Digitalisation in manufacturing: A time of challenges and opportunities
As an essential part of the world economy, manufacturing is paramount to all countries. And with the new generation of technological revolutions and waves of industrial change, the digitalisation of manufacturing industries has become one of the key ways many countries are driving economic growth. But while digitalisation brings opportunities for manufacturing, it also brings some challenges.
An ageing modern society
According to the 2019 Revision of World Population Prospects, in 2019, one in every 11 people in the world will be aged 65 or over, accounting for around 9% of the population. And by 2050, this figure will climb to 16%, almost doubling. The demographic changes brought about by an ageing society are becoming increasingly evident, and the declining number of people in the workforce will also deal a heavy blow to the manufacturing sector.
Manufacturing in the shadow of Covid-19
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) survey, COVID-19 could lead to a 5–15% contraction in global FDI. One of the main reasons for this is the reduction in capacity due to social distancing requirements imposed by the government on shop floor workers in factories. In addition, China is responsible for producing most of the crucial components of electronic equipment in the electronics industry. When these Chinese factories were closed due to covid-19, other factories worldwide could not continue production due to a lack of spare parts. And against a backdrop of parts shortages and soaring transport costs, the global manufacturing supply chain situation has deteriorated further.
In the face of the adverse effects of all these social situations, the digitalisation of the manufacturing industry is an urgent necessity.
Reducing labour costs and the negative effects of ageing
With the digitisation of manufacturing, factories have developed a process for rapidly collecting, processing and analysing data, automating part of the process. Digitisation and the automation that comes with it allow manufacturing to work with intelligent machines and replace labour costs.
A report by Visiongain shows that the global automotive manufacturing market is worth US$1963million in automation and robotics, and its importance and potential for the manufacturing industry can no longer be overstated. As a result, the demand for low-skilled workers in manufacturing has fallen significantly. It also reduces the impact of an ageing population and covid-19 for the manufacturing sector.
Digitalisation increases the efficiency of manufacturing
With the development of technology, data applications have permeated all areas of the manufacturing industry, and data resources are bound to become a key factor of production. The large-scale use of data can significantly improve the rational allocation of resources in the manufacturing industry while reducing operational losses in the manufacturing industry. The analysis and processing of data also enable manufacturing to be effectively integrated with other related industries, bringing about change in all aspects.
While aiding production, digital technology can also be used to safeguard the health and safety of workers. Some of the leaders indicated in interviews that they were using wearable devices with other digital technologies to record the physical condition of workers during covid-19 or to work remotely. This is helping companies to keep workers on task while following government social distance requirements.
But do these opportunities and changes mean that the future of digitalisation in manufacturing is bright?
Lack of authoritative data standards
The digitisation of manufacturing companies generates large amounts of data every day. However, industrial equipment is diverse, has a wide range of applications and has different protocols and data formats in different environments, making it difficult to be compatible. There is also a lack of essential coordination and interoperability between organisations, making data unusable or incomparable.
In China, for example, although China already has standards development bodies such as the China National Information Technology Standardization Committees and has developed documents such as the Industrial Internet Standard System (Version 1.0) and other documents. However, the development and promotion of specific standards have only begun, and efforts are still being made to gain market acceptance.
Data security is still to be guaranteed
Industrial data covers equipment, transport, products, customers and many other aspects. If this data is leaked during storage or use, it can pose a severe security risk to companies and users. If this data is published or altered, it can affect production processes and threaten personal safety and national security.
Propose…
It is easy to see that the government needs to improve the policies related to the digitalisation of the manufacturing industry and encourage manufacturing enterprises to carry out digital transformation. It also needs to promote the development and application of manufacturing data standards, so that data can be truly efficient and standardised use.
Secondly, the digitisation of the manufacturing industry will substantially increase the level of intelligence and automation of enterprises, reducing general employment opportunities. Old knowledge and skills are also not adapted to the requirements of the digital factory. Therefore, manufacturing companies also need to make their employees understand and adapt to the digitalisation trends and related technologies in the manufacturing industry. At the same time, their professional skills are being strengthened through skills training to deal with this new situation.
Based on digitisation, manufacturing companies and the government should also work together to strengthen the data security protection system. By strengthening the protection of industrial data and personal information, the responsibilities and obligations in data circulation and use should be clarified. Data security checks should also be strengthened, and penalties increased to provide a more significant deterrent to offenders.
