An inevitable welcome to Industry 4.0
Written by Siti Fatima Ayuningdyah | Read in Indonesian
It is coming, it is inevitable, and ignoring it is not a choice. We are talking about the fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0. As history unfolded, we saw how the first industrial revolution introduced us to the steam engine, and then came the second one that marked the beginning of the age of science and mass production, while the third revolution saw the rise of digital technology; and here we are now, stepping – be it confidently or reluctantly – into the fourth industrial revolution.
Understanding the fourth industrial revolution
This industrial revolution is marked by rapid change to technology, industries and societal patterns and processes due to increasing interconnectivity and smart automation. Thus, Industry 4.0 optimises the computerisation of Industry 3.0. When computers were introduced in Industry 3.0, it was an entirely new technology that felt disruptive to some. Today, though, computers are connected and communicate with one another to ultimately make decisions without human involvement.
Therefore, Industry 4.0 can be defined as “the means of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies including Cyber-Physical Systems, Internet of Things, big data and analytics, augmented reality, additive manufacturing, simulation, horizontal and vertical system integration, autonomous robots, as well as cloud computing. It serves a role to help integrate and combine the intelligent machines, human actors, physical objects, manufacturing lines and processes across organisational stages to build new types of technical data, systematic and high agility value chains”.
Indonesia catches up on Industry 4.0
Indonesia, of course, is catching up on this. In 2020, Minister of Communication and Informatics Johnny G. Plate stated that Indonesia needed to optimise the use of digital technology, especially as Indonesia was projected to become a top 5 world economy by 2045 with an estimated GDP of $9 billion. President Joko Widodo himself has given five specific mandates, the minister revealed, with regards to the acceleration of digital transformation in Indonesia. First, the acceleration of Internet access expansion and digital infrastructure development. Next is the preparation of the digital transformation roadmaps for strategic sectors, which include education, health, economy, defence and security. The third is accelerating the integration and development of a national data centre. Fourth, establishing regulations for digital transformation funding schemes. Lastly, preparing the human capital or digital talents for Industry 4.0.
According to Head of the Indonesian Agency of Industrial Research and Development (BPPI) Haris Munandar there are still some things to prepare. Those things include increasing the automation of machine-to-machine communication, human-to-machine communication, artificial intelligence, as well as sustainable technology developments.
The Ministry of Industry has started several initiatives to prepare industry players for the new industrial revolution, including giving out incentives for labour-intensive businesses in the form of industry infrastructure, collaborating with the Ministry of Communication and Informatics to optimise bandwidth, as well as developing the National Industry Information System (SIINAS) to make the process of data integration easier.
Of course, the education sector plays an important role in preparing human capital with the right skills and capabilities for Industry 4.0. No matter what, in every revolution we must start with the people.
Educating the 4.0 generation
We are already doing it in some forms, especially for those with young family members at home. Schooling from home is almost a norm now in the light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic is an unexpected factor that accelerates the application of digital technology for Indonesian education in a massive way.
Education in the era of Industry 4.0 is marked by the various ways of integrating cyber-technology into the learning process. It comes with its own set of challenges, though. There are at least four different competencies that educators must possess: critical thinking & problem solving skills, communication & collaboration skills, creative & innovative thinking and digital literacy.
For institutes of higher learning such as universities, Industry 4.0 is expected to bring about smart education through equality in education qualities, the expansion of education access and relevance. Learning activities should be done through blended learning (through collaboration), project-based learning (through publication) and flipped classroom methods (through public and digital interaction).
TFR interviewed a representative of Sampoerna University on the topic of education in Industry 4.0, and they said that, “Technology is a tool, whereas mindset and ways of thinking are the core of the objective of education. We want to change the perception of the public, especially our students, about the industrial world. If we go back to the era of Industry 1.0, people were expected to learn independently. There were no official educational agencies that facilitated the public’s thinking process. They learn from what they see and absorb. And then we stepped into Industry 2.0, and the terms ‘employer’ and ‘employees’ were introduced. This was when people started learning to read and write, though these skills were not compulsory to secure jobs. Then we had Industry 3.0 that was the manufacturing era, which required workers to be able to read, write and do simple maths because people started to work in factories. And now we are entering the Industry 4.0 era; the era of information.”
“Before, those with a formula to create a product would rule an industry, but nowadays information is so easily accessible. Secret formula or recipe is no longer as important. The role of educational institutions is in how to prepare talents who are able to attain and cultivate information to create outputs in the form of new products, technology and solutions that never existed before. The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) is the best method to cultivate ready-to-work talents in the Industry 4.0 era. It is proven all over the world and we are adopting it for Indonesia,” they added.
The readiness factor
The Indonesian Ministry of Industry released a report in 2019 on the “Industry 4.0 Readiness Index” or INDI 4.0, which measured five pillars: management & organisation, people & culture, product & services, technology and factory operation. These five pillars are further categorised into 17 different fields that are used as references to measure industry readiness in Indonesia as we face Industry 4.0.
The initial assessments applied on 25 major industries in Indonesia in 2018 showed that the industries on average are at level 2, which indicated “moderate readiness”; it means that the management and organisations have taken the steps to transform into Industry 4.0. Of course, the survey was conducted before the pandemic, which accelerated the adoption of digital platforms in Indonesia.
TFR conducted our own survey on Industry 4.0, in which we asked respondents to share their thoughts and experience about Industry 4.0. 92.3% of the respondents are already familiar with the term “Industry 4.0”, with “ease of obtaining information” voted by 100% of respondents as the biggest positive impact they have experienced.
The downside for them? The danger of cyber-crimes, including digital fraud and hacking. Interestingly, not many feel that Indonesia is ready for this new revolution; 50% voted “not ready” while 30% voted “neutral”.
One respondent wrote: “All the efforts for this industry revolution that have been carried out are not benefit-oriented for the people in their daily lives. Digitisation efforts do not go hand in hand with good integration, for example the electronic ID card that has no benefits whatsoever beyond an identification card with a chip in it. If only the industry revolution is supported by insights on what the people need in order to have good daily living quality, the result will be beneficial.”
At the end of the day, preparing for Industry 4.0 is a joint effort among the government, the private sector, the public sector, the social sector, the education sector and of course the people. Only then will the benefits be felt.