Unlocking The Potential of Industry 4.0 Technologies in The Egyptian Industry

Abstract

This research study aims to unlock the potential of Industry 4.0 technologies to enhance all sectors in industry in Egypt. The study conducted a use case in a medium enterprise which a plastic company located in Port-said operating through fully automated machines on the shop floor but with no connectivity or real time data acquisition. A modified digital transformation maturity assessment is utilized to develop a digital transformation strategy and digital infrastructure roadmap to upgrade the plant's industry 3.0 status to an industry 4.0 where everything is connected between IT and OT layers and enabling the adoption of a proper manufacturing execution system (MES) functionalities. The DTMA results revealed that the industry in Egypt is still in its infancy in terms of industry 4.0 adoption. Hence, this study aims to serve as a benchmark for other industries who wish to embark on their digital transformation journey. As a result of the DTMA, a proof of concept was implemented, utilizing the concept of a unified namespace (UNS) and its powerful capabilities to accelerate the digital transformation process, and overcome the barriers that industries face. The potential benefits of utilizing UNS can serve as a valuable reference for industries looking to implement similar initiatives. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the UNS in connectivity, providing real-time data that can be utilized by other nodes to address production system issues such as downtime analysis and scheduling problems. The unified namespace facilitated data integration and enhanced data transparency, enabling data-driven decisions to improve processes.