It’s estimated that the smart factory market will be worth $67 billion by 2020, growing at anannual rate of 6% over the next five years. But where are the biggest growth areas within the smart factory itself? Which countries or industries are leading the growth drive? An what are the key facts that you need to know about?
The key advantages of smart factories
The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) has fuelled the era of smart factories. The smart factory vision includes automation of factory floors, robotics working 24 hours, seven days aweek, M2M and remote operations of components. The whole factory system is connectedthrough a network of sensors, motors, switches and other gadgets, designed to driveproductivity and product design innovation.The key advantages from introducing such a system, are:
- Seamless digital networks
- De-centralised control of production
- Virtual planning of products
- Production and remote maintenance
- Integration of IT systems and analytics
The era of the Smart Factory lacks definition
Every factory has implemented a smart factory in different ways to reach a variety of goals. For some, smart factories are about sustainability or zero-waste production. For others, it might mean improved simulation and modeling, the merging of our digital and physical worlds, or the integration of manufacturing and engineering processes. Some even go as far to envision the involvement of agile systems that can be reconfigured based on marketdemand, optimising the value-chain, and streamlining the flow of materials.
Therefore, across the globe there is a lack of one, single definition of the smart factory because everycountry or industry will run off different combinations of objectives. But right at the heart of these driving forces, is a changing workforce, which can include job loss. The era of the smart factory demands a new type of worker that is highly skilled, well-educated and IT literate. It requires a workforce that focusses less on repetitive manualtasks and more on product design, optimisation and monitoring processes.
The transition to Smart Factory
The transition to a truly smart factory is not an easy route to take, and manufacturers will face a number of of difficult hurdles. However, the long-term benefits from introducing IoT into the factory environment will emerge as more and more industries recognise the needto connect their systems with digital technologies.
