Industry 5.0: The Human Factor in Smart Factories

The focus in the manufacturing world is shifting from pure automation to a more balanced approach in which the human factor is revalued. 'Industry 4.0 is primarily technology-driven', says Leendert Mijnders, Manager Business Consultancy Industry at ICT Group. 'It's about data, connectivity and artificial intelligence. Industry 5.0 adds a social perspective: sustainability, human collaboration and flexibility.'

This shift is fueled by global developments that reach beyond the factory floor. Roel de Backer, director of Industry and Infrastructure at ICT Group, sees a clear pattern.

'Globalization has become a major driver. AI allows you to better coordinate logistics chains and compare production locations around the world more effectively. These are issues that are now reaching the boardroom. Where this used to be a purely factory-level issue, today top management wants to understand why different locations perform differently.'

'In addition, we now think much more about the underlying business model and the value that employees add to it,' says Mark van Lanen, Sales Director at ICT Group. 'Whether a factory should operate fully autonomously depends entirely on the specific business case. For high-tech niche products such as those produced by ASML, a completely different consideration applies than for mass production in a highly competitive international market.'

Industrial excellence

The core of successful implementations lies in what Mijnders describes as 'iindustrial excellence': the ability to optimize technological innovation, business processes and human factors in conjunction. 'You can invest in the automation of a subprocess, but sometimes it is wiser to first look at the bigger picture.'

It's all about a combination of strategic insight and practical implementation. 'We don't just think about the future-proof factory', De Backer adds. 'We also ensure that the daily operation continues to run during the transformation. That requires both a helicopter view and detailed knowledge of old and new systems. This approach ensures that investments not only lead to technological innovation, but also to tangible improvements in productivity, sustainability and competitiveness.'

The challenge of modernization

One of the biggest challenges for modern industry is the integration of new technology into a landscape of existing, often outdated systems. This requires a pragmatic approach, Mijnders sees. 

'Production machines usually have a very long depreciation period, sometimes as long as 40 years. Software, on the other hand, often becomes outdated after about 5 years. The trick is to respond flexibly to market changes with machines that are not yet financially depreciated.'

ICT Group's approach starts with creating insight into the current situation. 'We always start with fundamental questions: where exactly is this company now and how does it earn its money?', says Mijnders. 'Based on that, we develop a strategic master plan: Which automation projects deliver the most value? Sometimes the solutions are surprisingly simple, like an interactive dashboard that provides insights that were previously completely invisible.'

Operators have a decisive vote

Implementing technology is one thing, getting people to embrace it is a completely different challenge. 'In the past, these types of projects were approached almost exclusively from a technical perspective,' says Mijnders. 'Now we see that organizational culture is increasingly recognized as a decisive success factor.'

The influence of operators on the work floor is enormous in practice. 'When an operator indicates that a new system is not functioning properly, everyone immediately gets nervous', says Mijnders. 'Business continuity is absolutely crucial - and operators have a decisive say in that. On the one hand, you want to keep projects small and manageable for operators, but at the same time you want to ensure that each subproject fits into the larger puzzle of a data-driven organization.'

Connecting to the shop floor

But how do you ensure that this decisive voice is properly involved in digital transformation? 'As an organization, you need to understand what the operator is up against on a daily basis and what the board wants to see in KPI dashboards', says De Backer. 'We can design a system as beautifully as we like, but if it does not connect to what really happens on the work floor, it will not work. At the same time: if you involve all departments without limits, systems become unnecessarily complex. Keep working on what is really necessary: safety and productivity.'

Van Lanen recognizes from practice that operators often yearn for what they know. 'The balance is difficult: the involvement of operators is enormous, but they often operate from fear of change. We want to avoid simply copying an existing system. It is essential to explain Why change is needed and what long-term goal we are pursuing.'

Deploy expertise more effectively

The integration of AI into control systems is changing how operators do their jobs, especially in complex environments. 'Traditionally, an operator has to make adjustments based on what various screens show him,' says Mijnders. 'But as factory processes become more complex, this becomes increasingly challenging. The latest control systems now integrate AI assistants that allow operators to ask targeted questions: Which sensors show deviations? What is the impact of this? What action is required? This makes their expertise much more effective.'

Data as a foundation for decision-making

An important step towards Industry 5.0 is the democratization of data, according to Mijnders. 'We are now seeing a clear shift towards data self-service: how can we help employees at all levels to independently perform analyses and create their own dashboards? The goal is not just to collect data, but to enable everyone in the organization to extract value from it.'

'We are increasingly concerned with data architecture, because that is the basis for standardization and secure data processing. The challenge lies in how you present that data and make it available via cloud services, while at the same time ensuring good governance. The world between raw data and actionable insights is becoming increasingly important. Ultimately, it is about giving people a hammer instead of having to call the carpenter every time.'

Renovating with the store open

'Factories are being flooded by an avalanche of technological possibilities and choices,' Mijnders adds. 'The risk is that you overload people with too many parallel innovation projects, which ultimately does no one any favors. After a phase of experimenting with countless pilots, the time has now come to make sharp choices: which initiatives really contribute to sustainable profitability and future-proofing?'

Is it a familiar picture: too many projects and too little focus? 'Then dare to choose', advises Mijnders. 'Select a strategic partner who will help you map out a clear path to a stronger competitive position in five years. Always keep in mind that you have to renovate while the store is open - the primary processes must continue to run under all circumstances.'

De Backer concludes that an effective approach always starts with the right insights. 'ICT Group, for example, always starts by taking a kind of picture: where is the company, how does it earn its money? Based on that, we can master plan make which automation projects actually add value and which risks need to be mitigated. That way you keep it practical.'