“The pillars and main technological developments that support the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, precede the technological developments inherited from the Third Industrial Revolution, but when applied systematically in the context of an information and knowledge society, they can significantly transform the industry, although its scope is not limited only to the industrial or business context, since it has an impact on many other social aspects and aspects of daily life, constituting a human revolution based on the digitization of information”
Gabriel E. Levy B (2020)
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In a previous article, we talked about the importance of industry 4.0 in companies. To develop the fundamental characteristics that identify this digital transformation that has been making its way in recent years, it was necessary to know a little about its history, whose origin is none other than that of the Industrial Revolution. Although this statement seems temporarily out of context, the truth is that that revolution was only the beginning of something much bigger that was brewing for almost three centuries.
And, today, we are already feeling the impact of industry 4.0 in our lives when we spend more time connected virtually than interacting physically. But as expected, this same virtuality was transferred to the workplace and industry, showing that investing in ultramodern technologies was beginning to generate advantages in the way processes were carried out.
Starting from the basis that the insertion of Industry 4.0 in the world is changing the old industrial paradigm of previous centuries, including the 20th century, it is not surprising that such technological deployment has repercussions on different aspects of our daily lives, constituting a significant process of adaptation and learning.
Now, how does industry 4.0 impact the working world?
We could start by saying that industry 4.0 allows faster responses to customer needs and improves the flexibility, speed, productivity, and quality of production processes. This emerging technology lays the foundation for the adoption of new business models, production processes, and other innovations. We will come back to this point.
Regarding the global impact, the study "Forces of Change: Industry 4.0" by the Deloitte firm is particularly relevant, which explains that this new industrial revolution will impact the Industry at three levels: Ecosystem, organization, and individual.
Impact at the Ecosystem level.
In addition to companies and products, technological advances and new technologies affect all players in the ecosystem, including suppliers, customers, regulatory considerations, and investors, among others.
These technologies interact between each point of a network and generate data that is stored to be subjected to analysis and draw the conclusions to make the improvements you need.
Impact at the Individual level.
At this point, everything will depend on each individual's assessment of the reality of the new technology and how it affects them to a greater or lesser extent in their social habitat. According to “Forces of Change: Industry 4.0”, the impact of industry 4.0 “for employees may mean a change in the work they do, while for customers it will mean greater customization of products and services.”
Impact at the Organizational level
Here we are going to stop a little more. We have said that industry 4.0, by offering a more specialized and secure service, generates faster responses to customer needs and improves the performance of production processes.
We can deduce from this that we will have more satisfied customers if we implement a disruptive technology that not only guarantees the proper functioning of the processes but also takes care of knowing in-depth the customer who chooses our products or services.
That is why, concerning the various technologies that industry 4.0 encompasses, analyzing and learning from data in real-time can motivate a company to be more receptive and predictive, that is, to anticipate any problem that may arise and be in a position to deal with it with effective alternatives.
In addition, with the adoption of some of these technologies, the organization can reduce occupational risks and improve its productivity.
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In conclusion, this is just the beginning of the impact of Industry 4.0 that is coming on a large scale in the next few years. For now, the experience of an improvement in the production processes, the working conditions of workers, and the final results, in addition to the digitization of information and communication in virtual platforms of simultaneous interactions, are just the tip of the iceberg.
In the depths of an ocean of expectations, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and augmented reality are still waiting to be fully developed. But that will be a topic for another article...