Industry 4.0 will be more relevant in 2021: Sekaran Letchumanan, Vice President – Operations, Flex India
By Sekaran Letchumanan, Vice President – Operations, Flex India
In order to stay competitive in the marketplace, manufacturers are constantly looking out for the latest innovations in systems, strategies and technologies. While automation in manufacturing has been around for a while, the adoption of it has increased in the recent past. Industry 4.0’s smart automation innovations came to the aid of companies, to not just help them return to full production faster but to increase operational efficiency. Creating a technology framework that integrates hardware and software monitors to track the status of key machines and provide data back into the Manufacturing Execution System (MES), is critical to success.
Industry 4.0 allows for predictive maintenance, the monitoring of progress and reduced risk. Smart Automation, Machines to Machine communications, the Internet of Things (IoT), Real-Time Analytics and Cloud Computing, helped companies maintain business continuity, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Industry 4.0 helps transition legacy manufacturing systems to intelligent and connected systems. Flex is driving the evolution of Industry 4.0 by investing in a focused portfolio of advanced manufacturing capabilities and technologies to provide greater efficiency, quality, and sustainability for customers. Going forward there will be automation additions that will help employees by saving time otherwise used in time-heavy repetitive tasks. It could also lend a helping hand in performing tasks that could be dangerous for humans. Agility and the ability to be ahead of the curve in technology adoption will be a critical factor in determining if an enterprise succeeds or not
