Introduction: The Birth of Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing

The working group characterized Industry 4.0 as a concept that is focused on creating smart products, smart procedures and processes, and smart factories. But that statement is so grandiose and vague that it is almost no help. With all that visionary talk, we can easily get excited and energized, but we still do not have a definition. The Industry 4.0 working group did not really provide one.

Over the past nine years, people have latched onto the concept of Industry 4.0. Each country attempted to define it in its context as it saw fit, which of course meant different ideas everywhere. Several years after the working group convened, two of the largest standards bodies, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), got together and formed a joint working group called JWG21. Its main intent was defining the concept of Industry 4.0. In the middle of 2021, the JWG21 finally established a definition. For myriad reasons, the term “smart manufacturing” was selected instead of “Industry 4.0.” The group felt it better represented a global viewpoint.

Here is the current formal definition of smart manufacturing:

Manufacturing that improves its performance aspects with integrated and intelligent use of processes and resources in cyber, physical, and human spheres to create and deliver products and services, which also collaborates with other domains within enterprises’ value chains. 

• Note 1: Performance aspects include agility, efficiency, safety, security, sustainability, or any other performance indicators identified by the enterprise. 

• Note 2: In addition to manufacturing, other enterprise domains can include engineering, logistics, marketing, procurement, sales, or any other domains identified by the enterprise.

As a society, we are starting to feel the impacts of Industry 4.0 already. Not only are companies investing, but governments around the world are pouring a lot of money into this idea as the way of the future. Smart manufacturing promises improved performance through the digital transformation of manual and mechanical systems, and the further integration of automated systems with business systems and advanced technologies. We all are in the midst of this paradigm shift and are being compelled to move our companies forward. The birth of Industry 4.0 is giving way to growth and change, asking us to help move our companies toward whatever the next revolution might bring.

Visit the ISA website for more InTech articles, ISA Interchange blog posts, and other resources on Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing.

This feature originally appeared in InTech magazine's August issue, a special edition from ISA's Smart Manufacturing and IIoT Division.