When robots take over repetitive tasks, work loses its routine character and people lose some of their previous activities. Does this mean that digitalization and automation will soon lead to an unprecedented number of job losses, particularly in mid-level positions such as production planning and control?

People in a digital factory

The answer is no - in fact, quite the opposite! Human intelligence is regarded as the decisive basis for the success of a smart factory. According to the new production model, people are at the heart of an intelligent production system. As routine tasks are increasingly taken over by robots and machines, employees can devote themselves to more demanding tasks such as development work, solving problems and evaluating information. The task of technology is to support the cognitive and physical abilities of the employee. This creates so-called super jobs, whose task is to increase overall efficiency with the help of technology.

In a study conducted by Telekom in Germany, 23% of industrial companies reported that they already rely on robot-supported process automation and 25% are planning to enter this area. This is still an increase, but compared to China and the USA, Germany and Europe are still slow. "Germany must finally change its conservative attitude. Many are waiting for the right time to enter the market. That is wrong. Companies need to internalize that when it comes to digital products, waiting is much more expensive than sometimes making a bad investment.

It's not about entering the market at the right time, but about being in the market for a long time! In addition, the expenses for a digitalization project are often manageable compared to the ROI that companies can achieve through the investment," explains IoT expert Timm Huber from Comarch. This is confirmed by a study by Roland Berger: by 2035, a potential return on capital employed of 28% is expected in Western Europe as a result of investments in Industry 4.0, compared to 18% today.

The first step is the digital recording, storage and processing of data. Production processes can then be monitored and analyzed on this basis. This also makes it possible to calculate the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and ultimately make optimizations. "When it comes to digitalization, many companies still need to focus on the basics, such as getting rid of mountains of paper and removing bottlenecks in production. To do this, the production processes need to be digitally analyzed," adds Timm Huber.

Beneficial for people, profitable for companies

Companies benefit from the introduction of Industry 4.0 and the associated valuable data, particularly in the areas of waste minimization, machine availability, efficiency and energy consumption. Read the new Industry 4.0 white paper to find out how these areas can be optimized through the interaction between man and machine: Man vs. machine? The challenges and opportunities of Industry 4.0 in terms of optimizing production and human resources. The white paper also reports on the role of managers 4.0 and presents exciting data, facts and forecasts on the topic of Industry 4.0.

Whitepaper