Contribution of Industry 4.

0 for Operations Management

Course of Study: MBA Weekend - General

Subject Code : MBA 5112

Subject: Operations and Quality Management

Student Name: P. Vathsalyan

Registration No: 2020/MBA/WE/123

Acknowledgement
We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to those give opportunity to study the
Contribution of Industry 4.0 for Operations Management at ABC Thread Exports (Pvt) Ltd
(hereafter referred to as ABC Thread) and provide the support in collecting information.

First, we would like to thank Prof. Chandana Perera and Mr. Mohamed Naeem for providing
guidance to design and prepare assignment through the Course Outline and briefings in
Lectures.

Also, we would like to thank the management of ABC Thread for giving consent to do the study
in their organization and providing company information for the success of analysis and helping
throughout this study.

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Contents

Acknowledgement ...................................................................................................................... ii

Contents ..................................................................................................................................... iii

List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ v

1. Introduction to Industry 4.0 ................................................................................................ 1

1.1. Big Data and Analytics ................................................................................................ 1

1.2. Autonomous Robots .................................................................................................... 1

1.3. Simulation.................................................................................................................... 1

1.4. System Integration: Horizontal and Vertical ............................................................... 2

1.5. The Industrial Internet of Things ................................................................................. 2

1.6. Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) .................................................................................... 2

1.7. The Cloud .................................................................................................................... 2

1.8. Additive Manufacturing .............................................................................................. 2

1.9. Augmented Reality ...................................................................................................... 3

2. Contribution of Industry 4.0 ............................................................................................... 3

2.1. Planning ....................................................................................................................... 3

2.2. Inventory Management ................................................................................................ 4

2.3. Supply Chain Management ......................................................................................... 4

2.4. Quality Management ................................................................................................... 4

2.5. Customer Services ....................................................................................................... 4

3. Application of Industry 4.0 ................................................................................................. 5

3.1. Sample Colour Development....................................................................................... 5

3.2. Thread Weighing ......................................................................................................... 6

3.3. Dyeing ......................................................................................................................... 6

3.4. Final Cone Winding..................................................................................................... 7

3.5. Quality Assurance........................................................................................................ 9

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 3.6. Delivery / Transport................................................................................................... 10

3.7. Effluent Treatment and Water Recycling Plant ......................................................... 10

References ................................................................................................................................ 11

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Process Flow Diagram ................................................................................................ 5

Figure 2: Hand Held Spectrophotometer ................................................................................... 5
Figure 3: Höfelmeyer Automatic Weighing System .................................................................. 6
Figure 4: SedoMaster Modules .................................................................................................. 7
Figure 5: Winding Machine Monitoring Module ....................................................................... 8
Figure 6: IoT Enabled Lab Test Equipment Module ................................................................. 9
Figure 7: Computer Screen of ETP Server Module ................................................................. 10

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1. Introduction to Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is a combination of Cyber-Physical Systems(CPS) linked in the supply chain and
manufacturing processes with usage of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial developments
(Bartodziej, 2017). The term Industry 4.0 stands for the fourth industrial revolution which is
defines as a new level of organization and control over the entire value chain of the life cycle
of products, it is geared towards increasingly individualized customer requirements(Rüßmann
et al., 2015). The central objective of Industry 4.0 is fulfilling individual customer needs which
affects areas like order management, research and development, manufacturing commissioning,
delivery up to the utilization and recycling of products. The four main drivers of Industry 4.0
are Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Cloud based manufacturing
and smart manufacturing which helps in transforming the manufacturing process into fully
digitized and intelligent one. The nine pillars of Industry 4.0 will transform isolated and
optimized cells production into a fully integrated, automated, and optimized production flow.
As a result, conventional production connections among suppliers, producers, and customers,
as well as between human and machine, become more efficient and evolve.

1.1. Big Data and Analytics

The collection and comprehensive evaluation of data from many different sources production
equipment and systems as well as enterprise and customer-management systems will become
standard to support real-time decision making (Rüßmann et al., 2015). The data analysis of
previously recorded data is used to find out the threats occurred in different production
processes earlier in the industry and also forecast the new issues occurring as well as the various
solution to stop that from occurring again and again in industry (Bagheri et al., 2015).

1.2. Autonomous Robots

Every day, robots become more autonomous, flexible, and cooperative, and it is inevitable that
they will communicate with one another and operate securely alongside humans, learning from
them. Autonomous robots are capable of completing tasks precisely and intelligently within a
set time frame, while also focusing on safety, flexibility, versatility, and collaboration.

1.3. Simulation
Simulations will be used more extensively in plant operations to leverage real-time data to
mirror the physical world in a virtual model, which can include machines, products, and
humans, thereby driving down machine setup times and increasing quality(Rüßmann et al.,
2015). Simulations of manufacturing processes can be used to reduce not only downtime and

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changes, but also production problems during the startup phase. With the use of simulations,
the quality of decision-making can be improved in a simple and quick manner.

1.4. System Integration: Horizontal and Vertical

The two main mechanisms utilised in industrial organisation are integration and self-
optimization. The vertical and horizontal digital integration and automation of manufacturing
processes entails the automation of communication and cooperation, particularly along
standardised procedures. The full digital integration and automation of manufacturing processes
in the vertical and horizontal dimension implies as well an automation of communication and
cooperation especially along standardized processes (Erol et al., 2016).

1.5. The Industrial Internet of Things

The Internet of things describes physical objects that are embedded with sensors, processing
ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and
systems over the Internet or other communications networks. Software and data are essential
components for the intelligent planning and control of future machines and factories.

1.6. Cyber Physical Systems (CPS)

A cyber-physical system (CPS) or intelligent system is a computer system that uses computer-
based algorithms to control or monitor a mechanism. Physical and software components are
closely linked in cyber-physical systems, allowing them to operate on diverse spatial and
temporal scales, display multiple and distinct behavioural modalities, and interact in ways that
alter with circumstance.

1.7. The Cloud

A cloud-based IT platform acts as the technical backbone for connecting and communicating
various aspects of the Industry 4.0 Application Centre. With industry 4.0, organization needs
increased data sharing across the sites and companies i.e. achieving the reaction times in
milliseconds or even faster. "Digital production" is a concept that involves connecting many
devices to the same cloud in order to share information, and it can be used to a group of
machines on a shop floor as well as the entire plant.

1.8. Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing will be widely employed in Industry 4.0 to make small batches of
bespoke products with construction advantages, such as complicated, lightweight designs.
High-performance, decentralized additive manufacturing systems will reduce transport
distances and stock on hand. The production should be faster and cheaper with the use of

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additive manufacturing technologies(Rüßmann et al., 2015). Many firms are faced with the
problem of increasing product individualization and lowering time to market as client needs
change on a regular basis. These issues are exacerbated by increased digitization, IT
penetration, and product, manufacturing resource, and process networking. Decreasing product
life cycles, along with an increase in the demand for customised products, necessitates a further
shift toward organisational structures that are more complicated.

1.9. Augmented Reality

A number of services are supported by augmented-reality-based systems, including picking
parts in a warehouse and delivering repair instructions to mobile devices. Industry may employ
augmented reality to present workers with real-time information to help them make better
decisions and do their jobs more efficiently(Rüßmann et al., 2015).

2. Contribution of Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 contributes provide major contribution in the entire values chain in the upstream,
manufacturing process and the downstream process. Organizations adopt the Industry 4.0 based
on the level of integration they required and afford. Because adopting this new paradigm is bit
expensive which cannot be afford by many SME’s in the world. However the there are several
multinational and group of companies get the maximum contribution of Industry 4.0 in their
Planning, inventory management, supply chain management, quality management and
customer service processes. ERP systems like SAP is supporting the companies to integrate and
making connectivity with IoT devices to the data sources to enable big data processing and real-
time data capturing. SAP Industry 4.0 solutions and technology brings data-driven processes
and operational flexibility to the entire business.

2.1. Planning
The future supply chain planning will largely benefit from big data and advanced analytics as
well as from the automation of knowledge work. Two example levers with significant impact
are "predictive analytics in demand planning" and "closed-loop planning."

Predictive analytics in demand planning analyzes hundreds to thousands of internal as well as

external demand influencing variables (e.g., weather, trends from social networks, sensor data)
with Bayesian network and machine learning approaches to uncover and model the complex
relationships and derive an accurate and granular demand plan.

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2.2. Inventory Management
Industry 4.0 enables the purchase process and fulfillment process digitalized and automated.
For orders to suppliers, based on real time information and data, inventory systems are able to
automatically trigger the orders with the right quantity at the right time.

2.3. Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain 4.0 - the application of the Internet of Things, the use of advanced robotics, and
the application of advanced analytics of big data in supply chain management: place sensors in
everything, create networks everywhere, automate anything, and analyze everything to
significantly improve performance and customer satisfaction.

2.4. Quality Management

IoT enabled machines and testing equipment captures the data required for the analysis of the
Quality Parameters. This will reduce the human interventions and increase the accuracy and
depth of the data is being analyzed.

2.5. Customer Services

Platforms for e-commerce will not only enable manufacturers to reach a far larger audience
with a digital catalogue, but they will also allow them to collect data on client behaviour trends.
For example, the most popular items by demography, demand spikes, and whether or not this
coincides with the entire market can all help manufacturers become more customer-centric and
improve their overall customer experience. An e-commerce platform with AI capabilities can
use customer behaviour data to offer tailored product recommendations.

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3. Application of Industry 4.0
ABC Thread Exports (Pvt) Ltd have following main processes to convert the Greige
Threads(GT) in to the sewing thread.

Figure 1: Process Flow Diagram

Process Flow Diagram

Raw Materials
Finished Good
& MUM Drying
Storage
Storage

Dyeing Cone Winding Delivery

Extraction Packing

In addition to this, company have sample development process, utility management process and
effluent treatment and water recycling processes as supporting services. Company already
adopted Industry 4.0 in Sample Colour Development, Dyeing, Final Winding, delivery and
some supporting services under the “Factory of the Future” theme.

3.1. Sample Colour Development

Initially customers or brands supposed to send the physical fabrics to the Colour Lab to match
the colour for sewing thread. It involves sample collection & transportation through couriers or
messengers and lead significant delays.

Figure 2: Hand Held Spectrophotometer

Hand Held Spectrophotometer

Company provided Datacolor handheld spectrophotometers to major

customers and field sales team members who scan the fabric and generate the
electronic form of colour requirement and submitted through the ABC Colour
Express Web Based Application(WBA). This enable the Colour Lab team to
match the required thread colour immediately and deliver the samples quickly.
Since everything happening through Digital WBA platform, all stake holders
get the transparency about the whole process. This resulted the company to
reduce manning levels and manual entries.
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3.2. Thread Weighing
Thread weighing is a critical process to get the actual weight of the thread to be dyed to calculate
the dyes and chemicals. Earlier thread weight was measured and entered into the recipe system
manually. There were several errors which lead to batch failures.

Figure 3: Höfelmeyer Automatic Weighing System

Höfelmeyer Automatic Weighing System

Company connected Höfelmeyer Weighing Scales to

their recipe management system to capture the weight of
the thread to be dyed and the weight information sent to
the SAP material management module to consumption
capturing. Since this process done through barcodes and
automatic data capturing through transponders, no human
intervention or errors involved.

3.3. Dyeing
All the dye machines are operated by Sedomat Controllers which are connected to the
SedoMaster dye machine control software and then SAP. Entire dyeing cycle is monitored and
captured by the SedoMaster which support data analysis to find the machine efficiency,
breakdowns, stoppages, errors and alarms. Since this is a real-time data capturing process, with
big data capturing, stake holders have the facility to analyse the efficiency and utilization whole
dyeing machines through predefined dashboards and MS Excel Pivots or Power BI. In addition
to these, water and steam consumption also captured through digital flow meters which support
to analyse and compare the utility consumption ratio against kilos of thread dyed.

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Figure 4: SedoMaster Modules
SedoMaster Modules

3.4. Final Cone Winding

One of our sister company in China successfully rolled out a project aimed to deliver significant
improvement in the operational effectiveness of final winding department. Sensors being added
to the final winding spindles to get real-time data on the effectiveness of our winding equipment
that will be transmitted to new data lake (a single store for all our data). From the data lake we
will be able to carry out a wide range of data analytics to give us an accurate measure of asset
utilisation and efficiency levels.

The collection of data from the winding spindles to help better understand the root causes of
efficiency losses so that we can address them. This supports to develop optimised winding
conditions for each thread type, enabling to maximise winding speed at the same time as
minimising thread breakage and maximising quality; and proactively identify 'rogue' spindles
which frequently breakdown, take longer to run or result in increased thread breakages. This

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will allow more targeted maintenance to be applied. Through this digitisation programme, we
expect to deliver:

• Utilisation and efficiency increases of 7-8%

• Reduced manufacturing conversion costs
• Improved product quality
• Enhanced customer service through lower manufacturing lead times.

Currently machine output were captured through manual production cards written by the
machine operators. Company allocate significant human resources to enter the production card
data into Access Database and to do calculations and analysis. This new initiative will eliminate
all the manual data entry and increase the accuracy of the data is being stored.

Figure 5: Winding Machine Monitoring Module

Winding Machine Monitoring Module

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3.5. Quality Assurance
IoT in Testing Instruments is a collaborative project involving manufacturing, quality,
technology and project management teams. ABC Thread monitors the thread size, thread
strength, twist / TPM of the thread, lubrication and friction levels of the sewing thread. Even
though the testing were caried out through latest equipment, test results were captured through
manual data entry. There high possibility for missing or wrong data to be entered into the
system.

Figure 6: IoT Enabled Lab Test Equipment Module

IoT Enabled Lab Test Equipment

ABC Thread introduced IoT enabled testing equipment to export test result directly to the SAP
QM Module and Data Lake. This data then turn into predefined Power BI Dashboards and
MiniTab Quality Trends as part of statistical quality control.

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3.6. Delivery / Transport
There are customers who need the realtime update about the location of the delivery vehicle
carrying their orders. This was an outstanding issue for many years without any solution.
Company made an agreement with delivery partner to install GPS trackers which integrated
with the E-Com module to give realtime visibility to the customers. Since the cost is significant
this feature is given only the customers who were pushing for this.

3.7. Effluent Treatment and Water Recycling Plant

Company have fully automated Effluent Treatment and Water Recycling Plant which recycled
around 93% of the effluent back to the process. This is the first plant in the country recycled up
to this level of water. This plant have several sensors to monitor the flow rate, water properties
such as pH, TDS, COD, BOD & temperature which are connected to a central computer cloud.
All the data collected from the sensors and measuring devices are stored under data lake to
make visual representation of the quality and performance of the waste water treatment and
recycling process. Some of the key parameters are recorded into Intelex Software to enable
some monitoring bodies obtained the data for certification purposes.

Figure 7: Computer Screen of ETP Server Module

Computer Screen of ETP Server

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References
Bagheri, B., Yang, S., Kao, H.-A., & Lee, J. (2015). Cyber-physical Systems Architecture for
Self-Aware Machines in Industry 4.0 Environment. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 48(3), 1622–1627.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2015.06.318

Bartodziej, C. J. (2017). The Concept Industry 4.0. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-16502-4

Dalenogare, L. S., Benitez, G. B., Ayala, N. F., & Frank, A. G. (2018). The expected
contribution of Industry 4.0 technologies for industrial performance. International Journal of
Production Economics, 204, 383–394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2018.08.019

Erol, S., Jäger, A., Hold, P., Ott, K., & Sihn, W. (2016). Tangible Industry 4.0: A Scenario-
Based Approach to Learning for the Future of Production. Procedia CIRP, 54, 13–18.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2016.03.162

McKinsey. (2016). Supply Chain 4.0 – the next-generation digital supply chain. McKinsey &
Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/supply-
chain-40--the-next-generation-digital-supply-chain

Rüßmann, M., Lorenz, M., Gerbert, P., & Waldner, M. (2015). The Future of Productivity and
Growth in manufacturing Industries.

Trstenjak, M., & Cosic, P. (2017). Process Planning in Industry 4.0 Environment. Procedia

Manufacturing, 11, 1744–1750. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2017.07.303

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