Comment The Fifth (R)evolution: What Industry 5.0 Really Means for Companies

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The networking of production environments worldwide towards an Industry 4.0 is still in full swing. Yet, now and then, the next version number already appears. What lies behind Industry 5.0?

Jochen Reiß works as Executive Director Presales EAM EMIA at Hexagon Asset Lifecycle Intelligence.

At the Hannover Messe in 2011, the term Industry 4.0 was introduced for the first time – then in connection with the German manufacturing industry. It was about a vision of a fourth industrial revolution, the core of which was that machines and automated systems in production are interconnected and exchange data in real time. Then, in 2017, the Japanese business association presented the idea of Society 5.0 at CeBIT. The goal: to digitally transform society as a whole. This, in turn, is the basis for the further development of the industrial concept: Industry 5.0.

Industry 5.0 aims to, in brief, combine the technological innovation of Industry 4.0 with the public good orientation of Society 5.0. It views the success of companies from a broader perspective and assumes that sustainable corporate growth depends on both individual and societal well-being - and contributes to it.

What is Industry 5.0?

Industry 5.0 essentially comprises a set of principles that combine the efficiency and accuracy of machines with the creativity and individual nature of humans. Therefore, it is not a new industrial revolution in the sense of overturning production methods or energy sources in the classical sense of the 19th or 20th century.

The upcoming industrial revolution further develops the basic principles of the fourth phase by trying to combine the benefits of automation with those abilities that only a human can bring to the workplace. Thus, it addresses key questions and objectives that were raised during the previous leaps in development:

• Are we neglecting the idea of leveraging human creativity too much in the race for automation?

• Instead of designing a fully automated factory, can a place be found for people who not only fit into the ongoing transformation of the industry but also improve it?

• And can we use technology to align economy, productivity, and social well-being?

To achieve these goals, the concept of Industry 5.0 relies on three pillars:

1. Human at the Center: A human-centered approach focuses on the talent and empowerment of people. It recognizes the unique value of individuals in addition to the potential of machines.

2. Sustainability: Prioritizing sustainability in policies and their implementation helps companies to better preserve natural resources, monitor and reduce energy consumption, and protect the environment.

3. Resilience: Resilient industries use technologies to operate smoothly even in times of crisis and to respond flexibly to market changes.

The Great Promise

These three pillars help meet the reality and requirements of the advancing 21st century. This has also been shown in parts during the pandemic: It forced many companies into a new normality, in that they had to accelerate their digital transformation initiatives and adapt to the changed rules of the game. And precisely the demand for more resilient business models and a correspondingly trained workforce is entirely in line with this paradigm shift. The focus on the human aspect represents a power shift in the working world, to which companies must proactively respond. It is necessary for employers to meet new demands to find, promote, and retain talent – which makes the already critical situation of the skilled labor shortage for some companies no easier.

The power shift can be seen as a long-overdue response to the reality of workers in Industry 4.0. The rapid automation in its wake has led to factory workers feeling less valued and having difficulties adapting to new roles. Industry 5.0 aims to put them back at the center of attention. It's about transforming the relationship between humans and machines from an antagonistic to a collaborative one, actively encouraging employees to learn new skills and technologies. However, socio-economic differences among workers must be considered to prevent the gap from widening rapidly.

A crucial point will be to create concrete plans that address unequal access to technology and potential skill gaps. In this context, companies will especially have to take responsibility for possible retraining and further education, such as soft-skill development, of employees. Otherwise, it might happen that some employees are left behind and cannot keep up with the step into a newly conceived industrial production.

Focus on Sustainability

Industry 5.0 perceives sustainability as a creative way to achieve long-term savings on production and maintenance costs. The basic idea envisions a circular economy where all companies reduce, reuse, and recycle waste and remnants by utilizing technologies such as IoT sensors for continuous energy consumption monitoring, AI-powered analysis solutions, and additive manufacturing.

At the same time, a new definition of industry also understands sustainability in terms of the professional landscape and skilled workers. Thus, ensuring job security, actively combatting the displacement of labor, and implementing measures against the already palpable shortage of skilled workers are at the top of the priority list. Furthermore, extensive training programs for so-called green jobs, in which at least 10 percent of the workload is directly dedicated to sustainability, are to be expanded and disseminated. That's the theory, at least.

Human and Machine in Harmony

Human and machine work together to improve safety, well-being, and job creation for workers while also developing the flexibility to offer customers customized and interactive products.

Collaborative robots, also known as cobots, are one of the primary enablers. Normally, industrial robots work isolated in the factory hall and in a separate, safe room. Cobots, on the other hand, can be used in mass production to manufacture a semi-finished product with manual interventions in final assembly. They automate the repetitive, strenuous, and dangerous parts of the production process, allowing highly skilled workers to focus on modifying and reconfiguring the product.

Human involvement can also take the form of reprogramming cobots to create customized solutions. In the automotive industry, for example, it may be necessary to produce similar parts with different dimensions for various vehicles. The reconfiguration and reprogramming of cobots for each vehicle is a perfect application case for manual interventions.

Digital twins are another important pillar for a sustainable industry. The concept of these so-called Digital Twins has existed since the 1960s when NASA used it to mirror their spacecraft. As a virtual replica of a physical object, a digital twin helps to examine and analyze the original object in detail.

For machines whose troubleshooting is difficult or dangerous, a digital twin can be a good way to increase safety and efficiency. Digital twins also play an important role in Enterprise Asset Management—a field that helps companies maximize the value of their assets throughout their entire lifecycle. They constantly collect real-time data from IoT sensors, which then gets analyzed using AI-powered data analytics. This enables the development of an intelligent digital reality that optimizes asset performance, better coordinates maintenance schedules, supports compliance with legal regulations, and reduces asset downtime. Moreover, mobile technologies assist employees in effectively managing assets, whether they are in the office or in the field.

Accelerating the Transformation

But where to start? A first step can be advanced Asset Performance Management features. Here, users capture and analyze data on asset performance, digitize maintenance, and simultaneously develop intelligent strategies for risk mitigation. This contributes to a more predictable, sustainable, and efficient approach to maintenance and asset management.

With autonomous digital twins and machine learning capabilities, human interventions are then limited to those that represent actual value, while new opportunities for building synergies between human and machine emerge.