Digitization in production – opportunities, fears and needs

Digital competence pays off

Digitization is not an invitation to dance, but much more a learning process. And above all the middle class must take part in it, if it does not want to give up its international pole position. To reposition itself and to push the digital upgrade even further, digitization must show off in the corporate goals of most companies in 2019.

The development knows a clear trend. The latest study on the Digitization Index, carried out by techconsult on behalf of Deutsche Telekom, shows a renewed increase in the cross-industry digitization of medium-sized companies by one point. This is especially relevant because companies have understood the effectiveness of digital process optimization. A long-term increase in profits is foreseeable, because 38% of the investing companies already exceed the costs.

Do not be afraid of progress

But beyond the managerial level, digitization often causes a headache. Process optimization should reduce hours and possibly also human resources, that is the fear. Especially workers in industrial production see their jobs in danger. In fact, less than a third of companies see personal cutbacks as the goal of digitization. The fact that Industry 4.0 can also revolutionize workplace protection is demonstrated by modern and mobile technologies that focus on the physical well-being of employees. An investment in smart systems is therefore an investment in the future, from which also the individual will benefit. Above all, industrially employed workers can continually develop their skills and learn how to handle complex systems.

The necessity as a conclusion

If the transformation from analog to digital is to work, companies need maximum transparency in their internal processes. To be able to guarantee this much more than just modern technology is required. The prerequisite is the willingness to get involved in the change and to show willingness to take risks. Because Industry 4.0 offers enormous opportunities to work more economically, efficiently and safely.