Efficient Plant January 2020 - 22

Answers to questions
facing today's reliability
& maintenance
professionals

department | on the floor

Prepare for Q
The Fourth A
Industrial
Revolution

What exactly is the Fourth
Industrial Revolution?

It depends on who you ask and
if you are directing your question to Industry 4.0, Manufacturing
4.0, or a specific industry type that
may have their own vision/version of
what is expected next.
The three prior Industrial Revolutions started about 1760 and have been
identified as:
Dr. Klaus M. Blache
 First Industrial Revolution (started
Univ. of Tennessee Reliability
in England): Coal (and being able
& Maintainability Center
to mine it in large quantities), steam
(RMC)
engine/power, metal forging, and the
weaving loom. It took us from producing
products by hand to using machines. It
also moved us from an agricultural to an
industrial society.
 Second Industrial Revolution:
Around 1860, electricity, gas, and
oil were catalysts for another revolution. Steel,
combustion engines,
mass production/
assembly lines,
railroads, and
the telegraph
were just some
of the innovations. It was
a time of faster
communication
and movement of
people.
 Third Industrial
Revolution: In approximately 1960, electronics,
automation, and nuclear
power resulted in another
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is fast moving and will require a different
revolution. Electronics and IT
set of jobs/skills.

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together further expanded automation.
The Third Revolution is also called the
Digital Revolution because it introduced
IT applications and supercomputers.
 Fourth Industrial Revolution:
Today, it's about renewable energy (solar,
wind, and geothermal) and the Internet
of Things (IoT). Some see this Fourth
Revolution as an extension of the Third
Revolution.
"There are three reasons why today's
transformations represent not merely
a prolongation of the Third Industrial
Revolution but rather the arrival of a
distinct Fourth Revolution: velocity,
scope, and systems impact. The speed of
current breakthroughs has no historical
precedent. When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is
evolving at an exponential, rather than
a linear, pace. Moreover, it is disrupting
almost every industry in every country.
The breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire
systems of production, management,
and governance (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2015-12-12/fourth-industrial-revolution)." The real-time
connections (wireless sensors, predictive/
condition-based monitoring) to more
parts of operating a business will enable
the integration of machine/artificial
intelligence with the physical assets.
Industry 4.0 falls under the umbrella
of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Ideally, Industry 4.0 factories have their
machines set up with wireless connectivity and sensors, connected to an
intelligent system (digital twin) and
make decisions without people.
The beginning of this is "prescriptive
maintenance," in which the system

JANUARY 2020

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2015-12-12/fourth-industrial-revolution https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2015-12-12/fourth-industrial-revolution http://www.EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM

Efficient Plant January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Efficient Plant January 2020