Industry4WRD Readiness Assessment
The Government will allocate RM 210 million from 2019 to 2021 to support the transition and migration to Industry 4.0. The Malaysia Productivity Corporation will carry out Readiness Assessments to assist up to 500 Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to migrate to Industry 4.0 technologies. Industry4WRD Readiness Assessment (Industry4WRD-RA) is a comprehensive programme to help firm assess their capabilities and readiness to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies and processes.
The assessment uses a pre-determined set of indicators to understand their present capabilities and gaps, from which will enable firms to prepare to prepare feasible strategies and plans to move towards Industry 4.0. The Industry4WRD-RA will help firms to:
- Determine their state of readiness in the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies
- Identify the gaps and areas of improvement for Industry 4.0 adoption as well as opportunities for productivity improvement and growth and
- Develop feasible strategies and plans to perform outcome-based intervention projects
Propelling SMEs Forward
In Malaysia’s transformation, particular attention needs to be paid to SMEs, as they account for the bulk of manufacturing companies (97%) and a major part of employment (42%). While most of the large manufacturing firms are already anticipating the benefits and risks of adopting Industry 4.0 practices, Malaysian SMEs appear to be cautious in taking the leap. Most worryingly, despite the enormous economic potential of Industry 4.0, SMEs in the industry remain relatively unaware about it. There is a risk that Malaysian SMEs might be left behind.
Industry 4.0 has the potential to transform manufacturing SMEs in multiple ways: improving productivity, efficiency and cost; enhancing organisational, management and production capabilities; enabling better quality and quality monitoring; and developing innovators and producers of Industry 4.0 technologies. The level of transformation required is, however, very substantial for SMEs. It will not just be about adopting industry 4.0 technologies, but also about changing business processes and operating models. For example, SMEs will need to collaborate and participate in broader production networks with other SMEs, large firms or multinational corporations.
Digitalisation of the manufacturing system will be important to build direct links to end customers and produce innovative and customised products. Scale effects are also being redefined, as SMEs are making headways in many markets and outperform larger corporations due to their agility and adaptability. As such, manufacturing SMEs will need to learn how to deal with these disruptions, be more resilient, and embrace the rate of change as an opportunity.
Emerging Technologies
Additive Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing is advancing with the use of new materials opening completely new possibilities. For example, 3D printing of organic tissues has created opportunities for growing live organs. It is revolutionising traditional production, aided by a recent surge in metal additive printing.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI is a concept that is made up of numerous subfields such as machine learning, which focuses on the development of programmes that can teach themselves to learn, understand, reason, plan, and act when exposed to new data in the right quantities. AI technology will supplement the smart factory towards networked factory, in which data from supply chains, design teams, production lines and quality control are linked to form a highly integrated and intelligent engines
Big Data Analytics
Increasingly big data techniques are being applied in manufacturing industries to improve customer experience and product quality, realise energy efficiencies, and conduct predictive maintenance. It is now possible to collect masses of data from several different sources to direct decisions that anticipate product or equipment failure.
Advanced Materials
New materials and nano-structures are being developed that allow for beneficial material properties, e.g. shape retention or thermoelectric efficiency. Together with additive manufacturing technologies, it will allow for massive customisations and development of products that were not possible until now
Cybersecurity
The industrial communication is expanding and strongly connected, digital security becomes a critical aspect that must not be overlooked in the industrial environment. It has now become more complex, as it consists of connected devices and environments that cannot be protected by traditional cybersecurity approaches. Current cybersecurity has largely been developed for IT-centric devices and environments. The system is now facing new challenge on how to embed security functionality into the IoT devices with sophisticated cybersecurity.
Simulation
While many engineers are already familiar with simulations in the field of product design, the advent of augmented reality, artificial intelligence and big data is expected to take simulations to the next level. It will be possible to simulate manufacturing processes using different production settings to find the optimal way to manufacture a product. Simulations can also be used to test product usage under different operating environment using different types of materials.
Cloud Computing
Past industrial revolutions required significant capital as a ticket to entry. With Cloud Computing many of the Industry 4.0 technologies can be made available to even smaller companies as a utility with minimal upfront capital investment. Companies can leverage cloud based product design, simulation, artificial intelligence, and big data solutions to improve their production processes and build products better suited for their customers.
Augmented Reality
While the initial Augment Reality technologies are still in nascent stages, they are advancing at a rapid pace. Some of the first applications can be found in the delivery of information and training. For example, Augmented Reality can be used to deliver part replacement instructions to maintenance staff in the field.
Internet Of Things (IoT)
Industry 3.0 brought in an era of computing and inter-connectedness, but it often relied on humans to make even the trivial decisions. Industry 4.0 technologies embody an unprecedented proliferation of sensors and connectedness among these sensors. Combined with other technologies such as artificial intelligence and Big Data, it is now possible to envisage entirely autonomous systems that revolutionise manufacturing.
Autonomous Robots
Machinery and robots are transformed towards its next generation. Robots can do more on its own, including learning on the job and team up with other robots and humans. This technology allows systems to think, act and react autonomously as well as conduct remote decision making. This can help contribute to a company’s competitiveness, productivity and profitability.
Systems Integration
System integration occurs in vertical (within the industry value chain) and in horizontal systems (across multiple value chains) eventually achieving end-to-end digital integration across the entire value chains.