Advantages and disadvantages of Industry 4.0
According to Smart Industry, "Industry 4.0 should increase production flexibility, allowing a facility to quickly respond to market changes." For example, a plant control system could adjust output automatically in response to changing utility rates, lowering production costs. "
Industry 4.0 has come a long way in the last few years and offers some incredible benefits, but there are still some challenges to overcome. For example, one of the most pressing concerns raised by the Fourth Industrial Revolution is cybersecurity.
Below, we break down the benefits and drawbacks of Industry 4.0 to provide insight into what manufacturers and industrial organizations should consider while embarking on digital transformation programs.
The Advantages of Industry 4.0:
Competitive Benefits:
Industry 4.0 smart solutions and services provide a wide variety of competitive advantages to firms that effectively launch new strategies and techniques
Increased Operational Efficiency:
The objective of Industry 4.0 is that the next phase of the industrial revolution will produce even higher profitability for companies by allowing them to squeeze more output from the same resource input
Better Products and Services:
Whether it is product quality, safety, or customer experience, Industry 4.0 will increase visibility and throughput for operations, allowing them to continue delivering value to consumers in order to maintain business
Market expansion and new markets:
As with every technological revolution, new services, products, and software will be required to enable organizational change. This will result in totally new product categories, new jobs, and other benefits
Improving People's Lives:
People's lives typically improve as a result of new technology, more profitability, and economic progress, with income growth, better health solutions, and an overall higher quality of life.
The Disadvantages Of Industry 4.0:
High Costs:
Not only is technology expensive, but so is the knowledge required to deploy the technology. Having expertise in emerging domains such as IoT, Augmented Reality, and AI might result in significant financial restrictions, as well as a lack of knowledge among all parties involved
High Failure Rate:
One of the most challenging aspects of initiating Industry 4.0 efforts is a lack of direction when it comes to creating objectives. They are frequently cross-functional initiatives with several stakeholders, which can cause projects to become bogged down in competing objectives and peter out
Cybersecurity:
People, goods, and equipment are all connected to the internet and will become more so in the future. Although this offers us more access to data via the cloud, it also allows hackers to get access to networks
The Need for Highly Skilled Labor:
Manufacturing, like the rest of the industry, continues to rely on humans to facilitate production. However, as more systems become digitally connected, there is a larger demand for highly trained personnel, which may unintentionally lower the demand for low-skill jobs
Disruption in the Industry and Market:
As new technologies become available, current solutions will be phased out. Certain industries, like the Blockbusters of the world, will be unable to withstand what Industry 4.0 delivers to the market.