Digitisation and new technologies are having a profound impact on every facet of the manufacturing industry.

As has been discussed in this forum, Industry 4.0 is upon us – enabling and also pushing businesses to collect and analyse data to streamline and improve the efficency of their systems and processes.

The new tech gives so much – freed-up time and productivity boosts, less waste, far better and faster insights for a business to improve.

We appreciate, though, that innovation requires investment and this is a time when many organisations are maintaining a hawk-like eye on capex and opex.

The good news is that it’s worth it: HERA’s 2021 report in collaboration with BERL modelled the potential economic impact of Industry 4.0 on the New Zealand construction industry and found that gains over the next five years could be as much as $8 billion, and a heartening $4 billion at the moderate optimistic forecasting. And that is only for that part of the NZ economy.

The potential for individual businesses and the wider industry is clear if we can take advantage of it.

To that end, we are focusing on tools and methodologies to help members and other manufacturing organisations with the transition to Industry 4.0. A good starting point for company is to establish where they currently sit at, as a starting point for their transformation journey or how far they might have already come.

1. What is the SIRI Assessment?

Siri, short for Smart Industry Readiness Index, is an Industry 4.0-focused global assessment scheme. It was developed out of Singapore and is available to manufacturers in New Zealand.

In the past four years, over 300 companies worldwide have used the SIRI Assessment to formally evaluate their facilities and processes and kick-start their Industry 4.0 transformation. The tool works for a wide range of companies, including manufacturers and uses benchmarks for 12 different types of companies.

It is designed to establish where a company should invest to progress innovation within the Industry 4.0 context. For HERA as an industry body, it gives us a picture of where the industry is in relation to global standards and what specific support we can offer.

In Industry 4.0, companies are going digital wherever practical, be it to capture information in digital format at source, to exchange internally or with their suppliers and customers or to add a digital product to their offering, or many other reasons.

New Zealand companies cover a wide spectrum of industry 4.0 maturity, with some quite advanced in innovation (such as many fabricators) and others still in relative infancy.

What they have in common is that without an innovation roadmap, there is a risk of being left behind relative to their local and global competitors; the assessment addresses this risk by giving companies a view of where they are in the bigger picture and where they can go next.

2. How do companies access it?

Companies seeking to find out more about the assessment can access it directly or through their industry body.

HERA is one of the local experts offering the service. HERA members receive a discount and access to expertise in the area to facilitate the implementation process including the membership in HERA’s 4.0 Cluster.

3. How many New Zealand companies have done the SIRI assessment to date?

At the time of writing, multiple manufacturers in New Zealand have already completed SIRI assessments trough local providers.

One of them is Red Steel, the structural steelwork specialist (and HERA member) which is progressing along the Industry 4.0 spectrum; Red Steel is drawing on new Internet of Things capability to enhance the tracking and automation of processes to deliver the correct components to sites in the correct sequence to optimally support critical paths in construction.

Using the assessment outputs, a company such as Red Steel can build an innovation roadmap that takes a holistic look at the whole company – from management to products, processes, R&D, and integration with suppliers and customers – to achieve company-wide improvements and efficiencies.

4. What does it involve?

HERA’s SIRI assessment takes 1.5 days, and is done by the company with the support of an assessor as a guide or facilitator.

The objective of the process being company-driven is that the organisation’s leadership and relevant internal experts have bought in and committed the necessary resources to complete the assessment and yield the data.

5. What does the assessment establish? What are the next steps following an assessment?

The assessment is a tool to support a principle of continuous investment, based on the idea that there is never an end point of innovation.

It helps establish a baseline for where a company is at present and how it can build on its innovation programme, and provides a reference point or score in relation to the industry average for companies of a similar size and context, so each company knows where it ranks relative to the wider local and global industry.

It takes into consideration cost factors, company objectives and the envisaged speed of transformation, so it is well tailored to where each assessed business currently stands and where it should be heading.

Next steps vary widely but can include driving automation in specific functions within the company, integration with suppliers and customers, an improved product lifecycle and adding different skills internally.

Crucially, the findings specify where investment can deliver the best returns on the company’s current trajectory.

6. What additional Industry 4.0 support is available?

HERA is running an “Industry 4.0 cluster” with the aim to give members the inspiration to start and sustain their industry 4.0 journey, and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, insights, and practical advice.

In the last year we have discussed topics including robotic welding, vertical integration, fabrication management software, and the Industrial internet of things (IIOT).

Upcoming meetings will address 3D scanning of parts and sites, and industry 4.0 assessment – highly relevant to anyone intrigued by the SIRI Assessment opportunity. Interested companies can contact Holger Heinzel, HERA’s automation and welding 4.0 engineer, at holger.heinzel@hera.org.nz.