Industrie 4.0 powers volume production

CeBIT panelist cautions use of Industrie 4.0 as a tool to downsize

 Industry experts and academicians at a panel discussion on ‘Industrie 4.0 - Manufacturing Goes Digital’ on the concluding day of the CeBIT India 2015, said that Industrie 4.0 can play a major role in manufacturing.

Sujoy Brahmachari, Hero MotoCorp Information System senior general manager, said: “We have been availing various components of Industrie 4.0 in our production units. Hero MotoCorp brings out a motorcycle every 18 seconds and these technologies help us be a volume player. We are also upgrading our manufacturing units to cop up with the growing volume.”

Brahmachari said deployment of IT can’t be the right solution for all the ills affecting manufacturing. “We should look into the right technologies which will enhance productivity and increase the competence of the product. Using data generated at every point, we can find out problems and enhance productivity,” he said.

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies Professor and Chairman (Information System Area) Nilay Yajnik said Industrie 4.0 should not be used to downsize.

“Countries in the northern hemisphere view Industrie 4.0 and the automation it brings as a tool to reduce labour involvement. In India, we should use it as an upsize tool. Even though we were reluctant to introduce computers in our banking sector initially, now its use has brought in value addition and employment creation. Likewise, we should use Industrie 4.0 to enhance labour involvement and productivity,” said Yajnik.

Key role in testing

Essel Propack Chief Information Officer (Global) Prakash Dharmani said in the new age of customer dictating terms, companies are working hard to satisfy their clients within a short span of time. “Automation plays a vital role in testing products to enhance quality with low error rate. Industrie 4.0 also helps us to enhance safety norms. If there are more people, there will be more element of fear and more automation can reduce it,” he said.

Dharmani said automation should help in upgrading machinery.
“We have gone through Industrie 2.0 and Industrie 3.0 which also brought changes in the machineries. If you fail to make use of existing machinery optimally, there is no point in running behind Industry 4.0. It should help us in reducing the cycle time and quality of products,” he said.

Kashyap Kompella, research director of Real Story Group, a digital workplace and marketing technology analyst firm in the United States, said: “From manufacturing to services sectors, various elements of Industrie 4.0 will help in the predictive maintenance. We will face a huge gap in skill sets.” said Kompella. He pointed out the classic example of Bosch bringing out Mechatronics to enhance productivity in assembly lines.

Move over, old order


“We have been availing various components of Industrie 4.0 in our production units. These technologies help us be a volume player.”
Sujoy Brahmachari, Hero MotoCorp, GM for Information System


“Countries in the northern hemisphere view Industrie 4.0 as a tool to reduce labour involvement. In India, we should use it as an upsize tool.”
Nilay Yajnik, Narsee
Monjee Institute of Management Studies
Professor

“ Automation plays a vital role in testing products to enhance quality with low error rate. Industrie 4.0 also helps us to enhance safety norms.”
Prakash Dharmani,
Essel Propack Chief Information Officer (Global)