make decisions on voluminous data. Technologies such as automation, AI, IoT, and others play a vital role in making companies keep up with this industrial change. In this current wave of manufacturing, new technology enforces the change in production and the capabilities to accomplish in facilities. For the Food and Beverages Industry, Industry 4.0 is very essential as large companies in the sector sell a wide range of goods to a large number of customers; many have already automated their data collection.
Numerous companies are also going beyond this and incorporating production equipment on the plant floor to deliver a deeper level of production and quality data. Becoming a smart factory in the field of food and beverages, companies require flexible systems that communicate independently with each other. Since the industry deals with manifold challenges including recalls, serving customer demands, and others, the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies can turn manufacturers into predictors instead of reactors. This would help save both time and money for businesses that invest in technology.
In an industry like food and beverages where companies face overflow of data, collecting that data is not an easier task. But through Industry 4.0, data collection and analysis give factories the edge to respond to these challenges faster. They will even get information at hand and will be able to pull items even before shipping. In addition to making the collection of data easier than ever, Industry 4.0 also provides the ability to track customers’ preferences with online shopping. Many websites keep this information to make it easier for customers to come again and repeat orders.
Transitioning to the fourth industrial revolution plant performance is more than operational efficiency, as well as agile, and traceable production. With the help of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), food and beverages companies can optimize processes and overall plant performance, while minimizing waste, energy usage and labor costs, along with boosting production efficiency.
Challenges
Apart from the advantages, implementing Industry 4.0 on the factory floor is not an easy job. According to a McKinsey survey, only 48 percent of manufacturers are ready to transition to this industrial transformation. However, a number of barricades stand in the way to fully embrace the IIoT for manufacturing facilities. First, transitioning to Industry 4.0 requires a noteworthy investment in new equipment and employees.
The report further found several manufacturers feel unprepared to replace equipment or less-skilled workers with technical professionals. On the other hand, there is a scarcity of skilled workers with the essential qualifications. There is also an issue that arises with the use of Industrial IoT. The technology can be used for many purposes but it creates digital waste and superfluous information. This often happens when a manufacturer supposes deploying automation technology in the factory will solve human-based problems.
Implementing technology makes a facility more efficient if production does not match demand, overproduction occurs. So, there is a need to first must collect data about the demand for products before changing production levels. Also, food and beverages manufacturers must look at all corners of the IIoT from supplies to consumer purchases for accomplishing greatest benefits.
So, driving transformation through Industry 4.0 into a factory, food and beverages companies need to take their focus off the essential things that can efficiently run their production facilities. It also allows a business to extract information across the whole system and make a greater level of analysis for more gains, and we believe, as more companies look forward to leveraging Industry 4.0 technologies, they will get more traceability and transparency across their production ecosystem and derive potential outputs cost-effectively.