Shopfloor-Level Material Flow Analysis to Determine the Readiness of a Company for Industry 4.0

Abstract

The fourth industrial revolution has led companies to place increasing emphasis on the digitization of their processes. By digitizing production processes, they can create cyber-physical systems in which connected elements are able to make decisions about their operation in real-time based on information collected and processed by themselves and by other networked elements. However, to do this, the elements involved in the processes under study need to be equipped with different sensors and actuators, and communication and data transfer between them must be ensured so that the information processed would be available. These challenges are addressed by technologies emerging with Industry 4.0, such as the Internet of Things or cloud computing. Within the Big Data phenomenon, it is important to define what kind of data must be collected about and how it can be properly stored and used in operations to maximize productivity efficiency. Today, we are already familiar with artificial intelligence applications that can either optimize individual material handling tasks or predict maintenance tasks resulting from operations. To create a cyber-physical system that fully supports the production processes of a company, it is necessary to collect the right information about each process. In order to do this, primarily, companies need to use different identification and tracking solutions. In the life of manufacturing companies, tasks related to realizing material flows are seen as necessary but not value-creating processes, which can largely be described by dynamic information. For this reason, in this study, we will look at material flow processes at the shopfloor level in terms of how ready the companies are for the digitization at this level. Our aim is to show the segments worth investigating in the value creating processes, such as the principle of “transparency”, “traceability” and “controllability”. In addition, the study presents an approach to discover the currently existing Industry 4.0 readiness and Industry 4.0 maturity.