Industry 4.0 – impact and potential of the digital transformation

1 Industry 4.0 – living and working

in the system of systems

Networking via the internet as a central infrastructure is taking on increasingly significant dimensions in the context of Industry 4.0 – already by 2015, the number of networked devices exceeded the global population by a factor of three. Intelligent and autonomously controlled objects, mobile devices, cognitive systems and collaboration platforms will lead to work statuses and company processes being modelled in real time, transparent and largely automated in future (Figure 1).

The merging of the physical and virtual world is permeating into ever wider fields: existing structures and processes in production, service and administration as well as in respect of cooperation with external partners or customers are being revolutionized by digital systems and processes. Central elements are the selective use of the data generated by digital systems with big data systems, data analytics and edge computing, but with artificial intelligence systems and with self-learning and autonomous systems.

The importance of data becomes clear even if one looks just at the current and future data volume. For example, the data volume of the internet traffic via mobile devices already amounted to eleven exabytes per month by 2017, forecasts for the year 2020 expect 50 exabytes per month globally.

2 Disruption – emergence of new business

models and value creation systems

The wider distribution of digitalization and Industry 4.0 has considerable impact on almost all branches and industry sectors. Besides the reorganization and optimization of work processes, change is taking place especially in the business models and value creation systems – and that with often disruptive character. Companies in different branches and industries are more or less strongly impacted by the disruption potential in their business model. The speed or the time of the relevance of change also differs. But it also seems clear: sooner or later, every company will be affected by digital change and will have to face up to it (Figure 2).

Platform strategies are gaining particular importance and increase the dynamic in traditional as well as new markets. Smart product-service solutions – and everything is regarded as a service nowadays – are in greater demand than ever: in the mobility sector as a result of smart mobility or sharing offers, in energy supply with smart grid or smart metering solutions or in the factory with autonomous logistics.

Especially traditional companies are currently often finding it difficult to successfully respond to the new developments. However, innovative business systems of the platform economy and the sharing economy offer new opportunities – not only in end-user business, but also in the B2B sector. Via open, neutral data and service market places, companies can network with each other and, for example, link their existing data with each other to generate added-value services.

In addition, technical systems are becoming increasingly networked and intelligent as a result of progress in cognitive algorithms, can even make decisions themselves and work autonomously. The increasing “intelligence” of the systems and machines is changing the way that we people work with and live with technology. Digitalization in cars, for example, is now so far advanced that assistance systems are naturally accepted almost as “co-drivers”. That may be because technology is moving more and more into the background and supports us intuitively and subtly and yet as competently as demanded by the specific situation (Figure 3).

3 NextGen construction industry –

working in hybrid worlds

The digital transformation will not only radically change companies, but also our work overall – and this is increasingly affecting the construction industry, too.

For instance, technological achievements like, for example, drones for inspecting roofs, service robots for inspection work or 3D printing for buildings are used more and more widely. Platforms for coordination of cooperation with partners as well as with customers and end-users will grow in importance (Figure 4).

Companies and employees are confronted with new challenges and a rethinking as well as a reorientation in wide-ranging fields of activity will be essential. To, however, not just venture a step in the direction of Industry 4.0, but to successfully take this step, companies first have to make the right decisions and answer the following key questions:

To what point and how do we want to take our companies forward strategically?

How much do we have to invest in technology and IT and when?

Where and with whom should we start?

Findings of recent studies by Roland Berger have come to the conclusion that players in the construction industry have recognized the obvious advantages of digitalization, but its potential has not been exhausted by a long way yet. Accordingly, great potential exists in respect of the effective utilization of digital data in planning, execution of construction work and logistics. For this, increasingly elements of end-to-end, seamless and collaborative digital workflows are used in building construction processes. The term used in this context is BIM – Building Information Modelling (Figure 5).

Based on this method, a digital twin is generated as a building prototype as the ideal result, including all construction-specific trades as a digital planning result and serving in ongoing decision-making and assessment processes amongst other things as a visual basis. For example, the digital building model plays a central role not only in object development but forms the basis for operator processes in planning, execution and continuous optimization in the subsequent usage phase. BIM therefore increases the quality of information and transparency in the lifecycle of buildings, leads to an improvement in process efficiency based on the building as intelligent environment and makes this more flexible and smarter overall. In future, buildings will therefore be built twice: first in reality, then digitally – the digital twin living on in the operation.

4 Securing the future – employability and

organizational ambidexterity in the digital age

With the introduction of new technologies and methods, tasks and activities change, too. Workplaces and existing jobs will disappear. Qualification requirements are changing, and new job profiles and descriptions are emerging. The demand for highly qualified personnel will increase sharply, and especially digital competence will be in demand. But qualification for complexity management and human creativity will also become central factors with regards to job protection. New offers and forms of education and training as well as further training both from the state and companies will be in demand and every individual must make a contribution to their own employability through lifelong learning.

Moreover, it is necessary for companies to develop, trial and live out a new working culture. Proven working methods should not be abandoned completely, but – in accordance with the success principle of organizational ambidexterity – selectively complemented with agile elements.

In future, organizational structures will function ambidextrously and combine the traditional with the new. Good examples of the success of this approach are usually highly dynamic start-ups that are especially successful in many new, digital niches – “digital mindset matters”.