Chinese manufacturers struggling to meet Industry 4.0 targets

Chinese manufacturers appreciate the importance of Industry 4.0, but are struggling to find staff with the talent to realise it. A survey of 1,734 manufacturers showed that 44% wanted to upgrade their manufacturing processes to Industry 4.0 principles, and 40% aim to do it within three years, but around 20% said they lacked the staff with the qualities needed to implement the changes, and another 19% said they lack access to key technologies necessary for the changes. China has aligned with Germany in its bid to revolutionise manufacturing with IoT technologies, through its state-sponsored programme, Made in China 2025

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Most Chinese manufacturers understand the importance and positive aspects of Industry 4.0, but they lack talented staff and innovation abilities to upgrade their business, an industry report said yesterday.

Industry 4.0, referring to smart manufacturing using more advanced technologies, represents the fourth generation of the industrial revolution to combine innovation with traditional manufacturing industry. It’s part of the Made in China 2025, a national strategy to greatly boost production efficiency and help the country upgrade its development.

“Manufacturing firms know they have to change but they don’t know how to do it,” said Wang Qingyue, head of the China Industry 4.0 Association.

About 44 percent of Chinese manufacturers want to upgrade their manufacturing and business processes and another 40 percent aim to achieve that within three years, according to the association’s report which surveyed 1,734 manufacturers in the past three months.

Firms want to adopt automation, develop Internet of Things and employ robots in their production process, Wang said at an industry summit in Shanghai.

But 20.7 percent of the firms lack talented staff while 19.3 percent lack innovation and key technologies. Another stumbling block is the lack of a national standard for smart manufacturing, the report said.