The technological revolution of recent years is bringing important innovations to the automotive world. Industry 4.0 is the novelty of the present and the next few years, in the industrial world.
Once cars were also built by hand, but now the change and the entry of technology have drastically changed the way cars are built.
Industry 4.0 is the current definition of the industrial model that allows a new concept of production. The machines are interconnected with each other and management can be optimized and controlled even remotely.
There is an increasing use of robots within # industry4.0 and of skills related to the control and optimization of workflows.
In 2020 and 2021, industry 4.0 made a clear change of gear, also thanks to the pandemic. The supply chain is moving towards digitization and innovation, including the strategic area. In fact, since 2018, a positive and constant trend has been observed in investments in this domain.
New technologies are at the center of investments by companies in order to obtain a competitive advantage over their competitors.
These forms of investment will continue as the Italian government has provided important incentives in this area.
The risk, however, is to observe a clear division, within the production chain, between high-tech industries and low-tech industries. The gap could become more and more marked if some participants in the automotive supply chain do not adapt in a manner and timeframe.
The labor market has also seen an acceleration, especially as regards specialized technicians. Much, however, must also be done by general infrastructures, or rather by the Government because it is not possible, indeed it is counterproductive, to leave industries without a global control room.
The world of work is therefore redesigned with brand new machines and a way of processing the product in an almost tailor-made way. The robots are, in fact, managed by highly qualified personnel who use their experience to create a quality product.
Sophisticated technologies, such as cloud computing and system integration software, also make it possible to optimize production processes. The technologies will have to be well mixed by engineers and this will make the 4.0 company a place of complete production efficiency.
Simple manual skills, performed by traditional workers' functions, can be replaced by technologies, but a general technical supervision combined with specific and punctual observation must never be missing.
Therefore, the model of “easily” replaceable workers can change and will certainly change. There will be no hiring of a worker without specialization in industry 4.0. In the case of industries already active with already hired workers, an additional step will have to be implemented for the latter in order to increase and improve technical skills.
The ultra technical aspect will be necessary, even to make an upgrade in terms of data reading. The professional figures and skills will change mainly on the side of engineers and technicians.
The automotive industry is, therefore, the perfect environment to make a sea change. We all know how cars are driven on assembly lines by rollers and how robots are able to carry out multiple jobs in a few seconds.
The integration with 5G, in addition to the possibility of managing and governing processes by relocating them to different parts of Italy and the world, also leads to an important reflection on work ethics.
Technically it is absolutely feasible to have an engineering office in Milan and a production site where the cost of labor is lower. The level of quality guaranteed by the robots does not change so the car will always be optimally made. What changes instead is the idea of a business which, from a single place within which different figures can be identified, passes to the concept of a delocalized and fragmented business.
The idea and the memories of the great companies of the 50s and 60s, within which the bell at 6pm was a liberating rite for the workers, in this case is totally revolutionized.
As we have said, engineers can be inside their own homes or inside a research site in a skyscraper in Milan.
Many also speak of a form of impoverishment of the corporate mission and a fraying of working relationships. However, this is not intended to be a philosophical or sociological article, which analyzes the impacts of the new industry 4.0.
The automotive world, however, is now within a gear that is accelerating its virtues and thus bringing a new consideration of the car. We no longer speak of cars as an ideal object to move around, but as an ideal object for a personal status.
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