The Made in Group held another #MFGQuestionTime session last week where members joined Director of Lean Transition Solutions Limited, Brett Griffiths and the Managing Director of Bauromat UK Limited, John D’Angelillo for a discussion on the current climate and challenges faced by manufacturing when it comes to Industry 4.0 and Automation.
This session, which is available to view on the ‘Virtual Meetings’ section of your Made In profile saw the two Midlands members focus their discussion on the challenges members face, how they can overcome these issues and what their best practice tips are.
The discussion began with a comparison to our European allies, and how the UK compares to them in terms of the rollout for automation and Industry 4.0. In terms of the rollout of Robotics, John highlighted how far the UK is behind both the other G7 countries and the rest of Europe, highlighting Italy and Germany as countries which are succeeding much more than the UK.
A key focus of this panel was built on the point of the UK lagging behind its European counterparts, as both members were then asked what strategies members should implement so that by the end of this decade, the UK has a world-class competitive edge.
This discussion covered a wide range of topics, from government policy and training to the role of having management that truly understands what their company needs in terms of automation and industry 4.0. Both members also shared with the attendees the common challenges that they may face when integrating these new technologies, how they can be avoided and the importance of really understanding what you need before committing to a new system.
Speaking during the conversation, James Worthington of MyWorkWear agrees with John’s view on how many factories he visited are not using the automation that they already have, saying, “The number of factories (especially small) that I visit, I often see the robots sitting there doing nothing!”
Likewise, Mike Hodge, the CEO of CIM Logic agreed with the statement put forward by the panellists that Industry 4.0 is not the be-all-and-end-all solution many see it as.
Speaking, he said, “Industry 4.0 is not a silver bullet, it requires a whole change of management piece. The customer needs to want to get better. The analogy is like fitness, just because you bought a running machine - does not mean you will get fit.”
You can watch the full on-demand #MFGQuestionTime session by logging into your Made portal, selecting ‘Virtual Meetings’ and then selecting ‘#MFGQuestionTime.’