Connect production needs, reshape management methods, and improve intelligence
New engine for industrial Internet development (first-line survey, new Internet observation ⑥)
Our reporter Yu Sinan
"People's Daily" (06th Edition, July 16, 2020)
Core reading
Promote production intelligence, carry out remote operation and maintenance, and create a flexible production chain... In recent years, my country's industrial Internet has been on the rise, with digitalization empowering the manufacturing industry. In the future, with the further integration and development of Internet information technology and manufacturing, the Industrial Internet will make factories more "smart" and workers more "saving effort."
Sitting in the office, Zhang Xiangui clicked on the operation panel, and the production progress and delivery time on the screen were clear at a glance. Two years ago, the general manager of Hebei Andy Mould only communicated with the workshop and customers on a single phone, and often failed to take a sip of water for half a day.
The change stems from the cooperation with the intelligent cloud branch of the industrial Internet platform service provider. In the past, the quotation relied on experience, and now it is accurately calculated based on the data collected on the platform, such as processing fees and management costs. In the past, production relied on workers. Nowadays, each process is scientifically measured, and the scheduling time is compressed from an average of 4 hours to half an hour... Zhang Xiangui gave The reporter calculated: the factory saved more than 300,000 yuan in management costs every year, and the productivity efficiency increased by nearly 30%.
In recent years, the development of my country's industrial Internet has injected new impetus into production. The face of my country's manufacturing industry is being reshaped, and the level of digital and intelligent development is constantly improving.
Optimizing management of interconnection and integration
The new generation of information technology combined with industrial manufacturing is a technology as well as a production method and a business model
In Ningxia, Ningxia Licheng Electric Co., Ltd. manufactures power distribution network switch equipment. In the past, if the equipment failed, the engineering staff did not know where the problem was before maintenance. At the end of 2019, after cooperating with Shugen Internet, the company launched a remote operation and maintenance system. Xu Zhi, chief information officer of Ningxia Licheng, said that by analyzing the collected device data, which parts are at risk, the system can automatically warn, and if there is a fault, it can be diagnosed remotely.
In Zhejiang, in May this year, the Yuyao smart home appliance cloud platform jointly created by Ningbo Unicom and Yundy wisdom helped the local small household appliance industry to realize the coordination of procurement, sales, supply, and production by sharing information such as supply and demand, production capacity, talents, and bidding. Collaborate across enterprises and devices. Zhang Jianyun, general manager of Yundy wisdom, said that production, supporting and service companies gathered on the platform, breaking the limitations of the traditional manufacturing model and making flexible production possible.
Industrial Internet, that is, the integration of a new generation of information technology and industrial manufacturing. Guo Zhaohui, Chief Scientist of Yoya, said that companies often cannot obtain real-time data and all data at the same time when making decisions, but the Industrial Internet uses "algorithms" as an intermediary and combines the advantages of machines and manual data processing to improve the management level of industrial systems.
The intelligent production of Andy's molds, the remote operation and maintenance of Ningxia Licheng's equipment, and the flexible production that Yuyao's small home appliance industry strives to create are all the main ways for the current industrial Internet to land. According to Yu Xiaohui, vice president of the China Information and Communications Academy and Secretary-General of the Industrial Internet Industry Alliance, Industrial Internet is not just a technology, an infrastructure, but also a new production method and business model.
In November 2017, China released the top-level design of the Industrial Internet-"Guiding Opinions on Deepening "Internet + Advanced Manufacturing" to Develop the Industrial Internet", pointing out that the Industrial Internet creates a new type of network infrastructure that fully interconnects people, machines, and things. The formation of new formats and application models for intelligent development. Not long ago, the 14th meeting of the Central Reform Commission reviewed and approved the "Guiding Opinions on Deepening the Integration of New Generation Information Technology and Manufacturing", emphasizing the need to accelerate the integration of new generation information technology and manufacturing and accelerate the development of industrial Internet innovation. To improve the development level of digitalization, networking and intelligence in the manufacturing industry.
Growing soon
The investment is huge, the talent is short, and the technology landing is restricted by many companies and platforms
Talking about the experience of participating in an exhibition in the industry, an industrial Internet service platform manager said: "The people who came to listen to the report packed the main venue, but not many customers came to the booth to negotiate." This reflects the current corporate side The status quo of excitement and wandering about the tide of intelligent manufacturing.
The landing of the Industrial Internet is not easy. Since there is no unified standard, data is not connected and unavailable, which has become a major blocking point. Data is the core resource of the Industrial Internet. But even in the same enterprise, production management, sales and purchasing, and customer management systems are often not connected. Enterprises put data on the platform and also worry about insecurity. A platform service provider mentioned that an engine manufacturer wanted to collect the operating data of the engine on the OEM to improve the product. But the OEM replied: these data can not be external.
There are other concerns for enterprises: First, huge investment. "A system costs millions of yuan every time, and it costs a lot of money to update the equipment." Zhang Xiangui said. The second is the lack of informatized talents and the lack of demand. Industrial manufacturing involves a lot of production equipment and a long business chain. Several service platform leaders said that it takes a lot of time to understand the needs of enterprises, and sometimes it is found that the supply and demand sides do not match.
Currently, there are limitations on the platform. The real industrial Internet platform has just started, and most of the current platforms solve relatively shallow problems. But the industry needs are varied, and the platform can only accumulate experience by doing projects.
In addition, more than 90% of my country's manufacturing industry is small and medium-sized enterprises, and more than 55% of enterprises have not completed the basic equipment digital transformation. Su Xin, a senior consultant of the Intelligent Cloud Branch Digital Factory Division, pointed out that in my country's small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, usually 1/3 are old machine tools, and the transformation of these low-end equipment is very difficult.
"China is taking advantage of the advantages of Internet information technology to leapfrog on tiptoe." Zhao Huicun, an engineer at the Tianjin Academy of Science and Technology Development Strategy, said that China's industrialization process is relatively short, and the road to automation and informatization has not been completed. Catch up with the wave of intelligence and digitization, which can be described as "one stage, two tasks".
Integration experience is rooted
Need to dig deep data information, build a safety barrier, and build a solid foundation for manufacturing
The interviewed practitioners all agree that my country has high-quality soil that nurtures the industrial Internet. Wang Jianmin, Dean of the School of Software at Tsinghua University, said: "China's manufacturing industry has complete categories, complete systems, rapid development, large amounts of industrial big data, and rich application scenarios. Enterprises dare to embrace new technologies." "Especially this year, the "cloud" is connected Demand has made the Industrial Internet heat up again," said He Dongdong, CEO of Shugen Internet.
However, industry insiders call for a rational view of the Industrial Internet. "Industrial Internet can not be achieved by collecting data and developing a few apps." Fu Yuan, CEO of Shanghai Youye, which focuses on serving the steel industry, said, "The needs of industrial enterprises are very personalized, and some solutions are theoretically feasible and practical scenarios. It doesn't work in China; solutions that have been proven effective cannot be replicated in different companies of the same type."
"Consumer Internet is horizontal and can connect hundreds of millions of people around the world; industrial Internet is vertical, and the focus is on integrating in-depth experience of the industry as a basis for decision-making." Wang Jianmin said that the highly fragmented and fragmented characteristics of industry require Only by digging deeper can the platform create value. Su Xin frankly said: The Industrial Internet should come step by step, although the return on capital and profitability cannot be guaranteed for a while; some capable enterprises should take the initiative to take the first step consciously and first connect the equipment. Only when there are more and more data, its effect will be gradually highlighted.
With the deepening of industrial Internet applications, future research and development, design, and production of manufacturing will rely more on the simulation and simulation functions of industrial software, and the platform software ecosystem will gradually improve. However, the deficiencies in industrial software and the underlying framework of the platform may become a hidden worry for the development of my country's industrial Internet. Many experts said that my country's industrial technology precipitation is relatively inadequate, companies generally lack management of process parameters and industrial knowledge, coupled with insufficient market support, domestic industrial technology software shortcomings are outstanding, and high-end industrial software is heavily dependent on foreign countries.
Another hidden danger is safety. "After the transformation of the Industrial Internet, manufacturing enterprises will continue to face traditional security challenges such as viruses, Trojans, and vulnerabilities. Software companies must build security barriers," said Qi Xiangdong, chairman of Qi Anxin.
Many experts reminded that the deep integration of the Internet and industry has transformed a new generation of information technology into manufacturing factors, with the aim of strengthening industrial manufacturing. The Industrial Internet is a new production method, but it cannot fundamentally change the manufacturing logic. The upgrading of the manufacturing industry requires a solid foundation; otherwise, the factory will not be smart enough, the production process will not keep up, and high-precision and high-quality products cannot be produced, and it is still difficult to win a broader market.
Reporter's notes
Technology dividends are pragmatic
Give full play to the enabling value of the Industrial Internet, focusing on a "real" word. If a manufacturing company wants to enjoy the technical dividend, it must implement the information foundation and only try to gain; the service platform must grow and develop, and it must also have a solid application scenario, and precipitation can only achieve the gold signboard; the management department looks forward to the prosperity of the new business format, and more Be pragmatic, do not forget the original intention of service manufacturing upgrade, do a good job of guidance and management.
In recent years, new technologies have continuously emerged, and the only way to create value is to discover real needs and solve real problems. Although the concept of hype may be glorious for a while, it will eventually become unsightly. The Industrial Internet must continue to advance from the shallower to the deeper, with a solid foundation before it can go far.