Industry 4.0

00:07 Now we will discuss the next megatrend, industry 4.0, and I have one question for you right now. Do you know why it's referred to as Industry 4.0? We use the term industry 4.0 because we are discussing the fourth industrial revolution, and if we are discussing the fourth industrial revolution, we must certainly consider what the first, second, and third industrial revolutions were.

00:33 The first, as most of us learnt in school, is the agrarian society that is transitioning into an industrial society.

00:42 In England, we have railroads, steam engines, and looms for the first time, as well as the creation of new working conditions, entrepreneurs, workers, affluent and poor - these are the accomplishments of the first industrial revolution.

01:03 The second industrial revolution occurred between 1920 and 1930, or, as it is known in the United States, the commencement of mass manufacturing.

01:15 In the third industrial revolution, electronics and information technology entered the workplace, and the buzzword of the day is automation.

01:27 The phrase "industry 4.0" was coined in 2011, and what makes it unique is that it does not refer to a historical revolution (which occurred from then to then), but rather to the future.

01:41 That implies the fourth industrial revolution, known as Industry 4.0, has begun, and we are right in the heart of it.

01:49 We have the ability to shape it and see into the future.

01:54 Smart and digitally connected systems are the technological basis of Industry 4.0.

02:00 They are already here, and there will be many, many more tomorrow.

02:07 So, industry 4.0 is mostly about self-organizing manufacturing.

02:13 That means that people, machines, facilities, logistics, and goods all interact and cooperate with one another, with the ultimate goal of connecting the entire supply chain. That means we begin at the beginning and terminate at the conclusion.

02:33 In layman's terms, this means that from the beginning, we have development, manufacture, and production - then we deliver to the client, and it needs to be serviced - all the way to recycling, everything is connected; everything communicates and cooperates.

02:50 A key element to remember is that machines should not be used to replace humans, but rather as a tool, an aid, with man still taking center stage.

03:01 However, machines provide us with the opportunity (and this is a wonderful utopia) to have more time, space, and development.

03:12 What does this imply for businesses and their employees? Industry 4.0 clearly intends to make manufacturing considerably more flexible.

03:21 That means you'll be coordinating more with other businesses, such as the supplier, manufacturer, intermediary, distributor, and so on.

03:29 That is, all participants in this system communicate information in real time.

03:34 Some information is likely brought to Europe from someplace on the other side of the world, possibly in Australia, because the distribution department there says, "We are currently selling less," therefore manufacturing on-site is throttled in real-time. This is the information-exchange principle of Industry 4.0.

03:55 At the same time, factories are becoming more versatile; they can be designed differently, reconfigured, and adjusted to the current circumstances more quickly, and we will see this on all levels.

04:07 Perhaps in the near future, we will be able to make individual goods of the same quality as mass production at the same prices.

04:15 The 3D printer is the essential term here.

04:19 However, it is not just the manufacturing businesses, e.g., the companies involved in the manufacturing process, that are participating, but also the customers themselves. The idea is, for example, to involve the client in the process and have them develop the products like Nike did.

04:37 The winning formula was Nike ID.

04:40 Customers were allowed to design their own shoes and for that, the consumer was sitting in front of his computer.

04:48 They could remark something like, "Man, I really like this color, and this pattern, and this color as well." And just like that, the sneaker was manufactured on the other side of the world and delivered to the person's doorstep.

05:01 All other manufacturers, including Adidas, followed suit, and it became part of the value chain. The intriguing part is that the business model does not end here; instead, the customer purchases a product, and according to Industry 4.0, that is merely the beginning. Consider the automobile.

05:20 It's feasible that if we buy a car today, we'll have driven a specific number of miles in two years while also sending information back to the manufacturer: one of the pistons isn't operating properly and should be changed.

05:36 So we can see that information is provided back after the purchase, and not only can things improve - you can also generate follow-up business.

05:46 The business concept is taken to the next level, and possibly even the one after that.

05:53 The next phase is perfect logistics, which means we have a system of self-driving vehicles, ideal delivery routes, excellent resource management, and no erroneous output.

06:05 Everything is flawless.

06:07 Everything is linked, and if we need a part in 15 minutes, it will be delivered in 15 minutes - at the very least in 15 minutes, and in the best scenario, in 14 minutes and 59 seconds.

06:23 Security is a crucial aspect of Industry 4.0.

06:27 We shall see an increasing number of service robots that will lift heavy objects for us.

06:32 That is already evident in the automated sector.

06:34 This will be accomplished on many levels; we will encounter fewer patients with slipped discs, and if we do, it will be because they spent too much time in their spare time sitting on the couch.

06:45 As a result, industry 4.0 will provide a more secure working environment.

06:55 If we're talking about security, we're certainly talking about data as well.

06:59 Data, data, data - that is what we require, like in the case of "predictive maintenance," or the anticipatory maintenance I just described with the car and the workshop.

07:11 The foundation of this concept is data.

07:14 Nonetheless, there is a great focus on data protection, for example, in the European Union, which means tight legislation to secure data.

07:23 On the other hand, we must certainly evaluate what motivates hackers, who may claim that they just wish to damage a corporation.

07:31 An entire company is sometimes involved.

07:33 They may declare, "We can steal data here - engage in some industrial espionage." When discussing data regarding Industry 4.0, there is a lot of investigation to be done.

07:46 But, in the end, this is fine since the overall vision, the big purpose of Industry 4.0, is clearly to build a resource-conserving closed-loop economy.

07:55 This is the target that IKEA, for example, has set for 2030.

08:01 They intend to recycle all offered and sold products and reintroduce them into the manufacturing process.

08:08 That is a closed-loop economy, and 100% of the materials are recycled and reused, demonstrating how we can preserve the earth.

08:19 Other examples include climate-neutral firms, such as SAP or Munich Re, as well as big banks and publishers that claim, "We produce this amount of CO2 per year, so we are taking steps to reduce our CO2 output per year." They plant trees, forests, and so on to offset their production, and these are just two instances of how Industry 4.0 could save a planet that is expected to become increasingly polluted.