Dassault Systemes leadership in efficient manufacturing – the ‘lean’ approach to productivity in the fourth Industrial Revolution

You would be forgiven for thinking that this article is simply part two of my last scribblings on ‘The Industry of the Future’ and ‘Value Construction’. You would be right as ‘lean manufacturing’ embodies both the principles of lean construction and the drive towards the Industry of the Future. Innovation leads efficiency and increasing efficiency is a fundamental element of the future of manufacturing in a world which is transforming rapidly.

But it is worth clarifying some of the terminology you may hear or read about and define what it means:

• Industry 4.0 – the term first used by Germany to describe its move towards automated factories with limited involvement of people. Now in common use to represent the Industry of the Future but without the tight regulatory mechanisms used in Germany.
• Industry of the Future – the French view of Industry 4.0 but describing how innovation will allow automated manufacturing to evolve in an increasingly digital world, with people leading the process. This approach resonates with that being adopted by the UK, Nordic and Benelux regions as, increasingly, the term embodies lean manufacturing.
• Lean Manufacturing – increasingly efficient manufacturing processes, reducing cost and minimising waste by integrating and managing data across the lifecycle of the product, whatever that product may be. In essence, it is intelligent engineering.
• Intelligent Engineering – a term applied in the UK to a data-driven, digital approach to all aspects of engineering design through to manufacture and life cycle management, underpinning the fourth industrial revolution.
• The Fourth Industrial Revolution – a phrase which encompasses all the above approaches. This fourth revolution is grasping the significant opportunities available in our rapidly growing digital world, using innovation to maximise sustainable efficiency in the industrial base.

Dassault Systemes is at the heart of this revolution as we transform to tackle the challenges of our changing world. Our transformational 3DEXPERIENCE platform is increasingly being used by the manufacturing industry to solve business problems, drive efficiency and cost reduction in an increasingly complex and competitive world. The platform provides a window into the business and a single source of truth when viewing the integrated data which provides both the glue and the lubricating oil for business processes. It is worth pausing here to note that the term ‘manufacturing’ embraces all aspects from aerospace, to transportation, building construction and consumer products – in short, every aspect of working, living and life support.

The innovative and imaginative use of integrated and configured business data to manage the full spectrum of industrial effort will lead to greater efficiency, it will reduce cost and waste, it will increase productivity and, above all, it will provide the consumer experiences which the generation of today and the generations of the future demand. Interestingly, the principles are the same as those we are applying to the use of the platform as a ‘city platform’ in the approach to ‘smart’ or ‘sustainable’ cities.  Sustainable cities are cities for people with efficiency and value at the core. They will be cities where 3DEXPERIENCE provides the dynamic to manage the legacy, develop the present and plan the future – all representative of our leadership position in the fourth, lean, industrial revolution.