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DIGITAL ECONOMY AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONCEPT OF INDUSTRY 4.0
Salomova S.S. – PhD student of
Tashkent State Technical University
Information communication technologies have accelerated factors for intelligent
manufacturing. If mechanization and electricity were the catalysts for the earlier
industrial revolutions, in the second phase, mass production through assemble line
were popular. Over the past decades, Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) has become prominent, creating conditions to 4th phase of industrial revolution
(Figure 1). Moreover, ICT has myriad involvement in enhancing automation and
process digitalization through networking hence resulting with increased productivity.
WFEO (2019) claims that technologies have become the foci of innovation, primarily
because traditional industrial technologies have reached their full potential, and are not
able to address present-day business challenges of compressing production time,
slashing cost of production, increasing production flexibility resulting in an overall
increase in business agility.
This paper will focus on how ICTs pave way to Industry 4.0 concept in production
processes at industrial enterprises. Internet and advanced technology as the core drivers
of ICT development are discussed consequently. Further, proceeding to Industry 4.0
concept overview and implementation of strategy throughout the world were provided.
Influence of internet on ICT
While talking about ICT, the important influence of internet cannot be omitted.
Internet based ICTs and information flow they support plays crucial role in overall
advancement of society. Information and Communication Technologies help to
remove the economical differences and the technological imbalances. Potter (2001;
71p) argues that the internet is easing and spreading the exchange of real-time
information, enabling improvements throughout the entire value chain, in almost every
company and industry. Moreover, Overby and Min (2001; 392p) emphasize that
information technology is transforming organizations and production processes and
creating new opportunities and challenges for international markets. As the result
«many markets and industries are fast becoming borderless and integrated».
Looking at internet from Industry 4.0 context, it could be said that they are
interconnected and dependable. WFEO (2019) states, that when integration of Internet
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with the ICT in manufacturing occurs, internet becomes a «core influencer and
enabler» of process. Therefore, manufacturing enterprises are deploying Internet
technologies across the entire value chain into production, R&D services and
marketing thereby streamlining the entire production process and operating model of
the enterprise. Additionally, as Holdiz (2015) states in his research, the internet's role
is essential in deleting market borders, making globalization present in the economy.
Developed market world is reflected by modern technological achievements in
communication and informational linking among manufacturers and customers.
Industry 4.0 - Review and implementation
Extensive involvement of ICTs in manufacturing process further led to Intelligent
Manufacturing Strategy, also known as Industry 4.0, which was initially developed and
proposed by Germans in 2011. It is also considered as the fourth stage of Industrial
Revolution. The core objectives of current strategy as sited in Zhong and Xun (2017)
include improvement of manufacturing technologies with the help of cyber-physical
systems, Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing. In Industry 4.0 era
manufacturing systems are able to monitor physical and make smart decisions with the
involvement of ICTs. The conclusions are made through real-time communication and
cooperation with humans or machines. Moreover authors (Zhong and Xun, 2017) state
that Industry 4.0 combines «embedded production system technologies» with
intelligent production processes to pave the way for a new technological age that will
fundamentally transform industry value chains, production value chains, and business
models.
Industry 4.0 strategy requires direct use of ICTs and IoT in all stages of
production. Attraction of contemporary ICTs enable all physical processes
and information flows to be available when and where they are needed across holistic
manufacturing at industrial enterprises. While the proliferation of these technologies
has resulted in enhancing affordability, most companies are facing challenges of «leap-
frogging»as WFEO (2019) states, through the stages of electrification, automation and
digitization to achieve the status of «smart factories». To make this transition smooth,
enterprises should pay attention on upgrading the existing equipment and enable
networking and connectivity.
According to Pereira et al. (2017) the application of Industry 4.0 brings diverse
technological challenges in manufacturing industries. Adopting new manufacturing
process involves many aspects such as scientific, technological and economical. Most
common challenging aspect considers new high-tech equipment installation which
usually requires huge investments. Small and Medium enterprises initially consider this
aspect. Moreover, workers' skills and qualifications concerning problem –solving,
analysis, and ability to deal with constant changes arise. However, benefits overstate
challenges. Employing dynamically programmable ICTs and production technologies
in combination, can result with individualized product customization, dynamic
allocation of resources/capacity and reduced production complexity. As Mohamed
(2018) claims, acquiring ICTs allow faster, cheaper, easier and more diverse
production processes and overall increase in company turnover/sales.
Manufacturing counties such as United States, Germany, Japan, France, India and
China have been developing technologies and using ICTs in different fields to attain
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Smart Manufacturing last few years. Though these countries stick to Industry 4.0
Strategy, the campaigns are named differently among them (Figure 1). Rubmann et al
(2015) states, Industry 4.0 will be espoused by an increasing number of German firms
during 5–10 years and will help raise the output in all manufacturing sectors of the
country by EUR 90–150 billion.
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