Manufacturing not affected by industry 4.0, survey shows

Senior decision makers do not recognise the role that industry 4.0 is playing within manufacturing, according to new research.

A survey of 301 senior business decision makers, commissioned by manufacturing solutions provider, Protolabs, highlights the perceptions that surrounds Industry 4.0 within the manufacturing industry.

The survey shows that over a quarter (28%) of respondents still associate manufacturing with traditional assembly lines and that 24% associate it with manual labour.

More so, only one in ten relate manufacturing with industry 4.0 and the possible benefits that software, robotics, advanced automation and connectivity can have on productivity.

Over a third (35%) of the senior decision makers believe that a greater focus on attracting STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) can help strengthen industry growth. For companies wanting to retain their high position in the global manufacturing market, almost half of the respondents (48%) stated that UK companies needed to invest more in R&D.

Stephen Dyson at Protolabs, said: “The UK manufacturing sector is powered by innovation, and driven by entrepreneurial individuals partnered with highly-skilled engineers. This sector has embraced the benefits of digital technologies and automation possibly more than any other, and now the growth of digitisation is starting to transform manufacturing. ‘Industry 4.0’ is a more than a concept – we are living in it right now. However, the results of this survey indicate that there is limited understanding of Industry 4.0 and the impact it has already made, and will continue to make, to the progress of manufacturing. Additionally, the survey statistics reflect that manufacturing is not viewed as a high-tech, digitally-savvy industry, which is what British businesses increasingly are. Instead, the inherent perception remains of manufacturing with manual, labour-intensive processes.”

Industry 4.0 was not seen to have had an effect on a large majority respondents’ business models. In fact, 15% stated that they have no automation in their manufacturing services and one in ten (9%) expect no or only a little (increase) in automation over the next five years.

“Automation and digital technologies can now rapidly manufacture large quantities of parts, in production-ready quality, previously not conceivable. For those businesses not directly utilising automation or automated process, rather than overlook this trend, the assertion is that automation (in some guise) can drive cost and time savings in all businesses in the long-run. In fact, it could be argued that companies that do not embrace digital, automated processes or technology could be placing their business at a disadvantage in today’s fast-paced climate.” Dyson continued.

Jim Davison, EEF Network director, said: "Throughout the year we perform intensive research to determine how we can best support manufacturing related businesses in the UK. Member research—such as this by Protolabs—helps us to create a full picture of what is affecting industry, while also identifying key factors that may hinder businesses making critical business decisions. Where findings or trends contrast with previous EEF research, this serves as a prompt to drive further investigation. Ultimately, all research is carried out to address the influences that can restrict UK business competitiveness. This year, with Brexit ahead, we must band together as an industry to ensure we inject buoyancy in the market and to maintain—and boost where possible—business productivity.”