{"id":10815,"date":"2022-03-29T03:27:30","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T02:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fortude1.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/doing-more-with-less-becoming-an-agile-manufacturer\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T05:56:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:56:37","slug":"doing-more-with-less-becoming-an-agile-manufacturer","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/fortude.co\/blog\/doing-more-with-less-becoming-an-agile-manufacturer\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing More With Less & Becoming an Agile Manufacturer"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this three-part blog series, John Broadbent, External Consultant at Fortude, explains how F&B manufacturers can do more with less while transforming business processes and services using digital technologies such as Industry 4.0.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the first two parts of our three-part blog series, we touched on moving from \u2018open\u2019 to \u2018closed\u2019 loop manufacturing<\/a> and how digital transformation (DTx) and Industry 4.0<\/a> can help the F&B sector \u2018do more with less\u2019. This final installment in the blog series outlines the staged approach that leads to the realisation of the Industry 4.0 vision.<\/p>\n

Setting the foundation for your Industry 4.0 journey<\/strong><\/h4>\n

One of the primary roadblocks to starting such a journey in F&B is that the Industry 3.0 \u2018precursor\u2019 steps must be in place as solid foundations. These can broadly be categorised into two areas:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Computerisation<\/p>\n

\u2022 Connectivity<\/p>\n

Computerisation<\/strong> means having manufacturing equipment that is controlled by modern systems such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), which contain the program that runs the machine.<\/p>\n

Modern equipment uses mainstream brands of PLCs, from global vendors (such as Siemens, Rockwell, Omron, Modicon etc) and are often capable of being connected to factory IT networks, via on-board Ethernet modules. These provide access to important internal information that can be viewed via real-time performance dashboards.<\/p>\n

The second foundational step, connectivity<\/strong> refers to the process of linking multiple equipments\u2019 PLCs to the IT infrastructure, as well as other elements that come under IT\u2019s remit to \u2018deliver stability while enabling innovation\u2019. These elements include switches, firewalls, WiFi, LANs, WANs and cyber-security.<\/p>\n

Without both these foundations in place, we might have a factory network but we would not be able to easily extract data, or we may have PLCs with network capability, but no IT infrastructure to take advantage of it!<\/p>\n

The Industry 4.0 lifecycle<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Once these foundations are in place, we are ready to commence the Industry 4.0 journey. After 10 years of global adoption, the transition to Industry 4.0 is now a well-defined and well-documented path. There are four macro steps, which can be viewed as:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Visibility<\/p>\n

\u2022 Transparency<\/p>\n

\u2022 Predictability<\/p>\n

\u2022 Adaptability<\/p>\n

Visibility<\/strong>, or being able to \u2018see\u2019 what\u2019s happening on a production line, can only happen when the previous precursor steps are in place. We must be able to read information from our equipment\u2019s control systems, which requires both computerisation and connectivity.<\/p>\n

Imagine the speedometer in your car indicating you are travelling at 60km\/h, this indicator, allows you to \u2018see\u2019 your speed.<\/p>\n

Now imagine you are in a 40km\/h school zone, suddenly your 60mk\/h has context, so transparency<\/strong> provides us with a reference to \u2018understand\u2019 what it is we are seeing. That same 60km\/h example would have different consequences, if we are on a German autobahn, with cars passing us at 220km\/h!<\/p>\n

Once we progress to the 3rd level of maturity, predictability<\/strong>, manufacturers can be confident about the accuracy of the information we are collecting and use the historical data to \u2018prepare\u2019 for what might eventuate. In the context of the car analogy, this would mean that we see the upcoming change in speed zone and adjust our speed before we get there.<\/p>\n

Finally, we now have enough confidence and history to automatically adapt<\/strong> to changing conditions, so we can \u2018optimise\u2019 our process. If we were to consider the car analogy again, we would compare it to modern cars which can now adjust its speed automatically to compensate for road speed changes or traffic conditions.<\/p>\n

The image below shows this progression:<\/p>\n

In summary:<\/h4>\n

\u2022 Visibility allows us to see<\/p>\n

\u2022 Transparency helps us understand<\/p>\n

\u2022 Predictability prepares us for upcoming events<\/p>\n

\u2022 Adaptability allows us to optimise processes before issues occur<\/p>\n

Let’s take the example of a food and beverage manufacturer who is running a filling or production line which has an inline checkweigher at the packaging end to ensure that every product leaving the line is the correct weight.<\/p>\n

Visibility (See) <\/b>\u2013 If we can connect our checkweigher to show us real-time pack weights, we can see what is happening in the process.<\/p>\n

Transparency (Understand) <\/b>\u2013 If we can display the target weight (setpoint) we now have context, so we might also be able to get useful information like over-and-under-weight reject counts.<\/p>\n

Predictability (Prepare) <\/b>\u2013 If we are charting pack weights on a Statistical Process Control (SPC) chart with a proper sampling regime, we can monitor weights to confirm whether our filling process is in control or not. If we \u2018see\u2019 that we are heading to a reject situation, we can alert an operator to make a change to the upstream filling process.<\/p>\n

Adaptability (Optimise)<\/b> \u2013 Rather than alerting an operator, the checkweigher monitoring system automatically adjusts the upstream process, without human intervention, thereby adapting to changing conditions.<\/p>\n

This simple example illustrates how the four stages of Industry 4.0 naturally evolve, whether with a single system or an entire factory.<\/p>\n

There are many manufacturers who are already reaping the rewards of investing in Industry 4.0 and are on their journey to maturity. If you have not started yet, we have a decade of empirical evidence that points to a healthy return on investment with the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies.<\/p>\n

What are you waiting for?<\/p>\n

Written by:<\/p>\n

Related pages:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 1 \u2013 Moving to open-loop from closed-loop manufacturing with digital tranformation<\/a><\/p>\n

Part 2 – The role of digital transformation and Industry 4.0 in F&B Manufacturing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10818,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":""},"industry":[11],"service":[64,65],"class_list":["post-10815","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"blog_render_type":"legacy_acf","sections":[{"section_title":"In this three-part blog series, John Broadbent, External Consultant at Fortude, explains how F&B manufacturers can do more with less while transforming business processes and services using digital technologies such as Industry 4.0.","section_content":"

In the first two parts of our three-part blog series, we touched on moving from \u2018open\u2019 to \u2018closed\u2019 loop manufacturing<\/a> and how digital transformation (DTx) and Industry 4.0<\/a> can help the F&B sector \u2018do more with less\u2019. This final installment in the blog series outlines the staged approach that leads to the realisation of the Industry 4.0 vision.<\/p>","section_image":"","table_rows":null,"pro-tip":""},{"section_title":"Setting the foundation for your Industry 4.0 journey","section_content":"One of the primary roadblocks to starting such a journey in F&B is that the Industry 3.0 \u2018precursor\u2019 steps must be in place as solid foundations. These can broadly be categorised into two areas:\n

\u2022 Computerisation<\/p>

\u2022 Connectivity<\/p>Computerisation<\/strong> means having manufacturing equipment that is controlled by modern systems such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), which contain the program that runs the machine.\n\nModern equipment uses mainstream brands of PLCs, from global vendors (such as Siemens, Rockwell, Omron, Modicon etc) and are often capable of being connected to factory IT networks, via on-board Ethernet modules. These provide access to important internal information that can be viewed via real-time performance dashboards.\n\n

The second foundational step, connectivity<\/strong> refers to the process of linking multiple equipments\u2019 PLCs to the IT infrastructure, as well as other elements that come under IT\u2019s remit to \u2018deliver stability while enabling innovation\u2019. These elements include switches, firewalls, WiFi, LANs, WANs and cyber-security.<\/p>

Without both these foundations in place, we might have a factory network but we would not be able to easily extract data, or we may have PLCs with network capability, but no IT infrastructure to take advantage of it!<\/p>","section_image":"","table_rows":null,"pro-tip":""},{"section_title":"The Industry 4.0 lifecycle","section_content":"

Once these foundations are in place, we are ready to commence the Industry 4.0 journey. After 10 years of global adoption, the transition to Industry 4.0 is now a well-defined and well-documented path. There are four macro steps, which can be viewed as:<\/p>

\u2022 Visibility<\/p>

\u2022 Transparency<\/p>

\u2022 Predictability<\/p>

\u2022 Adaptability<\/p>

Visibility<\/strong>, or being able to \u2018see\u2019 what\u2019s happening on a production line, can only happen when the previous precursor steps are in place. We must be able to read information from our equipment\u2019s control systems, which requires both computerisation and connectivity.<\/p>\nImagine the speedometer in your car indicating you are travelling at 60km\/h, this indicator, allows you to \u2018see\u2019 your speed.\n\nNow imagine you are in a 40km\/h school zone, suddenly your 60mk\/h has context, so transparency<\/strong> provides us with a reference to \u2018understand\u2019 what it is we are seeing. That same 60km\/h example would have different consequences, if we are on a German autobahn, with cars passing us at 220km\/h!\n\nOnce we progress to the 3rd level of maturity, predictability<\/strong>, manufacturers can be confident about the accuracy of the information we are collecting and use the historical data to \u2018prepare\u2019 for what might eventuate. In the context of the car analogy, this would mean that we see the upcoming change in speed zone and adjust our speed before we get there.\n\nFinally, we now have enough confidence and history to automatically adapt<\/strong> to changing conditions, so we can \u2018optimise\u2019 our process. If we were to consider the car analogy again, we would compare it to modern cars which can now adjust its speed automatically to compensate for road speed changes or traffic conditions.\n\nThe image below shows this progression:","section_image":"","table_rows":null,"pro-tip":""},{"section_title":"In summary:","section_content":"

\u2022 Visibility allows us to see<\/p>

\u2022 Transparency helps us understand<\/p>

\u2022 Predictability prepares us for upcoming events<\/p>

\u2022 Adaptability allows us to optimise processes before issues occur<\/p>

Let's take the example of a food and beverage manufacturer who is running a filling or production line which has an inline checkweigher at the packaging end to ensure that every product leaving the line is the correct weight.<\/p>

Visibility (See) <\/b>\u2013 If we can connect our checkweigher to show us real-time pack weights, we can see what is happening in the process.<\/p>

Transparency (Understand) <\/b>\u2013 If we can display the target weight (setpoint) we now have context, so we might also be able to get useful information like over-and-under-weight reject counts.<\/p>

Predictability (Prepare) <\/b>\u2013 If we are charting pack weights on a Statistical Process Control (SPC) chart with a proper sampling regime, we can monitor weights to confirm whether our filling process is in control or not. If we \u2018see\u2019 that we are heading to a reject situation, we can alert an operator to make a change to the upstream filling process.<\/p>

Adaptability (Optimise)<\/b> \u2013 Rather than alerting an operator, the checkweigher monitoring system automatically adjusts the upstream process, without human intervention, thereby adapting to changing conditions.<\/p>

This simple example illustrates how the four stages of Industry 4.0 naturally evolve, whether with a single system or an entire factory.<\/p>

There are many manufacturers who are already reaping the rewards of investing in Industry 4.0 and are on their journey to maturity. If you have not started yet, we have a decade of empirical evidence that points to a healthy return on investment with the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies.<\/p>

What are you waiting for?<\/p>

Written by:<\/p>

Related pages:<\/strong><\/p>

Part 1 \u2013 Moving to open-loop from closed-loop manufacturing with digital tranformation<\/a><\/p>

Part 2 - The role of digital transformation and Industry 4.0 in F&B Manufacturing<\/a><\/p>","section_image":"","table_rows":null,"pro-tip":""}],"bottom_sections":null},"yoast_head":"\nDoing More With Less & Becoming an Agile Manufacturer | Fortude<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how agile manufacturing can help your business thrive with fewer resources through automation and data-driven strategies. Learn more now!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fortude.co\/blog\/doing-more-with-less-becoming-an-agile-manufacturer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Doing More With Less & Becoming an Agile Manufacturer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover how agile manufacturing can help your business thrive with fewer resources through automation and data-driven strategies. 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