As the world cautiously ‘tiptoes’ out of the pandemic, we all have to take care not to re-awaken the Covid beast that has decimated pockets of both industry and our social fabric. As the industry tries to scramble back to normality, we also have an opportunity to reflect upon how we have reacted during the unprecedented challenge.
One thing that has become evident is that technology such as Industry 4.0, on-line communication platforms and automation have all been implemented (or forced through) at breakneck speeds – as face-to-face meetings and technical support went up in a cloud of smoke. In this issue, we have a feature from Fourjaw, an AMRC spin-off that has developed a ‘Fitbit’ to optimise your machine tools and improve data capture and learning. We also interviewed a subby that has relied heavily upon an on-line app to select cutting tools in the absence of technical rep visits – with pretty impressive results. Like it or not, the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ is firmly with us, and the pandemic has opened the eyes of savvy engineers on how to adopt technology to maintain production during a pandemic and more importantly, save time and cut costs post-pandemic.
If you’re not ‘savvy’ and willing to embrace digital technology and automation, the pandemic has just made the ‘clock tick a little faster’ on the eventual extinction of your business! The pandemic has also been an opportunity to look not just at our businesses, but inward at ourselves and how ‘business owners’ have performed under the stress and pressure of the situation. No doubt some business owners have made shrewd decisions and others will be crumbling under the pressure. Businesses like Redrow, William Hill, ASOS, Barratt and the Games Workshop are creating a PR opportunity to announce they will pay-back any furlough money and simultaneously, the government is sending out 3,000 warning letters every day, as data suggests two thirds of workers carried on working whilst receiving furlough payments.
As always, we follow this month’s automotive sector report with an automotive theme throughout. As a sector that endlessly innovates, there is plenty to get you thinking about how to start your own ‘Industrial Revolution’.
