Transforming the future

Industry 4.0 transforming the future

From the desk of SPN’s European correspondent: Steven Gislam

Industry 4.0 - the fourth industrial revolution with the postmodern name - has ushered in an era of automation, robotics, smart technology, and machine learning as well as the ‘Industrial Internet of Things’ (IIoT). In doing so, it has changed the face of manufacturing forever. What’s more, this digital transformation has emerged at a time of increased public awareness about our relationship with the environment and the need to achieve a sustainable, circular economy.

Climate change is now almost impossible to ignore and consumers are less willing to spend their money with companies they consider to be a threat to the environment.

These changes present a unique set of challenges for the packaging industry. With every seismic change, however, there also comes opportunities, and companies with their finger on the pulse can reap the benefits. Leveraging Industry 4.0 tech can help iron out inefficiencies, save energy costs, reduce emissions, and bring added value to customers on a scale never seen before..

“ Through using QR codes, consumer data is then driven back, allowing companies to respond to their customers more attentively and rapidly than ever ”

Going active

The proliferation of technologies like QR codes and near-field communication has made smart packaging ever more relevant for brands and consumers alike. While the term refers to any tech that boosts the functions and benefits of packaging, it can be broken down into two broad categories:

Active packaging, designed to optimise the quality of a product by directly interacting with the contents, often by adding an active component. Common applications for this include extending a product’s shelf life. For example, some companies install an oxygen absorber in PET bottles to maintain the freshness of the drink inside, even after longer periods.

Connected packaging, which brings direct added value for consumers by encouraging interaction. For example, including a QR code on a milk carton enables smartphone users to trace the product back to the farm it came from. QR codes can also provide nutritional information or give customers access to other content like recipe ideas or competitions.

Smart packaging has opened the way to intelligent packaging, which further integrates added value by expanding communication options between products and consumers. Intelligent packaging will detect the quality of the product within and make that information available to devices.

But it’s not just the packaging that’s getting smarter, the factories that produce them are too. Companies are looking to manufacture increasingly wider varieties of products, while also responding to changes in consumer demand. This means flexibility is essential - which is where Industry 4.0 comes in. In recent years, smart automation has been rolled out across the sector. Whether collaborative, fixed or mobile, robotics technology accelerates operations and increases precision, thus cutting down on waste and boosting efficiency.

Smart automation tackles some of the major issues facing many packaging companies such as machine bottlenecks, lengthy changeovers, and unplanned downtime. By utilising connected data analysis it can help identify the causes of inefficiencies and mitigate them through solutions such as preventative maintenance and closed-loop manufacturing. Not only is smart automation beneficial for the company’s bottom line, but it also helps increase sustainability.

‘Digital Twinning’ driving flexibility

In recent years, like all industries, the packaging sector has come under mounting pressure to cut waste, increase sustainability, and reduce its impact on the environment. It’s a trend unlikely to change as a younger generation of eco-conscious digital natives begins entering the workplace, earning their own salaries, and becoming consumers in their own right. This is a generation less concerned about low prices and far more focused on sustainability, and one that is aware of the democratic power a purchase has. Companies that are unwilling or unable to adapt to this change in consumer demand will likely see this reflected in ever decreasing sales.

Through leveraging smart automation and artificial intelligence, packaging companies can make better use of more eco-friendly resources like bioplastics and recycled materials, for which demand is increasing but come with their own set of challenges for manufacturers.

Digital twinning is another technology intrinsically linked to Industry 4.0. It can allow a company to test a range of scenarios on their machines before even switching the power on. This tech starts at the design stage and brings with it the flexibility to trial new packaging materials, boost recyclability and cut waste in a virtual environment, without the need for trial and error in the real world.

Furthermore, smart automation utilises AI-based tools to ascertain emissions data. This not only covers direct Scope 1 emissions, but all those along the supply chain. By representing a digital twin in the IIoT, emissions modelling is simplified. Once a baseline has been calculated, the smart factory can utilise predictive maintenance and optimisation to bring its carbon footprint down. The same tools can be implemented to improve a factory’s energy usage, pinpointing where inefficiencies are occurring, and where savings can be made.

Data is key

The technological potential of Industry 4.0 offers a myriad of benefits for the packaging sector. The most important resource underlying these benefits, however, is data, and its correct integration is central to the smart factory. A smart factory utilises connected devices, machinery, and production systems to collect and share data continuously. This data can then be used to inform decisions and address any issues that may arise. With this constant flow of digital data between technologies, smart automation systems are connected to the physical and digital worlds and monitor the entire production process from supply chain to machinery to the workers on the factory floor right down to the finished product.

Through using QR codes, consumer data is then driven back, allowing companies to respond to their customers more attentively and rapidly than ever.

Fantastic 5.0

While many are still getting to grips with the fourth industrial revolution, some are already envisaging what its successor will look like. Industry 5.0 is set to forge these data-driven solutions even further. Where 4.0 was driven by the convergence of the cyber and the physical, enabled by the IIoT, creating an intelligent supply chain and smart mass-customised products, 5.0 brings humans back into the equation, with an increased focus on user experience, the hyper-customisation of interactive products and a highly responsive supply chain.

The packaging sector has much to gain from embracing these changes, and with the speed of change becoming exponentially faster, the pressure is on for companies of the 21st century to keep up the pace or risk losing out in the longer term.