2024 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:13
One word, two numbers: Industry 4.0. It's more than a catchphrase. This is accompanied by a transformation process that will revolutionize automotive engineering. Daimler showed what that means in its technology factory in Sindelfingen.
By Frank Mertens
It is currently one of the buzzwords par excellence: Industry 4.0. But it's much more than just a new fad. This is accompanied by a transformation process in industry that has not existed in this form since the industrial revolution in the mid-19th century.
Accordingly, Markus Schäfer, Head of Production at Daimler, spoke on Friday at a "TecDay Industry 4.0" that the industry was "facing a revolutionary upheaval". In the meantime, all major trends in the automotive industry are being "driven by digitization or are driving them forward".
Physical relief from robots
The car manufacturer presented what that means in its technology factory in Sindelfingen. Here you could see what digitization means for a car manufacturer - and ultimately for the employees. They should continue to have their place in this digital working world - one that also places higher professional demands on them, but should also relieve them physically. Wherever the work becomes too difficult, the robot should take over the job, or at least perform it in conjunction with humans. The robot as a colleague of the worker, as the employees in production at Daimler are called.
"When people, machines and industrial processes are intelligently networked, individual products of higher quality can be created faster," Schäfer is convinced. His goal is then clearly outlined: he would like to move towards an intelligent factory ("Smart Factory"). According to the manager, it is not only characterized by its high versatility, but also by its resource efficiency and ergonomics.
Digitization with the first stroke of a pen
This digitization already begins where the designers present their sketches. As beautiful as the ideas of the creative minds from Mercedes design may be, a new car is checked in the virtual world before production is approved by the board. A digital prototype is used to check whether it is in line with the production conditions in the company's 25 plants around the world: does it fit on the production line? Do all components fit? How can these components be installed most efficiently? What about ergonomics?
Question after question - which, however, can be answered faster than before in the virtual world. How quickly that Mercedes had last shown in September at the International Motor Show with its IAA show car. Thanks to digitization, it took less than ten months from the idea to implementation. “It used to take us up to a year and a half for a show car,” said Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche in the previous month.
Testing with Avatar
This digital world runs through the entire value chain of automotive engineering: It extends from the first stroke of the pen to after sales. The employees on the assembly line also benefit from this. For example, testing with an avatar is used to determine how components in a car can be best and comfortably installed in the car.
The movements of the employee are recorded by sensors attached to the body and projected onto a digital vehicle model. For example, before production begins, it is possible to see how the employee can assemble the relevant component on the assembly line. Can he do it alone? Is overhead work avoided? Does he need help from a colleague? A robot? Or is it a job that only the machine can do? This test in the virtual world takes place two years before production starts.
Changed requirements
But what does this brave new digital world mean for the worker on the assembly line? Does he have to fear for his job? Will he even meet the new demands on the job? Schäfer denied that increasing digitization would lead to a reduction in jobs. But on the contrary. The employee has an even more important role in the production process - he should become the boss of the robot. Today, says Schäfer, an assembly step is usually done by robots or humans. But this division of labor will no longer exist in Industry 4.0. Both sides should cooperate in the future - and ideally under the direction of people.
Sounds good, but with all the advantages of digitalization, there are also reservations among Daimler workers. In the discussions that Works Council Chairman Michael Brecht is having with his colleagues on the subject of Industry 4.0, there are also concerns. “Many ask: Am I going to lose my job now? Is the work getting less worth it? Do I still need the same qualification? " Many of the colleagues are simply not yet clear in which direction Industry 4.0 is going, said Brecht. "But I tell my colleagues that they should see what we have and what is to come as an opportunity."
With a view to possible negative employment effects, the Daimler works council chairman stated that the company was already in the middle of the digital revolution. "But we already have more people employed in our factories than we did years ago, including in Germany." Any rationalization effects that can also be traced back to the new technologies have been offset by growth, among other things. Accordingly, one must also focus on further growth for the coming steps of Industry 4.0 in order to be able to compensate for rationalization effects. Without question, according to Brecht, one must also think about appropriate company agreements to secure jobs.
Job profiles change
Industry 4.0 will also change job profiles. Where there used to be a car mechanic, a mechatronics technician will do the job in the future. “New types of industrial work will emerge,” said Brecht. Nevertheless, the focus must continue to be on people, not machines. “We have to adapt technology to people.” As the trade unionist said, the new techniques can help to minimize or even eliminate burdensome and monotonous work.
For Brecht, it is clear that digitalization will not only create new business areas, but also new demands on employees. Here, said the head of the Daimler works council, one must focus accordingly on training and further education. “We need more development and qualification elements than today. We have to focus more on the question of initial and further training. In the meantime, in many things, people are already moving so fast “that we cannot keep up with our educational work”. The entire organization must be taken along with the dynamics of Industry 4.0, warned the employee representative.
Customers will also benefit from this, as they can still express requests for changes during the production of their vehicle. However, the customer does not need to hope that cars will become cheaper due to increased production efficiency. Already today you can only offer your cars at a stable and attractive price because you are relying on the new production conditions of Industry 4.0, said Schäfer.
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