Particulars
What exactly is Industry 4.0?
Let's first look at three concepts:
Industry 1.0
Mechanization, marked by the steam engine, used steam power to drive machines to replace human labor. From then on, handicrafts separated from agriculture and officially evolved into industry.
Industry 2.0
Electrification, marked by the wide application of electricity, replaced steam power with electricity-driven machines. From then on, the production of components and the assembly of products were divided into labor, and industry entered the era of large-scale production.
Industry 3.0
Automation, marked by the application of PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) and PC, since then machines have not only taken over most of human physical labor but also some mental labor. Industrial production capacity has since surpassed human consumption capacity, and humanity has entered an era of overcapacity.
These three definitions are all very academic. Don't worry. This is the most academic part of my entire text. Later on, I decided to tell you this story in the way the old monk told stories.
To understand Industry 4.0, we need to first take a look at the current situation, which we call Industry 3.X. In the trendy description of cultivation novels, that is, the later part of 3.0, this state is called complete automation and partial informatization.
We still have to start with the business model of the factory.
As a factory, its sole purpose of existence is to produce products and then sell them. So in industrial enterprises, they are usually divided into two major departments: one is the production department and the other is the business department. The former is managed through MES (Manufacturing Execution System), while the latter is managed through ERP (Management Information System).
What's the difference between these two systems? ERP is more inclined towards the management of financial information, while MES is more focused on the control of the production process. Simply put, ERP mainly tells you how many bottles the customer needs to produce, when to place an order, and when to order the goods, while MES is mainly responsible for monitoring and managing how each step and process of producing these bottles is realized.
In many workshops of Chinese factories, interconnection has been basically achieved among various production equipment and between production equipment and controllers. In even more powerful companies, the entire factory has been connected through the Manufacturing Execution System (MES), and all business departments have been connected through ERP.
Have you found any problems?
In fact, ERP and MES are not connected!
So when ERP issues production plan instructions to MES, if there are any deviations from the plan during the production process (such as equipment failure, substandard raw materials, etc.), MES will make adjustments based on the actual situation of the workshop. But ERP has no idea! So it will continue to execute orders according to the original plan. Over time, there will be a very large deviation between the financial system and the actual situation of the factory.
As for why they haven't been connected, there are two reasons. First, the development companies of ERP and MES are usually two groups of people, those in finance and those in production, working together. Not only do they not understand each other's professional terms and talk like a duck, but they also look down on each other. In addition, the business department and the production department usually operate separately within the company, and their respective leaders have their own preferred suppliers (you know the reason).
Of course, the wisdom of the people is boundless. They will definitely not just wait for the deviation between the two systems to grow larger and larger. Since the systems are not performing well, let's do it manually. Therefore, factory workshops usually regularly compile a table of MES adjustment items and hand it over to the business department, which then manually adjusts them in the ERP system.
The problems of ERP and MES are just a microcosm of the system disconnection within the factory. In fact, there are numerous other systems in the factory, such as design, manufacturing, procurement, office work, etc. These systems are all isolated information islands, and none of them know what the other is doing or how far they have gone. If there is a special situation in one part, the other parts are unknown. Only when the problem occurs can we go back and modify all the systems one by one.
Of course, this kind of thing doesn't exist for the first time. In the past, due to the industrial age, the life cycle of products was very long. My former employer, Siemens, could sell a model of frequency converter for thirty years. Thus, the one or two years of research and development and launch time didn't seem so long. The rest of the problems were communicated manually. Although there were mistakes, they all went smoothly without any issues.
However, the terrifying Wolf finally came.
These two wolves are called overcapacity and the Internet.
The global overcapacity has led to increasingly fierce competition among enterprises. The previous practice of selling a single product for thirty years is no longer feasible. If you can't run fast, there are always those who can.
The advent of the Internet era has shaken a fundamental aspect of the industrial age: information asymmetry. In the industrial age, as manufacturers were unable to understand the needs of each customer at a low cost, they often adopted a one-size-fits-all approach, that is, combining the performance of the demands into one product.
For instance, if you want a pair of shoes that fit your feet, the shoe factory has no way of knowing the size of your feet. So they can only measure the feet of many people and then divide the most concentrated sizes into 40, 41, 42, etc. But if your feet are either too fat or too thin, sorry, they won't serve you.
The Internet has changed this situation. People can connect with each other and with manufacturers at a low cost, thus magnifying each person's individual needs. People are increasingly fond of personalized things. However, the demand for personalized items is not that large, which requires industrial enterprises to be able to achieve rapid production in small batches.
These two wolves are forcing traditional industries to do one thing, one that the industrial society least likes to do, which is rapid, small-batch and customized production.
At this point, some preparatory work needs to be done first. That is, Industry 3.0 must first evolve into 3.X. The so-called Industry 3.X actually means thoroughly integrating ERP, MES and other information systems, so that all the original information silos in the factory can be connected. At this point, it has moved from complete automation and partial informatization to complete automation and complete informatization, which is the perfect stage of Industry 3.0.."
Alright, all the previous ones were practical issues. After the grand finale of 3.0, we are about to embark on a sci-fi and mind-bending journey. We are finally going to challenge Industry 4.0. During this process, version 3.0 and full automation and informatization will start doing one thing, which is getting married and having children.
This process is called Industry 4.0 in Germany, Industrial Internet in the United States, and the integration of informatization and Industrialization by our Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Mindless fans of the Internet of Things refer to it as the Internet of Everything.
Here I want to mention that when all things need to be interconnected and communicate, there is a problem: what language should be used? Speak English, German or Sichuanese?
What is a communication protocol? This is a key question. You might say, why not use the current Internet communication method, that is, the TC/PIP protocol? This is a technical issue that can't be explained in a few words (actually, I, a former half-knowledge automation engineer, don't really understand it either). In simple terms, the communication methods of the Internet are still too slow, not accurate enough and not secure enough. In industrial production, the requirements for speed, precision and safety are far higher than those for downloading a movie.
Therefore, for the interconnection of all things, a dedicated communication protocol is essential.
This is also the core issue hidden behind the trendy terms such as Germany's Industry 4.0, the United States' Industrial Internet, and China's integration of informatization and industrialization and Made in China 2025. Everyone is competing for this communication standard.
According to the conventions of cultivation novels, each realm should be divided into a smaller one to highlight the differences and the grandeur. I followed this approach and also divided Industry 4.0 into six realms.
The first day of Industry 4.0 is intelligent production.
As we mentioned before, the production equipment and the management information system are also connected respectively, and the equipment and the information system are also connected to each other. Do you think there's anything lacking? Yes, it's just that the raw materials for production and the production equipment haven't been connected yet.
At this point, we need something called RFID, or radio Frequency Identification technology. I guess you don't understand. To put it simply, this thing is just like a QR code that can carry some information. What makes it better than a QR code is that it can communicate wirelessly.
Let me still describe a scene. In the production workshop of Pepsi-Cola, three bottles came in succession on the production line. Each bottle came with a QR code, which recorded that this was a customized coke for Zhang SAN, Li Si and Wang Ermazi.
When the first bottle reaches the filling area, it informs the controller in the central control room via the wireless communication of the QR code, saying that Zhang SAN prefers something sweeter and should add more sugar. Then the controller tells the filling robot, "Add two jin of white sugar!" (Zhang Sanzhen is having bad luck...)" .
The second bottle came over and said Li Si had diabetes and didn't want sugar. The controller then told the robotic arm, "This guy doesn't want sugar!" "
The third bottle came over and said that Wang Ermazi wanted Fanta. The controller then told the mechanical hand that was filling cola, "Take a break," and then told the mechanical hand that was filling Fanta, "Go ahead!"
I see. With multiple varieties, small batches and customized production, every bottle of cola is customized for you from the moment you place an order online. All its features are in line with your preferences.
This is intelligent production.
The second day of Industry 4.0, intelligent products.
If the production process becomes intelligent, then industrial products as finished goods can also be intelligent. This is not hard to understand. The smart bracelets, smart bicycles, smart running shoes and other smart hardware you see all follow this idea. It is to take the product as a data collection terminal, constantly collecting users' data and uploading it to the cloud to facilitate users' management.
One of the core differences between Germany and the United States in terms of Industry 4.0 and industrial Internet is whether to start with smart factories or develop smart products first. Germany hopes for the former, while the United States hopes for the latter.
The third day of Industry 4.0 is the service-oriented production.
As mentioned earlier, smart products constantly collect users' data and status and upload them to manufacturers. This makes a new business model possible, charging for services. Many years ago when I was at Siemens, the company proposed charging for services. At that time, I thought it was a foolish decision made by the Germans on a whim. But now I understand that this was already being laid out for the service-oriented production of Industry 4.0 several years ago. What's your impression of Siemens? Refrigerator? In fact, Siemens has quietly acquired several well-known software companies over the years and has become the second largest software company in Europe after SAP.
What is this service? For instance, when Siemens produces a traction motor for a high-speed rail, in the past, it simply sold a motor. Now, during the operation of this motor, it continuously transmits data back to Siemens' factory. In this way, Siemens knows the current operating status of your motor and when it needs maintenance. What did high-speed rail manufacturers do in the past? Take a one-size-fits-all approach, set a time, and when the time comes, go for the repair regardless of whether it's necessary or not. It's no different from maintaining our cars. Now Siemens can tell you when it needs repair and when it needs maintenance. If you want to know, sorry, just pay.
For another example, once smart products are realized, every car will constantly collect data from its surroundings to determine its own driving route. The entire transportation system will be fully service-oriented, and no one will need to buy a car anymore.
At this stage, all manufacturers will transform into service providers.
The fourth stage of Industry 4.0 is the cloud factory.
When the integration of informatization and industrialization in factories deepens further, another new business model is about to emerge, and that is the cloud factory.
The equipment in factories is now also intelligent. They are constantly collecting their own data and uploading it to the industrial Internet. At this point, we can see which production lines in which factories are operating at full capacity and which ones are idle. Then these idle factories can sell their production capacity to produce for others in need.
The reason why the Internet industry has developed so rapidly is that entrepreneurs only need to focus on product and model innovation. They don't have to buy a server themselves; instead, they can directly rent cloud services. At present, entrepreneurs in the industrial sector are still constantly torn between seeking OEM production or building their own factories, which greatly restricts innovation in the industrial field. When the cloud factory is realized, I predict that there will be an innovation and entrepreneurship wave in China's industrial sector that is a hundred times larger than that of the Internet. At that time, everything in this society will be profoundly changed.
The fifth day of Industry 4.0: Cross-border strikes.
The Internet industry always talks about the "dimensional reduction strike" against traditional industries, such as Google, Xiaomi, Alibaba and LeEco. But I tell you, when Industry 4.0 enters its fifth stage, the cross-industry strikes by industrial enterprises will be a hundred times more intense than those by these Internet companies. This process will fundamentally shake the foundation of modern economics and management and reshape the entire business society.
For instance, a watch manufacturer, this watch is attached to your body every day, collecting various data about your body. These data may not be of much use to the watch manufacturer, but for an insurance company, they are like a treasure trove. At this point, the watch manufacturer can transform itself into the best insurance company.
When automation and informatization are deeply integrated, cross-border competition will become the norm, and all business models will be reshaped.
The grand finale of Industry 4.0: The Matrix.
The entire process of Industry 4.0 is a continuous integration of automation and informatization, as well as a process of redefining the world with software.
In the future, the multiverse will become a reality in the virtual world, and one real world will correspond to countless virtual worlds. Change the real world, and the virtual world will change. When the virtual world changes, the real world will also change. Everything is precisely controlled based on data. Most of human physical and mental labor will be replaced by machines and artificial intelligence, and all current economic principles will no longer be applicable.
Let's first look at three concepts:
Industry 1.0
Mechanization, marked by the steam engine, used steam power to drive machines to replace human labor. From then on, handicrafts separated from agriculture and officially evolved into industry.
Industry 2.0
Electrification, marked by the wide application of electricity, replaced steam power with electricity-driven machines. From then on, the production of components and the assembly of products were divided into labor, and industry entered the era of large-scale production.
Industry 3.0
Automation, marked by the application of PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) and PC, since then machines have not only taken over most of human physical labor but also some mental labor. Industrial production capacity has since surpassed human consumption capacity, and humanity has entered an era of overcapacity.
These three definitions are all very academic. Don't worry. This is the most academic part of my entire text. Later on, I decided to tell you this story in the way the old monk told stories.
To understand Industry 4.0, we need to first take a look at the current situation, which we call Industry 3.X. In the trendy description of cultivation novels, that is, the later part of 3.0, this state is called complete automation and partial informatization.
We still have to start with the business model of the factory.
As a factory, its sole purpose of existence is to produce products and then sell them. So in industrial enterprises, they are usually divided into two major departments: one is the production department and the other is the business department. The former is managed through MES (Manufacturing Execution System), while the latter is managed through ERP (Management Information System).
What's the difference between these two systems? ERP is more inclined towards the management of financial information, while MES is more focused on the control of the production process. Simply put, ERP mainly tells you how many bottles the customer needs to produce, when to place an order, and when to order the goods, while MES is mainly responsible for monitoring and managing how each step and process of producing these bottles is realized.
In many workshops of Chinese factories, interconnection has been basically achieved among various production equipment and between production equipment and controllers. In even more powerful companies, the entire factory has been connected through the Manufacturing Execution System (MES), and all business departments have been connected through ERP.
Have you found any problems?
In fact, ERP and MES are not connected!
So when ERP issues production plan instructions to MES, if there are any deviations from the plan during the production process (such as equipment failure, substandard raw materials, etc.), MES will make adjustments based on the actual situation of the workshop. But ERP has no idea! So it will continue to execute orders according to the original plan. Over time, there will be a very large deviation between the financial system and the actual situation of the factory.
As for why they haven't been connected, there are two reasons. First, the development companies of ERP and MES are usually two groups of people, those in finance and those in production, working together. Not only do they not understand each other's professional terms and talk like a duck, but they also look down on each other. In addition, the business department and the production department usually operate separately within the company, and their respective leaders have their own preferred suppliers (you know the reason).
Of course, the wisdom of the people is boundless. They will definitely not just wait for the deviation between the two systems to grow larger and larger. Since the systems are not performing well, let's do it manually. Therefore, factory workshops usually regularly compile a table of MES adjustment items and hand it over to the business department, which then manually adjusts them in the ERP system.
The problems of ERP and MES are just a microcosm of the system disconnection within the factory. In fact, there are numerous other systems in the factory, such as design, manufacturing, procurement, office work, etc. These systems are all isolated information islands, and none of them know what the other is doing or how far they have gone. If there is a special situation in one part, the other parts are unknown. Only when the problem occurs can we go back and modify all the systems one by one.
Of course, this kind of thing doesn't exist for the first time. In the past, due to the industrial age, the life cycle of products was very long. My former employer, Siemens, could sell a model of frequency converter for thirty years. Thus, the one or two years of research and development and launch time didn't seem so long. The rest of the problems were communicated manually. Although there were mistakes, they all went smoothly without any issues.
However, the terrifying Wolf finally came.
These two wolves are called overcapacity and the Internet.
The global overcapacity has led to increasingly fierce competition among enterprises. The previous practice of selling a single product for thirty years is no longer feasible. If you can't run fast, there are always those who can.
The advent of the Internet era has shaken a fundamental aspect of the industrial age: information asymmetry. In the industrial age, as manufacturers were unable to understand the needs of each customer at a low cost, they often adopted a one-size-fits-all approach, that is, combining the performance of the demands into one product.
For instance, if you want a pair of shoes that fit your feet, the shoe factory has no way of knowing the size of your feet. So they can only measure the feet of many people and then divide the most concentrated sizes into 40, 41, 42, etc. But if your feet are either too fat or too thin, sorry, they won't serve you.
The Internet has changed this situation. People can connect with each other and with manufacturers at a low cost, thus magnifying each person's individual needs. People are increasingly fond of personalized things. However, the demand for personalized items is not that large, which requires industrial enterprises to be able to achieve rapid production in small batches.
These two wolves are forcing traditional industries to do one thing, one that the industrial society least likes to do, which is rapid, small-batch and customized production.
At this point, some preparatory work needs to be done first. That is, Industry 3.0 must first evolve into 3.X. The so-called Industry 3.X actually means thoroughly integrating ERP, MES and other information systems, so that all the original information silos in the factory can be connected. At this point, it has moved from complete automation and partial informatization to complete automation and complete informatization, which is the perfect stage of Industry 3.0.."
Alright, all the previous ones were practical issues. After the grand finale of 3.0, we are about to embark on a sci-fi and mind-bending journey. We are finally going to challenge Industry 4.0. During this process, version 3.0 and full automation and informatization will start doing one thing, which is getting married and having children.
This process is called Industry 4.0 in Germany, Industrial Internet in the United States, and the integration of informatization and Industrialization by our Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Mindless fans of the Internet of Things refer to it as the Internet of Everything.
Here I want to mention that when all things need to be interconnected and communicate, there is a problem: what language should be used? Speak English, German or Sichuanese?
What is a communication protocol? This is a key question. You might say, why not use the current Internet communication method, that is, the TC/PIP protocol? This is a technical issue that can't be explained in a few words (actually, I, a former half-knowledge automation engineer, don't really understand it either). In simple terms, the communication methods of the Internet are still too slow, not accurate enough and not secure enough. In industrial production, the requirements for speed, precision and safety are far higher than those for downloading a movie.
Therefore, for the interconnection of all things, a dedicated communication protocol is essential.
This is also the core issue hidden behind the trendy terms such as Germany's Industry 4.0, the United States' Industrial Internet, and China's integration of informatization and industrialization and Made in China 2025. Everyone is competing for this communication standard.
According to the conventions of cultivation novels, each realm should be divided into a smaller one to highlight the differences and the grandeur. I followed this approach and also divided Industry 4.0 into six realms.
The first day of Industry 4.0 is intelligent production.
As we mentioned before, the production equipment and the management information system are also connected respectively, and the equipment and the information system are also connected to each other. Do you think there's anything lacking? Yes, it's just that the raw materials for production and the production equipment haven't been connected yet.
At this point, we need something called RFID, or radio Frequency Identification technology. I guess you don't understand. To put it simply, this thing is just like a QR code that can carry some information. What makes it better than a QR code is that it can communicate wirelessly.
Let me still describe a scene. In the production workshop of Pepsi-Cola, three bottles came in succession on the production line. Each bottle came with a QR code, which recorded that this was a customized coke for Zhang SAN, Li Si and Wang Ermazi.
When the first bottle reaches the filling area, it informs the controller in the central control room via the wireless communication of the QR code, saying that Zhang SAN prefers something sweeter and should add more sugar. Then the controller tells the filling robot, "Add two jin of white sugar!" (Zhang Sanzhen is having bad luck...)" .
The second bottle came over and said Li Si had diabetes and didn't want sugar. The controller then told the robotic arm, "This guy doesn't want sugar!" "
The third bottle came over and said that Wang Ermazi wanted Fanta. The controller then told the mechanical hand that was filling cola, "Take a break," and then told the mechanical hand that was filling Fanta, "Go ahead!"
I see. With multiple varieties, small batches and customized production, every bottle of cola is customized for you from the moment you place an order online. All its features are in line with your preferences.
This is intelligent production.
The second day of Industry 4.0, intelligent products.
If the production process becomes intelligent, then industrial products as finished goods can also be intelligent. This is not hard to understand. The smart bracelets, smart bicycles, smart running shoes and other smart hardware you see all follow this idea. It is to take the product as a data collection terminal, constantly collecting users' data and uploading it to the cloud to facilitate users' management.
One of the core differences between Germany and the United States in terms of Industry 4.0 and industrial Internet is whether to start with smart factories or develop smart products first. Germany hopes for the former, while the United States hopes for the latter.
The third day of Industry 4.0 is the service-oriented production.
As mentioned earlier, smart products constantly collect users' data and status and upload them to manufacturers. This makes a new business model possible, charging for services. Many years ago when I was at Siemens, the company proposed charging for services. At that time, I thought it was a foolish decision made by the Germans on a whim. But now I understand that this was already being laid out for the service-oriented production of Industry 4.0 several years ago. What's your impression of Siemens? Refrigerator? In fact, Siemens has quietly acquired several well-known software companies over the years and has become the second largest software company in Europe after SAP.
What is this service? For instance, when Siemens produces a traction motor for a high-speed rail, in the past, it simply sold a motor. Now, during the operation of this motor, it continuously transmits data back to Siemens' factory. In this way, Siemens knows the current operating status of your motor and when it needs maintenance. What did high-speed rail manufacturers do in the past? Take a one-size-fits-all approach, set a time, and when the time comes, go for the repair regardless of whether it's necessary or not. It's no different from maintaining our cars. Now Siemens can tell you when it needs repair and when it needs maintenance. If you want to know, sorry, just pay.
For another example, once smart products are realized, every car will constantly collect data from its surroundings to determine its own driving route. The entire transportation system will be fully service-oriented, and no one will need to buy a car anymore.
At this stage, all manufacturers will transform into service providers.
The fourth stage of Industry 4.0 is the cloud factory.
When the integration of informatization and industrialization in factories deepens further, another new business model is about to emerge, and that is the cloud factory.
The equipment in factories is now also intelligent. They are constantly collecting their own data and uploading it to the industrial Internet. At this point, we can see which production lines in which factories are operating at full capacity and which ones are idle. Then these idle factories can sell their production capacity to produce for others in need.
The reason why the Internet industry has developed so rapidly is that entrepreneurs only need to focus on product and model innovation. They don't have to buy a server themselves; instead, they can directly rent cloud services. At present, entrepreneurs in the industrial sector are still constantly torn between seeking OEM production or building their own factories, which greatly restricts innovation in the industrial field. When the cloud factory is realized, I predict that there will be an innovation and entrepreneurship wave in China's industrial sector that is a hundred times larger than that of the Internet. At that time, everything in this society will be profoundly changed.
The fifth day of Industry 4.0: Cross-border strikes.
The Internet industry always talks about the "dimensional reduction strike" against traditional industries, such as Google, Xiaomi, Alibaba and LeEco. But I tell you, when Industry 4.0 enters its fifth stage, the cross-industry strikes by industrial enterprises will be a hundred times more intense than those by these Internet companies. This process will fundamentally shake the foundation of modern economics and management and reshape the entire business society.
For instance, a watch manufacturer, this watch is attached to your body every day, collecting various data about your body. These data may not be of much use to the watch manufacturer, but for an insurance company, they are like a treasure trove. At this point, the watch manufacturer can transform itself into the best insurance company.
When automation and informatization are deeply integrated, cross-border competition will become the norm, and all business models will be reshaped.
The grand finale of Industry 4.0: The Matrix.
The entire process of Industry 4.0 is a continuous integration of automation and informatization, as well as a process of redefining the world with software.
In the future, the multiverse will become a reality in the virtual world, and one real world will correspond to countless virtual worlds. Change the real world, and the virtual world will change. When the virtual world changes, the real world will also change. Everything is precisely controlled based on data. Most of human physical and mental labor will be replaced by machines and artificial intelligence, and all current economic principles will no longer be applicable.
