Callaghan Innovation, New Zealand’s innovation agency, has launched the Aronui Industry 4.0 Navigator to help business leaders and senior managers get their heads around what Industry 4.0 means. The guided, interactive experience creates a unique environment to think strategically about how Industry 4.0 can address current and future disruptors to their business.
Callaghan Innovation Industry 4.0 Product Owner Sean Doherty says Kiwi businesses faced with global supply chain disruptions, increasing costs and a tight labour market are on the hunt for productivity gains now more than ever.
“For the manufacturing sector, smart technologies fueled by data can be a gamechanger, but the potential of what is dubbed ‘Industry 4.0’ goes far beyond the factory floor.”
“Just as businesses 150 years ago had to adapt to the arrival of electricity or become obsolete, businesses today are competing in industries where smart machines are digitally connected with one another, creating and sharing information in real time to create competitive advantage.”
Rinnai New Zealand’s Manufacturing Manager, Dean Cooper, says it can be difficult to think differently about the way you’re doing things in your business.
“The Aronui Industry 4.0 Navigator was a really positive experience for our senior leadership team. It helped them understand what Industry 4.0 is all about and gave them confidence that this was the right path for us.”
The Aronui Navigator experience doesn’t just explain the principles of Industry 4.0, it demonstrates the case for change and helps businesses create an actionable strategy to move forward.
“It’s a great environment to immerse yourself in and we got good engagement from our team at the workshops,” says Cooper. "It puts everyone into the right headspace and guides you towards taking action.”
Rinnai New Zealand recently took its first steps in its Industry 4.0 journey, piloting the use of real time data on its production lines, providing teams on the factory floor with immediate insights into their own performance and the ability to act on those insights.
“Companies traditionally look backwards at performance using historical data”, says Cooper. “When you look at performance in real time it brings it to life and adds so much more value.”
“One of the big takeaways we got from the Aronui Industry 4.0 Navigator was that we had a very narrow view of what Industry 4.0 was. The experience showed us that Industry 4.0 presents so many other opportunities beyond the manufacturing processes and that we’re just on the first leg of that journey.”
The Aronui Industry 4.0 Navigator is free for Callaghan Innovation customers.
