Wondering what Industry 4.0 and 5.0 is all about? We’re here to explain.
Currently, we are living in the 4th industrial revolution – Industry 4.0. This is the age of information technology (IT), machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI). Industry 4.0 brought about the autonomous exchange of data among smart machines without the need for human intervention. Organisations benefit from the data retrieved and analysed by smart technology and the delivery of actionable insights for better decision-making.
But at the same time, we are already transitioning into Industry 5.0. What changes will this bring? Most importantly, what does your organisation need to do to stay ahead?
Industry 4.0 is here and now
Industry 4.0 is about connectivity to enhance efficiency and productivity. It has given us AI and ML, along with cloud-based computing and the Internet of Things (IoT). These technologies have created networks of smart sensors that communicate with each other rapidly and feed data back to us. It has allowed for the development of smart robots to take over menial tasks previously done by humans, freeing up human intelligence to focus on more advanced tasks.
What Industry 4.0 has in turn created is big data – large amounts of up-to-date data that is available at our fingertips, and growing every day due to continuing advances in ML and AI. This massive influx of data requires more advanced analytics capabilities than ever before. We touched on this topic in our article on Smart Farms and how this influx can create new challenges to overcome.
This is where Business Intelligence (BI) systems come in. Thanks to BI, we can receive all of this advanced data via automated, real-time reporting. BI is the driving technology that organises and analyses large amounts of data, delivering actionable insights that simplify the decision-making process for business leaders.
What this all means is that in Industry 4.0 we have the ability to harness the technology that drives data-driven decision-making for any organisation’s growth and advancement.
Organisations go through what we call a data maturity curve, where they move from working manually with Excel reports at the base level, all the way through to a Decision Intelligence solution. Each phase drastically improves upon the next, and it is critical to progress through the phases consecutively to build on the previous foundations.
Industry 5.0 balances tech with human input
What Industry 5.0 introduces is a greater collaboration between humans and machines.
Industry 4.0 is currently giving us the technology and machine power to make incredible advancements in meat processing and manufacturing. We can improve our workflow processes and maximise productivity and efficiency. ML and AI have freed up more time for humans to focus on the bigger picture by automating menial tasks.
Industry 5.0 is the next step forward, with greater human interaction with machines in order to apply human creativity and critical thinking to machine output. It’s 4.0 with a human touch, perfectly balancing modern tech with human input.
Some fear that machines will replace humans as workers, but that is the opposite of what Industry 5.0 is about. It is about a synergistic relationship that utilises the efficiency of machines but relies on humans to oversee and make critical decisions. Machines cannot replicate human judgment and empathy, nor the ability to shift from short-term to long-term thinking.
Machines plus human workers provide endless opportunities for businesses that take advantage of the advances. Robots will become “cobots” (“co” for collaboration), safely working alongside humans while intelligently learning about their environment to continually adapt. Manufacturing and Meat Production constantly become smarter processes.
Even Elon Musk admitted that excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake, and that “humans are underrated.” The speed and consistency of robots increase productivity, but the human skills of creativity and critical thinking are necessary components of a collaborative manufacturing relationship to maximise productivity.
So are BI systems ready to keep pace with Industry 5.0? BI itself is undergoing a concurrent evolution as Business Intelligence evolves into Decision Intelligence (DI).
How can your business adapt?
What exactly is DI? Much as the evolution from Industry 4.0 to 5.0 involves greater collaboration between humans and machines, the evolution of BI to DI combines human decision making with Business Intelligence and Machine Learning.
DI relies on AI and ML to learn and improve upon decision-making models to optimise decision-making. This enables some decisions to become automated while providing humans with precise insights to make higher quality, faster decisions for those that require human input. DI provides the technology necessary for humans to utilise the mountain of available data effectively to drive better decision-making and thus better business outcomes.
In short, DI is the link between human decision-makers and machine learning. It makes sense of all of the data provided from a BI system, giving your organisation actionable insights gathered from AI- and ML-generated data.
Decision Intelligence is critical to Industry 5.0
If this is all overwhelming, let us put your mind at ease. The beauty of DI is that you don’t have to understand how any of it works.
A DI system provides your organisation with all of the technological tools needed to help you achieve the best outcomes. DI assesses data along with the chain of cause and effects of decisions for you. You can then implement the right decisions at the right time to enhance productivity and efficiency while decreasing costs.
Basically, you don’t have to worry about the process. The end results are delivered to you so that you can make higher quality, faster decisions with less effort.
Summary: We make it easy for you
To sum up, Industry 4.0 looks to connect and centralise all the data sources within the manufacturing process for improved analytic decision-making, and Industry 5.0 creates a coexisting relationship between humans and machinery to further improve the capabilities of the organisation.
DI is the key to unlock these capabilities. The team at Toustone are experts in DI and ready to bring your organisation up to speed with Industry 4.0 and prepare you for Industry 5.0, no matter where you are at currently. We are passionate about leveraging DI to improve the processes of any size business no matter how large or small.
You don’t have to be a data scientist – that’s what we are here for. Contact our team today to see how a DI system can help your manufacturing business access data-driven insights to make better business decisions.
