Process automation needs a renaissance not a revolution
The hype around Industrie 4.0 has receded. For those unfamiliar: The idea of Industrie 4.0 is that there were three previous revolutions. The first industrial revolution was the one that we generally know from history which happened because manual production was mechanised, the second was a revolution due to electrification, the third brought the introduction of computers. The fourth industrial revolution is about… well, we are still not quite sure. Interconnectivity? Robotics? Cloud computing?
The industrial revolution is recognized in history. Industrie 2.0 and 3.0 happened without being labelled as such. But we can clearly differentiate between plants that are or are not electrified and those that do or do not use computers.
I would like to argue that Industrie 4.0 was a hype term designed to draw attention to process automation. Which makes sense because process automation is inherently difficult to communicate. While there are many benefits of using hype terms, there are also disadvantages: instead of focusing on the real issue in the process industry, it supports research investments that push technology. It obstructs innovation. We may afford the pursuit of research that goes nowhere when times are good, we cannot afford this when the industry has begun a downward spiral.
I believe that we should understand the diversity of processes, consider one process at a time and its problems, improve existing technology. Focus on problems. To me, it means that we need a renaissance – returning to the process and process control such as PID, feedforward, ratio control stemming from process understanding. Not a revolution. And build automation from there, tailored to the process needs.
Please consider this when riding the next wave which is … digitalization… or AI… or autonomy… or ….