Industry 4.0: Positively Impacting Michigan Manufacturers

 

Digitization has found its way into our daily lives and has established a new era in manufacturing. It has created many opportunities for improved efficiency, higher revenues and increased innovation. As we navigate the digital world that is transforming our industry, manufacturers are learning how to design, model and validate their products.

 

When developing new products or when correcting problems with current products or processes, advanced manufacturing technology may be necessary. Successfully launching a new product or entering a new market requires real world insights into specific technological barriers and market opportunities.

 

To stay ahead and remain competitive in the market, companies must use technology to advance their business. Industry 4.0 can positively impact your business by:

 

Implementing new technology can be intimidating. It involves purchasing equipment, training staff to properly utilize it and executing to ensure success. The first step is to understand the voices of both your business and the customer to identify how you can benefit from these innovations. Proper organization using a needs-based assessment is essential and can result in an adoption that is both strategically sound and capable of generating savings to support further investments going forward.

 

The Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center’s (The Center) experts are highly experienced and knowledgeable on the various disciplines of Industry 4.0. With their help, you can discover how technology could aid your business growth and assist with implementation.

 

Using The Center’s free, two-hour Technology Opportunity Assessment, experts provide hands-on, personalized advice to identify technologies that will provide maximum improvements and return on investment. The assessment, which includes 40 quantitative and qualitative questions, generates a summary report outlining opportunities for business improvement and increased efficiency. The Center then creates a unique plan for technology implementation within your facility. Suggestions are based on identified opportunities for improvement and areas that could most benefit from technology adoption, complete with projected returns on investment.

 

To demonstrate some of the applications, The Center has implemented various Industry 4.0 technologies to create a "Smart Technology Zone." This technology-driven environment provides clients with the opportunity to not only observe and learn about technology, but to gain a truly hands-on experience with it as well. This simulated factory involves examples of sensors and IoT, data and analysis, assistive reality, cobotics, 3D design, simulation and additive manufacturing, all in a cyber-secure environment. View the Smart Technology Zone here. Learn more about how your company can succeed with Industry 4.0 here. Take advantage of The Center’s many Industry 4.0 classes to begin your technology discovery today.