Bosch India offers Industry 4.0 solutions for digitised shopfloor
Bosch, a leading user and supplier of Industry 4.0 solutions, is offering solutions for digitised shopfloor in India. Industry 4.0, or connected industry, as one of the key business enablers, can transform India into a global manufacturing hub. India has a competitive advantage and Industry 4.0 offers huge growth prospects.
“Bosch India’s strategy is 3 pronged: First, we want to learn and transfer knowhow from our European counterparts; second we will develop customised solutions for India. Finally, Bosch India wants to lead the Industry 4.0 development globally and compete with the best in class,” Andreas Wolf, Executive Vice-President, Manufacturing and Quality, Bosch India, said.
Industry 4.0 has enhanced and brought in a revolutionary change in the way work is done in a manufacturing set-up. “Bosch India has implemented Industry 4.0 and has reaped substantial improvement in productivity and quality. By using state-of-the-art technology Bosch India is able to understand processes better, react in real-time and respond much quicker to customer requirements,” he said.
Fusion of real, virtual
The fusion of the real and virtual worlds of production has ensured that man, machine and material are interconnected. Machines will be conversing with machines, people will be able to talk to machines and vice versa. It has brought about a highly individualised and resource optimised mass production, taking manufacturing closer to consumers.
“Everyone and everything will be connected. Data and knowhow will be shared in real time. Connectivity is not only valid for manufacturing. It will also make way into all other business processes. Internet of Things and Services will help us become a more agile company,” Wolf said.
For Bosch India, its manufacturing locations have come a long way from when it was set-up in the early 50s. Today, the company’s associates on the shopfloor receive data in real time allowing them to take timely decisions. “With the largest R&D presence outside of Germany, Bosch India is well prepared for the digital transformation,” he said. Bosch is able to customise and adapt to the requirements of Industry 4.0 solutions. The target is to develop and implement these solutions in all of our different entities.
New Jobs
Industry 4.0 for business/ production processes or for connected solutions will not totally eliminate human efforts. Associates will continue to be the centre of all Industry 4.0 activities. “Industry 4.0 will create new jobs for the Indian industry, calling for the need of different skill sets. We will need more associates who can manage, control and improve processes. The biggest opportunity for Bosch India is to build an Industry 4.0 capable resource pool,” Wolf said.
Bosch’s Chakan plant is a member of the International Production Network (IPN) for the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and the Electronic Stability Programme (ESP). Each single machine for the ABS line is connected, not only with each other, but also with other ABS lines in the IPN. These lines are managed by a Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). The MES has an Andon system, some benefits of this system includes quicker reaction to deviation in the manufacturing process, continuous improvement and finally, online benchmarking with the rest of the global manufacturing plants.
Through this, Bosch’s Chakan plant has achieved a quality level close to zero defects. It has also recorded very high customer satisfaction apart from seeing significant increase in productivity. In the near future, the plant will look to implement Industry 4.0 solutions for preventive maintenance, energy management and even for the training of shopfloor associates along with the possibility of linking factory systems to business applications.