Initiatives digitales shop floor stratégiques : blueprint pour résilience manufacturière

Avant la pandémie COVID-19, les fabricants planifiaient déjà leurs prochains moves. Aujourd'hui, la survie hinge sur la préparation pour ce que McKinsey termes le « next normal », un concept highlighted dans ses industry future reports.

Des idées age-old comme la fabrication « lights-out » — lignes de production fully automated — ont resurfaced avec nouvelle urgence. Au minimum, les entreprises doivent build a digital backbone pour enhance resilience et agility.

L'analyse McKinsey de la crise financière 2008 montre que le top 20 % des firms qui emerged stronger achieved higher revenue growth et cut operating costs more than competitors. Ces modest advantages snowballed en lasting competitive edges.

Depuis 2008, les fabricants ont maintenant une wealth of digital tools qui peuvent boost efficiency et market position. Pourtant même large multinationals peuvent struggle to use them effectively. Success depends on a shared definition of value, overcoming cultural et skill gaps, et aligning with agile external digital ecosystems, note Accenture.

Définir le scope en détail

Murali Raj, chief information officer du building-materials maker HIL Ltd., insiste que thorough pre-planning de project scope est essential. Quand HIL set out to digitise quatre de ses roughly two dozen plants, leadership spent months on detailed planning.

« Implémenter une initiative Industry 4.0 touche multiple facets — product design, processes, factories, et supply chain », explique Raj.

En 2018, HIL a partnered avec plusieurs vendors pour créer une roadmap digitalisation pour ses divisions. Un technology provider facilitated design-thinking workshops qui generated close to 300 ideas. Après mois de brainstorming, la company produced a detailed, multi-year roadmap avec clear milestones.

Utiliser digital services pour supporter scale et integration

Industrial firms qui succeed in digital transformation often centralise information et processes via software. Le report d'Accenture sur industrial digital innovation cite Haier, un home-appliance maker qui leveraged une digital services platform pour unite hundreds of small teams, driving growth et process optimisation.

HIL a deployed une industrial IoT platform pour streamline asset connectivity, integrating manufacturing data pour supporter predictive analytics. Trouver la right platform était challenging ; la search lasted months et « was overwhelming », admet Raj. Calculer la période de payback était un autre hurdle, as leadership needed a compelling value proposition to justify investment.

Consensus across executives required a unified approach : au lieu de retrofitting quelques machines pour predictive maintenance, HIL chose to make the entire factory a digital shop-floor backbone. Ils established a manufacturing data lake — a raw-data repository — as the foundation for future phases, including predictive maintenance, energy management, et digital twins.

Slowing Down to Speed Up

Raj dit que careful deliberation upfront paves the way for faster execution later. While HIL had a traditional transformation roadmap, the company aimed to connect four plants within six months et an additional 18 within the first year. Regular meetings with Altizon et Deloitte helped maintain momentum et resolve issues promptly. Both firms conducted in-person plant visits et engaged frontline teams.

COVID-19 travel et staffing restrictions add complexity pour organisations just starting digital shop-floor initiatives. Third-party hardware installation ou field engineering may be delayed. « In process industries like chemicals, digitisation is already more mature, so COVID-19 has less impact », dit Nathan. « In discrete manufacturing, digitisation is often patchy. »

To date, HIL a implemented digital shop-floor technology in four plants. The company plans to connect the remaining facilities next year, though COVID-19 could delay timelines. Pendant le lockdown nationwide en Inde, HIL a temporarily shut down operations, halting commerce entirely.

McKinsey urge organisations à craft detailed scaling plans as the economy recovers, while reimagining operations. Success ultimately relies on teamwork. HIL identified internal champions to drive the initiative, ensuring they can evolve, analyse data, et realise tangible benefits.