We have the data. What do we do with them?

As per tradition, right on time, also this year ANIE Automazione publishes a new white paper the title of which immediately hits the mark: “Industria 4.0: abbiamo i dati e ora” (Industry 4.0: we have the data: and now?)

Maurizio Cacciamani

ANIE Automazione’s White Paper has been drawn up with the aim of helping industries and the people that manage them to understand what are the areas in which it is possible and necessary to extract value from digital data.

Data is King

The first of the four chapters that make up the publication is dedicated to data and the reference context: Data Strategy, the 5 Phases of data strategy (Definition of business objectives and significant data, collection, filing, integration and sharing, Protection and security); how to manage data with a comparison between on-premise solutions and cloud solutions with the relative advantages, the Data Fabric (the architecture that simplifies the integration of different data pipelines and cloud environments using intelligent and automated systems). The chapter is completed with information on “Security in the management of data in industrial control systems, Data and the NRRP, Transition 4.0 and industrial supply chain and internationalisation policies.

Connected operations

This is the title of the second chapter, whose introduction (Data Connected Processes) was written by Giovanni Miragliotta. In this chapter the focus is on the effectiveness and efficiency of production processes with a number of specific applications that better define the concept of connected operations. The availability of machines and their maintenance (by condition with use of new technologies, such as AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality); the qualitative Effectiveness and Empowerment of people (that is, how technology enables people operating in their work environments to be more effective, safe and involved in the activities they perform) are the other topics discussed in this part.

Smart products

In his introduction, Mario Rapaccini explains servitisation, the relationship between servitisation and digitalisation and what technologies are of greatest interest for digital servitisation. The different paragraphs describe the importance of data in product innovation, Business Models and, to finish, Corporate Empowerment. With regards to Empowerment, the authors underline the fact that this approach aims to make employees more responsible and give them more autonomy in work management, allowing them to actively participate in the creation and implementation of new processes based on IoT.

Sustainability: from obligation to value

"From obligation to value: sustainability in the synthesis of Industry 5.0 and ESG", this is how Mauro Bellini titled his contribution in the white paper. The themes that he tackles are: From the Net-Zero Industry Act to the European Critical Raw Materials Act; The new “competition” of the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act); Accounting and compliance with the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive); From Green Procurement to finance; Sustainable transformation as the new way to create value; Compensation or transformation; Why Industry 5.0 will be integrated with ESG. The themes of the chapter then follow: the Non-Financial Statement (NFS), the document that provides information on the performance of the company in terms of sustainability and social responsibility relating to greenhouse gas emissions, waste management, company welfare; People Empowerment specific to sustainability. The box dedicated to the sustainable use of energy is very interesting.