IMTS Conference - Hype or Reality? The True Status of Industry 4.0 in Manufacturing

Description:

It’s been several years since the concept of Industry 4.0 was first introduced, promising manufacturers revolutionary change. But how much are those manufacturers capitalizing on it? And, by not tapping into Industry 4.0, how much are they putting their businesses at risk—knowing that digital transformation is key to customer engagement and competitive advantage?

In this session, Matt Heerey, president of ECI Software Solution’s manufacturing division, will explore these questions to determine if Industry 4.0 has lived up to the hype. Leveraging anecdotes from customer’s firsthand experiences and manufacturing survey data from 2017, 2018 and 2019, Matt will describe:

• The tools manufacturers have been applying over the last three years—and which they’ve seen real value from:
  • The top tool selected by 2017 respondents was big data analytics, while in 2018 it was wearables
• The challenges that manufacturers are facing when attempting to capitalize on Industry 4.0/emerging tools
• In 2018, 35% of respondents lacked the internal expertise required to adopt technology
• 59% of manufacturers added skills requirements to meet their workforce needs to handle emerging technology

Matt will leverage recent customer anecdotes and poll audience members in the context of the survey findings to give attendees an in-depth look at how other job shops are using technology, including what has and hasn’t worked well. Additionally, he will share best practices that the audience can take home and apply in their own shops to realize the potential of technology they already have—and to figure out where their organization is on their digital transformation journey.   

Conference: IMTS Conference

Type: Manufacturing Technology