Beginning in the mid 1700’s, the First Industrial Revolution introduced machines using water or steam power. Factories using steam engines were larger and more centralized than earlier cottage industries. Factory workers did not require the high skill levels of cottage industry craftsmen and artisans. Women and children were used as a cheap source of labor often working in harsh and dangerous conditions.
The Second Industrial Revolution began with the introduction of electrical power over a grid, real-time communication over telegraph, and people and freight transportation over a network of railroads. The railroad and telegraph also increased the spread of new ideas and the mobility of people. City to city travel was reduced from days to hours.
The Third Industrial Revolution began in the 1970s and 1980s with the introduction of the first electronic computers. Even though they were very primitive by today’s standards, they laid the foundation for a revolution in information management.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution started around 2012 with cyber-physical systems that created a digital twin of physical operations. The technologies include:
- The Internet of Things (IOT) – increasing from seven to 26 billion devices in one year
- Smart sensors and computer vision to create digital twins
- Affordable robots and cobots (a robot that supports people)
- Mainstream additive manufacturing also known as 3D Printing
- Mobile computing
- Location detection technologies (electronic identification)
- Advanced human-machine Interfaces
- Big Data analytics and advanced processes
- Augmented reality wearables
So, what comes next with Industry 5.0? Industry 4.0 did little to address sustainability (especially carbon emission reductions), social responsibility, and the moral and ethical issues around artificial intelligence (AI). We can expect these issues to be at the heart of Industry 5.0.
Some of the Industry 5.0 predictions sound more like wishful thinking in a world where humans collaborate with advanced technology, a human-centric focus. There are no warnings of Skynet eliminating humans in the Terminator, robots revolting in Westworld, iRobot, and 2001. The most immediate issue will be the weaponization of AI to promote hate, propaganda, and political, cultural, and religious divisions.
Prediction: The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol is the world’s most widely used carbon emission accounting standard, and Industry 5.0 will need to address three categories of emissions which are now mandatory in much of the Western world;
- Scope 1 emissions are GHGs released directly from an organization.
- Scope 2 emissions are indirect GHGs released from the energy purchased by an organization.
- Scope 3 emissions are from an organization’s entire supply and value chain, representing the great majority of total GHG emissions. Detailed and accurate reporting of Scope 3 emissions will be an accounting nightmare! (More on this in future Newsletters.)
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Cheers, Tony
Anthony Tarantino, PhD
Six Sigma Master Black Belt, CPM (ISM), CPIM (APICS)
Adjunct Professor, Santa Clara University – Smart Mfg. & Industry 4.0
Author of Wiley’s Smart Manufacturing, the Lean Six Sigma Way Amazon Links
Senior Advisor to IM Republic, https://imrepublic.com
(562) 818-3275 [email protected] Anthony Tarantino