Adoption of Industry 4.0 in South East Asia

The adoption of Industry 4.0 in South East Asia will completely alter the competitor landscape with the induction of Big Data, AI, robotics and smart factories that serve to close gaps, increase production efficiency and address customers’ rising demand in a shorter lead time. These new technologies will serve as a key point of integration between PLM and various shop floor applications and equipment that will enable the exchange of product-related information between designs, engineering and manufacturing verticals.

In a world of smart, connected products, the landscape is able to change drastically with a single innovation that calls for manufacturers to venture on new initiatives such as implementing predictive engineering analytics. The application consists of multi-discipline simulation and intelligent reporting that develops digital twins to predict the behaviour of products across all performance attributes, throughout the product lifecycle to deliver multi-fidelity digital twins.

According to Forbes, big data and analytics software is slated to grow from nearly US$125 billion in 2015 to more than US$187 billion in 2019. With the rising venture into predictive analytics, a digitalisation strategy is key to this new era of manufacturing. Siemens PLM Software is playing a critical role to the landscape by offering digital solutions that connect the entire value chain across the product and production lifecycles that are integral to the Industry 4.0 approach.

Organisations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) alike are adopting IoT and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions such as sensor-based data to create analytically rich data sets. According to IDC, Asia Pacific is becoming the frontrunner for IoT with 8.6 billion devices connected in APeJ – with manufacturing, smart grids and fleet management. What emerges next will be how IoT and IIoT can deliver the great value in solving current problems involving logistics, manufacturing, services, and supply chain management.

When it comes to shifting towards the digitalisation phase however, we still see few companies taking action. Understandably, they’re afraid of the unknown - but companies must understand that those who fail to digitalise their business could face disastrous consequences. We only need to look at what happened in previous Industrial Revolutions to see how fast the stragglers disappear from the market, and these disappearances will happen more quickly in Industry 4.0.

Managing transition to Industry 4.0

Siemens terms its way to Industrie 4.0 as the “Digital Enterprise”. With Digital Enterprise, Siemens offers solutions to address the specific requirements of the process industry. These solutions combine the planning and operations to create an integral plant management concept that covers the entire lifecycle of an industrial plant. The path to the Digital Enterprise comprises of four core elements that places great reliance on one another. These four core elements are our Software, our Industrial Communication networks, our Security in automation and our Business-specific industrial services. Each of these core elements consists of a unique portfolio that prepares our customers for Industrie 4.0.

For example, under our Software banner, we provide Digital Enterprise Software Suite – a comprehensive portfolio of software-based systems for discrete industries that has been built up for more than 15 years, This portfolio is based on Teamcenter as a collaborative platform (data backbone) that integrates PLM (Product Lifecycle Management), MES/MOM (Manufacturing Execution System / Manufacturing Operations Management) and TIA (Totally Integrated Automation).

With the manufacturing industry is undergoing a radical transformation, the next generation of smart products is set to have additional dimensions of connectedness and cognitive capability – smart innovation that enables a model-based enterprise in which smart product development is based on "systems thinking”. Maximising this innovation potential requires a system-level approach to design, as well as the ability to merge real and virtual design to optimise innovation—and this is where we come in.

Siemens PLM Software is used to virtually develop and test products before a single screw is set in place in reality. This is done via its software portfolio that grants many competitive advantages for companies. It allows things like rapid prototyping, system simulation, customer customisation, workforce collaboration and the ability to fully design, test and simulate not just the product but the entire production process and value chain prior to going anywhere near investing in physically building the solution.

And this means that products reach the market as much as 50 percent faster. Simulation – often referred to as a digital twin – makes this possible as the virtual image of the product into which different designs of its individual components can be inserted and tested along the entire development chain. This approach was used to simulate the landing of the Mars Curiosity Rover in 2012 that was tested 8,000 times utilising Siemens PLM software. Hi-tech automotive manufacturers such as Maserati built their latest Ghibli using the digital twin as well. No matter how big or small the organisation, there’s plenty of case studies of how manufacturers can apply PLM into their day-to-day activities.

We help companies transition to the next phase by turning their challenges into opportunities, and by assisting them in weaving the digital thread they need in product ideation all the way through product utilisation through our ‘Smart Innovation Portfolio’.

It’s no longer enough to digitise—today’s manufacturers must weave a digital thread through ideation, realisation and utilisation. With a fully optimised "Digital Enterprise," manufacturers are better equipped to initiate or respond to disruptive innovation, allowing them to thrive in the increasingly competitive business landscape. 

By: Angus Marshall, Country Manager and Managing Director, Siemens PLM Software, ASEAN and Australia