Industry 4.0 is all about taking advantage of current technologies such as cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT) devices and AI to improve products and their manufacturing processes.
Product management leaders and their teams oversee the processes of designing and building products customers want. Industry 4.0 will lead them to new ways to improve and update products using real-time data from internet-connected sensors.
Here’s how Industry 4.0 will change manufacturing processes:
Real-time Maintenance and Insights
Maintenance and part replacement guidelines may soon become obsolete and tool lifecycles may get longer, thanks to increased use of internet-enabled intelligence and real-time monitoring. New sensors in production equipment can document performance and output. When this data is analyzed (data analytics), product managers should learn more about how equipment is functioning and make maintenance more precise. This should let managers coax more work and production from each part for longer timespans before they need to be replaced.
If there is something wrong with a machine, managers can manipulate and test adjustments on a digital twin to understand the issue before making fixes and replacements on the actual machine. This should save on maintenance costs and times and increase production, a big win for product managers.
The same data and analysis can be used on products being used in the field by customers to show product managers how the machines they design and build are actually used in the field, which features are used the most and which could be improved. They can base future product designs on this feedback to make their machines and parts more efficient and user-friendly.
Building with Agility: Evolving from Stage Gating Processes
In product development, there is always a laundry list of steps that must be taken to improve a product. Product managers are charged with overseeing this list and ensuring each step is addressed in the right order. However, selecting the right steps to prioritize is a constant challenge. Industry 4.0 will push product managers to implement agile processes in manufacturing and simplify the task of prioritizing the many steps in product development.
With any IoT device, users have eyes and ears and more on the ground 24/7 to determine how products are performing in real-time. This approach has been used effectively in software and is sold as part of consumer products.
The next step, in the fourth Industrial Revolution, will see the same sensors and real-time insights used in making hardware and physical products. This will set the stage for manufacturers tracking the development of every feature and even make updates in real time during development. Industry 4.0 products will also let companies gather data from machines in remote locations.
For example, consider the auto industry. Vehicles are quite different from those of even just decades ago. Many now have video screens instead of analog speedometers, odometers, and entertainment controls. Vehicles that lack these digital interfaces are considered technologically obsolete by many. Cars developed with an agile Industry 4.0 approach will have adaptable hardware and internet-connected software that can be continually remotely updated throughout the vehicle’s life. Agile manufacturing processes will lead to hardware being built into the vehicle before its software is ready for market.
For product managers, this type of workflow means abandoning the traditional stage gates workflow, where parts of the development process are delayed until the hardware or software elements are ready. A car or truck’s platform can be built while software features are simultaneously developed for future testing and remote implementation, accelerating launch schedules and ensuring products have the best and latest advances.
Industry 4.0 will change the way product management teams design and maintain products. For companies, embracing Industry 4.0 could make a difference in competitive industries.
Building a business that can grow and scale profitably requires tools and strategies that are collaborative, agile and leverage data in real-time. Industry 4.0 fits this model. It’s time for a revolution, and it will be exciting to see what new innovative technologies grow out of Industry 4.0.
Maziar Adl is co-founder and CTO of Gocious, a product portfolio management and planning SaaS firm.