Industry is changing a lot these days.
New concepts and systems pop-up continuously, and due to companies’ need to implement the best technology, a lot of things will change in a relatively short span of time.
One of the new terms that appeared at the turn of this decade was Industry 4.0.
As the name suggests, it is used to describe the fourth industrial revolution. The concept refers to the implementation of high-tech and, in particular, digital transformation.
So what kind of high-tech, you might be asking?
Industry 4.0 specifically focuses on smart factories that rely on the Internet of Things. It would affect every industrial process from manufacturing to logistics and supply chains.
And it will also largely affect the way we create and distribute information.
The main benefit of an Industry 4.0 system is the ability to create decentralized decision making without relying on the traditional type of physical approach.
There are a lot of different industries that can benefit from Industry 4.0. However, it has shown the best results for:
- virtual and augmented reality
- robotics
- energy
- specific types of goods
- autonomous or remote-controlled vehicles
In this article, I will discuss some practical steps that will help you implement Industry 4.0.
But let’s move forward one step at a time and see how it all started. Read on!
olid ‘Industry 4.0’ business strategy?
Whether you’re a big corporation or a smaller company, it is very important to create a proper strategy before implementing I4. There are lots of different risks involved in the whole process and the best you can do is to at least mitigate some of them. While you can’t do much about the legal or political aspects, you can definitely influence the financial and human factors. Each pillar needs to be addressed separately and your decisions regarding suppliers and service providers will go a long way in determining the overall success of the whole project. You should especially put emphasis on modular technological solutions.
4 How quickly and efficiently can you educate your staff?
Although Industry 4.0 sounds like a self-sustaining system, it is everything but that. Human labour is very important for maintaining some of the systems and working within these new rules. Employees will play a big role in how you’re able to adapt to changes and how quickly you can transition to this new model. In fact, you might even consider starting the training now, as you’re preparing your general I4 strategy. This will save you a lot of time!
5 How quickly can you adapt and change?
You should never take Industry 4.0 lightly. Something that is based on the 9 different pillars will always pose certain challenges. Small issues with certain aspects of I4 can bring the whole system down. This is why it is very important for your company to be adaptable. You need to be able to change processes on the fly and improve procedures. If you think that your job is done once you implement I4, you’re sorely mistaken.
6 Can you take a financial hit?
Lastly, you will also have to consider your exit strategy. No matter how much we may praise Industry 4.0, the sad truth is that some companies will not benefit from it. In fact, the whole process may become a big loss. If this is the case, you have to ask yourself in advance: “Am I prepared for this and can I take the financial hit that goes with it?”
How to prepare technical communications for I4?
Industry 4.0 will also affect the way we write and deliver information.
When implementing Industry 4.0, there are lots of things a company needs to do on the back-end. Not only do you have to address technical aspects, introduction of new software and systems, reconsider compliance processes, but you also need proper documentation, manuals and other content that will back up the whole process.
There are a few things you can do to adapt your technical writing to Industry 4.0.
First of all, as I4 products are often connected to the internet, a paper user manual is not the best way to provide the user with information. I4 enables you to create and deliver more intelligent information.
So what is Intelligent Information?
Intelligent information is, amongst others:
- efficient use of content processes, people, and technology.
- content that is scalable and can be reused.
- content that’s personalized, so it delivers most value for the consumer of the content: the right content is delivered to the right person at the right time, regardless of the device or channel that the consumer uses.
Software companies that develop technical authoring tools, such as MadCap, Adobe, Author-it, Schema, Fischer, Oxygen etc develop tools that enable you to publish the same content to several output formats, such as PDF and online.
This is done single source. In other words: the same content is being reused for several output formats.
When you create single source content, you can not only use the same content for several mediums, but you can also reuse the content for several related products.
Principles that software companies build on and that a professional technical writer should embrace to create ‘smart’ content that can be reused is topic based (structured) writing or DITA.
Also, the newly published 82079 standard for information for use integrated much of these principles.
This standard:
- gives requirements for the information management process;
- describes how you can use people efficiently by describing professional competencies
- describes how you can use technology (media and format) in order to digitise your information for use;
- gives requirements on structuring information. This enables you to scale, automate and reuse content;
- states that information should be delivered individualised, if possible.
Conclusion
Although there are many unknown variables and still quite a lot of challenges to overcome, which makes it really hard to assess whether or not your company can pull it off, investigating the possibilities of Industry 4.0 is an absolute must.
In order to make more or fewer sound decisions, you should first of all determine which pillar(s) might be of most importance for your industry or just your company.
Also, identify the risks for your company and how to mitigate them.
In the end, you know your business best,, what direction you want to go to and what Industry 4.0 related business decisions serves that best.
I hope that this guide will serve you as a solid starting point. Leave a comment below if you have any questions.
full article available here : https://instrktiv.com/en/industry-40/