INDUSTRY 4.0 IN THE NEW NORMAL

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered large scale digital transformation across industries and the globe. This creates new opportunities to implement innovative digital strategies and rapidly embrace Industry 4.0 technologies, says Saravanan Panneer Selvam, General Manager – INDO Region, Grundfos

- Niranjan Mudholkar

How would you analyse the role of Industry 4.0 in the New Normal with the Covid19 outbreak?

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered large scale digital transformation across industries and the globe. This creates new opportunities to implement innovative digital strategies and rapidly embrace Industry 4.0 technologies. They are instrumental in augmenting smart factories and mitigating disruptions in the supply chain.

For example, in the ‘new normal’, sensors integrated with Internet of Things (IoT) can be used to enhance supply chain visibility. They will be able to track parts or products throughout the supply chain to enable remote monitoring and increase accountability. The data from these sensors can be used to create actionable insights that can help businesses make well-informed decisions with respect to their processes and customers.

These technologies can also help bolster the overall resilience of businesses and are great tools for speed, reliability and data-driven decision making.

Technology trends like big data, cloud, mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) are propelling the industry towards a paradigm shift in terms of a digital transformation. Adoption of these trends is making factories ‘Smart’. So how are these trends influencing the factory environment across different functions like design, development, production, marketing & sales, delivery and services?