German industrial technology company Pepperl+Fuchs recently harnessed the power of the Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) to assess the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) readiness of multiple manufacturing sites. Through an Official SIRI Assessment, Pepperl+Fuchs discovered that one of their sites had a maturity profile that was below the industry average. The detailed assessment report provided valuable insights into the areas where the site was lagging and outlined specific recommendations for improvement.
The SIRI evaluation highlighted critical areas that needed attention, offering Pepperl+Fuchs a clear roadmap to enhance their site’s 4IR readiness. By focusing on these key areas, the company aims to elevate its manufacturing processes and achieve greater efficiency and innovation.
Pepperl+Fuchs (P+F) is a German industrial technology company that specializes in sensor technology and electrical explosion protection. As a manufacturer, P+F aims to be a reference point for customers in the areas of automation and digitalization by deploying new processes and technologies to transform its production facilities. P+F’s leadership team decided to leverage the SIRI programme in 2018 to comprehensively evaluate the Industry 4.0 readiness of its manufacturing sites.
Singapore was the first production site selected by P+F to pilot the OSA. The Singapore site – P+F’s headquarters for Asian production and one of four key production facilities globally – was chosen because the production facility, established in 1991, was relatively dated. The leadership team identified brownfield opportunities which would transform and modernize this important facility. In addition, P+F had recently set up an IoT-enabled global distribution centre in Singapore in 2016 to increase production capacity and strengthen supply chain and logistical processes. Upgrading the company’s Singapore site would pave the way for greater integration between its production and supply chain functions.
P+F engaged a CSA to conduct an OSA for its Singapore site in 2018. The OSA report highlighted the following learning points:
The general maturity profile of the Singapore Site was below the 80% Broad Middle average.
This maturity profile, which was expected for a 30-year-old facility, reinforced the company’s decision to upgrade and modernize the Singapore site. Based on this assessment, the organization set a three year goal of uplifting the Singapore site’s overall maturity profile to be on par with or better than the industry average.
3. Executing the transformation initiative (2019–2020)
P+F leveraged insights from its 2018 OSA report to design and execute its transformation roadmap.Over two years, the company implemented a series of initiatives:
1. Digitalizing shop floor processes
2. Introducing new supply chain management tools
3. Updating HR talent development programmes: Highly qualified talent is the foundation of P+F’s success. To encourage P+F employees to embrace the spirit of lifelong learning, the operations and HR departments collaborated to update the existing L&D programme
4. Reassessing the site (2021)
P+F has since taken stock of its progress. As shown in the table above, P+F saw a progression of one
maturity band among half of the 16 dimensions. These improvements were observed across all three SIRI building blocks – Process, Technology and Organization.
Based on 2022 benchmarks, P+F Singapore’s current maturity across the eight dimensions (as featured
above) now equals or exceeds its industry peers’. P+F has therefore met its objective in the 2018 three-year plan: to upgrade its Singapore site to be on par with the Broad Middle segment.
