Industry 4.0 opens a great opportunity to improve all aspects of an organization, but unfortunately, it can also become a motivation to start projects which will not be profitable enough, or even not profitable at all. Today, we know that the difference is:

    • The people: how users adapt, embrace change for better, learn, use and take the most out of the tools, is key for success.
    • The right technology platform: in the hundreds of Industry 4.0 projects developed by our partners or us, every time a problem and a solution was found, it was incorporated into the edinn platform, so that users would not suffer from these problems and would obtain benefits faster.
    • Technology that is easy to use: every time a user did not know how to perform something, we asked ourselves how we could improve the platform so that users would easily know how to proceed.
    • The right methodology: the edinn platform was designed so that users are guided to incorporate functionality step by step, in the phases of a proven methodology, and allowing them to test it, at the minimum cost, before incorporating it.

Therefore, the platform is designed so that users naturally follow these phases:

    1. Interoperability
      The first step in Industry 4.0 projects is to interconnect all the elements which are present in an organization, for example: machines, persons, systems (like ERP and MES) and sensors.
      Interoperability refers to connecting all items in the organization to be able to operate all of them remotely. This is also known as the Internet of Things (IoT), where billions of devices have unique addresses and can transmit data to the cloud for processing, and be managed and controlled via applications. Thanks to increasingly miniaturized computers, affordable sensors, ubiquitous networking, and the increasing availability of “smart” devices around the world, example IoT applications will range from smart manufacturing to fitness-trackers and from smart homes to smart farming.
    2. Digitalization
      The second step in Industry 4.0 projects is to digitize all the elements present in an organization to creat a virtual copy of it. This virtual copy of the organization will be useful to:
      - Navigate through all the elements and their associated data and information.
      - Interact with all the elements.
    3. Help to Improve
      The third step in Industry 4.0 projects is to incorporate different tools which help to improve the organization. These tools range from measuring KPIs (Key Point Indicator) and ratios, controlling quality through Statistical Process Control (SPC), Maintenance, and up to whatever the need of the organization.
    4. Advanced exploitation
      Once the previous phases are covered, at least partially, then more advanced applications and tools can be used or developed, like Big Data or Machine Learning.

In the experience based on hundreds of Industry 4.0 projects, following these phases is key for the success.

Profitability in edinn® M2 is mainly obtained because of these 2 reasons:

    • Improvement of production and consumption ratios: this is achieved because both operators and management personnel achieve the reduction of losses and the increase efficiency, in some processes almost unconsciously. Although it can not be guaranteed in all cases, it has been repeatedly reported a minimum of 5% to 10% improvement in total efficiency in the first year of using the system.
    • Elimination of the time used to manually gather production data, including calculations, reports, distribution, etc.

Edinn® M2 typically reaches break-even within one year. At edinn we can also provide you with tools by which you can make your personal calculations about edinn® M2's profitability.