The last three industrial revolutions over the past 400 years have transformed the world through technologies such as the steam engine, mass production assembly lines, the computer, and the internet – shaping how we live, play, work and how businesses are run. These technologies have proven to be game-changers for businesses, helping them create better products and services, increase production and reduce costs.

Industry 4.0, also known as the fourth industrial revolution, brings the next generation of new technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and artificial intelligence, to businesses, helping them become even more resilient, efficient, and sustainable.

Many of these technologies are powered by 5G, and other wireless and wired high-performance networks. Together, they can help businesses operate more efficiently, helping industries to bring products to consumers faster and at lower cost.

The transformational capabilities of Industry 4.0

According to a study done by Nokia’s Bell Labs Consulting, businesses that shifted to 5G technology saw safety, productivity, and efficiency improve elevenfold for companies in manufacturing, ninefold for logistics, and sixfold for agriculture.

Among the solutions that have the biggest impact on both enterprises and consumers is digital twin technology. A precursor to the Industrial Metaverse, digital twins are real-time digital representations of products or processes that take the place of actual physical prototypes, or physical modelling used in manufacturing and other industries. With digital twin technology, businesses no longer need to reconfigure machines to make test models or spend cycle after cycle iterating process improvements in the “real world” – saving time, cost, and risk. This helps businesses bring goods to market faster and implement operational improvements faster than before.

“By leveraging these kinds of innovative Industry 4.0 solutions, organisations can significantly reduce the downtime of machines, increase their production output, reduce time to market, relieve their workforce of mundane tasks, and generally boost the efficiency of their operations – all of which positively contribute to a company’s bottom line,” says Mr Stuart Hendry, Head of Government and Enterprise Sales for Asia-Pacific and Japan, Nokia.

“The impact of Industry 4.0 has been proven time and time again, and enterprises should start their digitalisation journey now, both to remain competitive in the market and to ensure business continuity in times of great uncertainty,” he adds.

Unlocking the new-era benefits of Industry 4.0 digitalisation

The game-changing technologies that define Industry 4.0 can only be implemented if they are powered by high-performance networks that can let them run at their full capabilities.

As the foundation of Industry 4.0 digitalisation, high-performance networks, including both wired and wireless setups, provide highly reliable, secure, and pervasive indoor and outdoor connectivity.

In this space, private wireless networks are game changers. When deployed by businesses for industrial and commercial use, both 4G and 5G private wireless networks offer companies the mobility and flexibility to integrate Industry 4.0 technologies and solutions.

For example, factories can implement mobile robots as part of their smart manufacturing setup. These autonomous robots, which can move goods and materials between different machine setups, make for flexible manufacturing lines that can help businesses reduce production time and costs.

Workplaces can also be made safer by using Industry 4.0 technologies powered by wireless networks. In Finland, nuclear waste disposal utility Posiva is building a sustainable facility that sits 400 metres underground and uses remotely operated robots to transport hazardous waste. With the help of technology, no human worker needs to work with the nuclear waste, helping the Posiva facility keep both its employees and the environment safe.

Singapore is ready to reap the benefits of Industry 4.0

As one of the early adopters of 5G technology, Singapore is already a leader in 5G innovation and boasts 95 per cent outdoor coverage as of this year. With such robust connectivity that serves as a foundation for new technologies and solutions, the country is ready to accelerate its journey to Industry 4.0 digitalisation.

Opportunities are aplenty for businesses to harness the capabilities of these next-generation technologies, and many pioneers in Industry 4.0 are already reaping the benefits of digitalisation.

Toyota Production Engineering Centre for example, deployed an industrial-grade private wireless network with Nokia at its Japan manufacturing design centre, employing solutions such as IoT applications, digitalisation, and visualisation.

Similarly, Nippon Steel, one of the world’s largest steel producers, deployed Industry 4.0 technology on a private wireless network and saw improved manufacturing efficiency and safety, as well as reduced maintenance downtime.

In Singapore, a strong outdoor 5G coverage means businesses in the supply chain and transport sectors are most likely to benefit from Industry 4.0 technology early on, improving their efficiency and resilience. Yet, for these companies as well as adjoining industries to unlock the full potential of Industry 4.0, indoor coverage is crucial.

“Enterprises with large and often obstruction-filled facilities such as manufacturing sites or logistics warehouses require robust and pervasive connectivity, which is best achieved with a customised private wireless network deployment,” says Mr Hendry.

“Private wireless networks provide the required levels of flexibility, reliability, bandwidth, speed and security to run these services. Similarly, enterprises that handle proprietary data might not want to run their services over a public network, and choose to deploy a private network instead,” he adds.

Enabled by robust and flexible high-performance networks, innovative digital technologies will propel industries into the next era of productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. And it is important that companies start adopting Industry 4.0 technologies as soon as possible.

Mr Hendry says: “We are seeing a move towards digital transformation across enterprises and industries. If organisations don’t seriously start looking to adopt Industry 4.0, they will fall behind very quickly and lose competitive advantage in the market with their peers profiting from improved productivity, efficiency and business agility."

“Companies should also not forget that this is a long-term strategy. By putting in place digital transformation capabilities today, they are future-proofing their businesses for further technological innovations such as 6G or the industrial metaverse.”

For more information on Nokia’s Industry 4.0 capabilities, click here.

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