Intelligent Products and Assets: Creating a Digital Thread from Design to Decommission

The buzz: “Next Gen Mobility: Some people say it’s all about the journey…Anyone who can successfully implement a change in the way we use our automobiles will transform our society, and will likely reap considerable rewards…” (journal.businesstoday.org). “By 2030, the automotive landscape will be defined by more sustainable, safer and convenient ways of moving around…” (www.te.com) The next generation of mobility is for riders, leveraging technology to design new ways to make time spent between places more useful, social and fun. And Industry 4.0 plays a key role from the design of smart autonomous vehicles, through manufacturing in smart factories, and ultimately to how riders, purchase or not, consume as a service, operate safely, maintain proactively and protect autonomous vehicles on the roads. We’ll ask Bruce Baumgartner at Zoox, Tobias Hoffmeister at MHP, and Tom Madonna at SAP for their insights on Industry 4.0 and The Next Generation of Mobility for Riders – NOT Drivers!

The buzz: “While optimism prevails, companies have achieved varying degrees of success in implementing Industry 4.0” (mckinsey.com, 2016). You want to deliver on the Industry 4.0 vision. Great! You’ll need digital transformation, especially in an existing facility, including automation, integration, and optimization of processes and manufacturing lines. Straightforward? Not! Transformation can span multiple solutions, plus onboarding and connectivity of multiple equipment, including brownfield, from numerous vendors. To be successful, you need a common agreement among vendors over standardized compatible connectivity; an extensible edge computing platform architecture; interoperability between Industry 4.0/IIoT solutions and semantic models of assets; and tight collaboration between OEMs and Operators. We’ll ask KUKA’s Dr. Christian Liedtke, Beckhoff’s Gerd Hoppe, and SAP’s Nils Herzberg how to get it done. Join us for Delivering on the Industry 4.0 Vision: Leverage Your Ecosystem.

The buzz: “Sawyer the Robot will work for the equivalent of $4 per day. And he's never in a bad mood. Can you compete with that?” Sawyer is the brainchild of Rodney Brooks, the inventor of robotic vacuum Roomba and PackBot, the robot used to clear bunkers in Iraq and Afghanistan and at the World Trade Center after 9/11. (newsweek.com) No matter how far Industry 4.0 automation goes, manufacturers will ALWAYS need humans to fill roles that cannot be automated – completing complex tasks and making intuitive decisions. The key is to define what roles do and don’t need human intervention. The goal: augment humans with Industry 4.0, not replace them. AI doesn’t take the person out of the process, it takes the robot out of the person. As the degree of automation increases, so does decision-making complexity. We’ll ask W. David Stephenson at Stephenson Strategies and Richard Howells at SAP for their insights on Industry 4.0: Augmenting Humans to Empower Productivity and Decision-Making.

The Buzz: “85% of manufacturers consider the ‘connected workforce’…robots and humans working together being routine in manufacturing by 2020…an essential element in their business strategy” (blog.universal-robots.com). While a replicator à la Star Trek is speculative fiction, 3D printing is not, and the 4th Industrial Revolution is happening now. Industry 4.0 started with the concept of an Intelligent Factory. Now it’s about designing and manufacturing intelligent products and assets, and empowering employees to leverage the data to make predictive, prescriptive and automated decisions across the entire supply chain. Then what? Will automation make human employment redundant? Is the ‘Skynet’ scenario the inevitable endpoint for AI? Will cars and refrigerators spy on us or control our behaviors? Bob Parker at IDC and Tom Raftery at SAP share their vision of Industry 4.0 and offer provocative opinions about Industry 5.0 and beyond. Join us for The Future of Industry 4.0, 5.0 and Beyond

The buzz: ‘The digital thread refers to the communication framework that allows a connected data flow and integrated view of an asset’s data throughout its lifecycle across traditionally siloed functional perspectives. The concept raises the bar for delivering “the right information to the right place at the right time’ …spearheaded by the military aircraft industry, it is converging with the goals of Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing.” ibaset.com In this digital age, information is the key to innovation. Creating a digital thread across a product’s life cycle captures real-time, accurate information from the customer, the purchasing team, the maintenance team and the engineering team. That data can be used to identify design improvements, create new features and lead to innovations. We’ll ask CIMdata’s Stan Przybylinski, Siemen’s Joe Bohman and SAP’s Keith Zobott for their take on Intelligent Products and Assets: Creating a Digital Thread from Design to Decommission.

The buzz: “In the past 50 years, organizations have gone from thinking about a sequential, linear series of steps—design, plan, source, make, deliver—to networks of dynamic, interconnected processes and systems.” www2.deloitte.com. With sensor technology prices dropping, manufacturers are designing and delivering more IoT-enabled smart products and assets, and with it, the adoption of Industry 4.0. Unparalleled amounts of data are available across the supply chain, from manufacturing through logistics and the operations of products and assets. This information is leveraged by machine learning, artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to drive business decisions and new business models. Westernacher’s Phil Azanov, SAP’s Elvia Wallis, SCHÄFER WERKE Group’s Michael Wehler, and Döhler Group’s Pierre Wiese discuss how technology is enabling and driving Industry 4.0 and making supply chains a competitive advantage. Join us for Industry 4.0: IoT and Technologies Bringing It to Life.

The buzz: The evolution toward Industry 4.0…presents some key challenges that automotive manufacturers must overcome if they wish to remain competitive” (blog.flexis.com). Industrial and automotive manufacturers have been investing in Industry 4.0 technologies for about ten years, seeking to boost productivity, quality, personalization and flexibility. Yet many have yet to realize its full potential. Are they stuck on small projects, proofs of concept, and how to manage the data? Will the Covid-19 business disruption be the catalyst to re-assess Industry 4.0 projects, scale and leverage the data as they re-start and re-imagine their businesses. The experts speak. Joe Barkai, Analyst: “Never let a good crisis go to waste” (S. Alinsky). George Kube, SAP: “First Things First” (S. Covey). Hendrik Neumann, SAP: “The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog” (WG Bennis). Join us for Future of Industry 4.0 for Auto & Industrial Manufacturers: Restart Your Engines!

The Buzz: “85% of manufacturers consider the ‘connected workforce’…robots and humans working together being routine in manufacturing by 2020…an essential element in their business strategy” (blog.universal-robots.com). While a replicator à la Star Trek is speculative fiction, 3D printing is not, and the 4th Industrial Revolution is happening now. Industry 4.0 started with the concept of an Intelligent Factory. Now it’s about designing and manufacturing intelligent products and assets, and empowering employees to leverage the data to make predictive, prescriptive and automated decisions across the entire supply chain. Then what? Will automation make human employment redundant? Is the ‘Skynet’ scenario the inevitable endpoint for AI? Will cars and refrigerators spy on us or control our behaviors? Bob Parker at IDC and Tom Raftery at SAP share their vision of Industry 4.0 and offer provocative opinions about Industry 5.0 and beyond. Join us for The Future of Industry 4.0, 5.0 and Beyond

The buzz: “The benefits of Industry 4.0 for aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturers are enormous, but involve critical decisions on digital investments and an increasingly cyber-aware ecosystem” (aircraftinteriorsinternational.com). As COVID-19 has brought many businesses to a standstill and motivated some to re-prioritize to serve communities’ greater good, Industry 4.0 now plays an even bigger role in delivering the agility and resiliency they need to re-ramp-up manufacturing. The experts speak. Sean Moore, Capgemini: “Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday” (John Wayne). Brian Fields, Newport News Shipbuilding: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” (T. Edison). Torsten Welte, SAP: “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” (Einstein). Join us for Industry 4.0 in the A&D Industry: Post-COVID-19.

The buzz: “The benefits of Industry 4.0 for aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturers are enormous, but involve critical decisions on digital investments and an increasingly cyber-aware ecosystem” (aircraftinteriorsinternational.com). As COVID-19 has brought many businesses to a standstill and motivated some to re-prioritize to serve communities’ greater good, Industry 4.0 now plays an even bigger role in delivering the agility and resiliency they need to re-ramp-up manufacturing. The experts speak. Sean Moore, Capgemini: “Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday” (John Wayne). Brian Fields, Newport News Shipbuilding: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” (T. Edison). Torsten Welte, SAP: “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” (Einstein). Join us for Industry 4.0 in the A&D Industry: Post-COVID-19.