The term Digital Transformation has attracted a lot of attention across the manufacturing industry and throughout the media recently. Defined by The Enterprisers Project, Digital Transformation is “the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, resulting in fundamental changes to how businesses operate and how they deliver value to customers.”
With digitalisation comes the rise of trends such as Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing and smart factories. Industry 4.0 refers to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the next step where manufacturing moves away from a physical world and towards a digital one.
The industry has been continually evolving since the first Industrial Revolution in the 1700s. Past industrial revolutions have shown what can be achieved when an industry is transformed.
This fourth industrial revolution is all about focusing on connectivity and communication.
A future where the production process is being completely restructured to be streamlined and agile.
In this fourth revolution, devices are connected, they can communicate, and they can make smart decisions. Data and analysis is key to making informed decisions and improving efficiencies.
Digital Transformation is a combination of traditional manufacturing processes enhanced with new advancing technologies, working together to drive manufacturing forward and address inefficiencies in the current sector.
Technology and software will have a huge role to play, integrating into all areas of the business transforming traditional processes to change how a business operates and deliver more value to customers.
Driven by technology, Industry 4.0 will transform production and reshape businesses, creating greater efficiency and better relationships between producers, suppliers and customers.
Global Data’s Disruptor Tech Database reveals that big data and analytics and additive manufacturing (3D printing) are amongst the technologies considered crucial in transforming industrial manufacturing.
Powered by data and automation, digital transformation is transforming every step of the manufacturing process, from supply chain and enterprise to the shop floor and end users.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology describe Industry 4.0 as creating “fully integrated, collaborative manufacturing systems that respond in real time to meet changing demands and conditions in the factory, in the supply network and in customer needs.”
Smart manufacturing is connecting factories digitally, with central networks linking with machines, not only to automate but to learn processes independently, adapt to change, generate orders, understand quality issues and even assign tasks to other machines.
Deloitte Insights describes the smart factory as a leap forward from more traditional automation to a fully connected flexible system.
Connecting data, people and systems is key to smart manufacturing, making information available when and where it is needed, across the entire manufacturing process.
Manufacturing Tomorrow agrees that “by using sensors, robotics and a central collection of data, smart factories enable all information about the manufacturing process to be available across entire manufacturing supply chains and product lifecycles.“
Smart manufacturing, mass customization, automation and lean manufacturing are disrupting the industry.
By adopting and implementing smart technologies, manufacturers are able to increase productivity, improve inefficiencies and create sustainability.
Smart manufacturing is all about increasing throughput, uptime and performance while reducing overhead costs, operating costs and capital costs.
At DriveWorks, we recognise that smart manufacturing is the future that is changing the way manufacturers work.
Aerospace Defence Security describe the many benefits of a fourth industrial revolution as boosting productivity, increasing efficiency, improving quality and reducing waste across the entire value chain.
With the introduction of smart manufacturing and smart factories comes the importance of good data. Information is an asset to all businesses and is now powering digital transformation by enabling real-time, learning-based decision-making across all business operations, including product development, manufacturing, supply chain, and customer experience.
Manufacturers need to take inspiration from past industrial revolutions, embrace the change or risk being left behind and overtaken by competitors.
Change is scalable, with a few small changes manufacturers can improve their data, make better connections between systems and teams and make their business more digital, resulting in better customer experience.
As Industry 4.0 continues to evolve, there are many programmes and initiatives to help manufacturers and engineers to explore the opportunities and benefits of digitalisation and embrace Industry 4.0.
This is the first blog in our new digital transformation series. Each week we will be sharing our insights about the importance of embracing digital transformation and automation. Keep reading to learn more!
The Universidad Tecnol坦gica de La Laguna Durango is a University located in Durango, Mexico and operates under a bilingual scheme offering classes in both English and Spanish.
UTLD courses range from Renewable Energies, Industrial Processes and International Logistics to Information and Communication Technologies.
UTLD has been a recognized SOLIDWORKS Certification Centre since 2015, with most students graduating as Certified SOLIDWORKS Associates (CSWA).
Jes炭s Torres, an engineering lecturer at the university came across the DriveWorksXpress Training and Certification programme via social media and quickly noticed the capabilities of the software and the programme.
After successfully completing the certification himself, the DriveWorks team reached out with further information about teaching the programme to his students.
As a lecturer to the next generation of engineers, Jes炭s saw the potential in the programme for his students to gain an extra skill and set them aside from other candidates in a competitive jobs market.
Jes炭s took advantage of the wide range of DriveWorksXpress teaching resources found inside the DriveWorksXpress Educator Pack, freely available to download from the DriveWorksXpress certification website. The Educator Pack has been created to make it easy for lecturers and other educational leads to administer the training.
The step by step guide allowed Jes炭s to teach his students efficiently at each stage of the certification, the short DriveWorksXpress videos provided further instruction on how to set up an effective project. The presentation material enabled Jes炭s to dedicate more time to teaching the class as opposed to time spent devising his own presentation material.
All 6 students became Certified DriveWorksXpress Associates following the session, demonstrating “their hard work and commitment to fully understanding the capabilities of the software”.
Jes炭s now plans to run regular DriveWorksXpress training sessions, equipping future students with valuable skills and helping them to find employment.
Take our free certification online now to improve your SOLIDWORKS skills, add an extra qualification to your r辿sum辿 and stand out from the crowd in a competitive jobs market.
As a double Queen’s Award winner for 2019, we were invited to attend a winners reception at Buckingham Palace.
We had the incredible pleasure to meet with HRH Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. He congratulated us on our double Queen’s Award and asked us about the great work we’re doing to achieve these two awards.
The Prince of Wales also asked us about Industry 4.0, digital transformation, internships and graduate schemes and talked enthusiastically about inspiring future generations.
It was an honour to meet Prince Charles and to be at Buckingham Palace surrounded by other great UK companies, and it made us even moreproud to win two Queen’s Awards.
Alongside The Prince of Wales, who was hosting the receptionon behalf of Her Majesty The Queen, The Duke of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent and Princess Beatrice were also in attendance.
More than 200 businesses, including 151 small and medium enterprises, were awarded Queen’s Awards for Enterprise back in April. Only 6 of those companies, including us, were double award winners.
In September we will receive a Grant of Appointment (an official certificate) and a commemorative crystal trophy for each award from the Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire, David Briggs, on behalf of Her Majesty.
As a winner, we are also able to fly The Queens Awards flag at our offices, the flagpole will be installed at the Barley Store very soon!
The Awards, now in its 53rd year, are the most prestigious awards for UK businesses, with companies from across the UK recognised for their contribution in four categories; international trade, innovation, sustainable development and promoting opportunity.
This year there were:
129 International Trade winners
61 Innovation winners
6 Sustainable Development winners
5 Promoting Opportunity winners
Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst said:
The Queens Awards for Enterprise acknowledge outstanding achievement in British business and I was delighted to see the winners recognised by The Prince of Wales.
The event shone a light on the incredible work of businesses across the country and I was impressed to see the wealth of talent and innovation represented at Buckingham Palace. It is a fitting honour for the sheer hard work and determination it takes to start and run a successful business. Our modern Industrial Strategy champions businesses across the country and a prestigious Queens Award will be the envy of many them.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy run the Queens Awards for Enterprise awards and announced the 2019 winners to honour Her Majesty The Queens 93rd birthday on April 21.
