From Mass Manufacturing to Mass Innovation: Bridging the IT-OT Divide for Industry 4.0

In the opening session of day two at the 2024 Enterprise Technology Leadership Summit Virtual Europe, Willem van Lammeren, Technical Lead for Industrial IT at Solvay, and David Ariens, Manager for Analytics for Industry and author of The IT-OT Insider, shared their insights on one of the most significant challenges in the manufacturing industry—bridging the worlds of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT).

The Importance of Manufacturing Digitalization

While the IT world is mostly virtual, the real world we live in is physical. Cars, houses, electricity, clean water, and data centers are all being made, and being the best at making these things is crucial for creating interesting jobs and tackling global problems like climate change, affordable housing, and healthcare. Digitalization can help us design new materials, build new plants (greenfield), and optimize or rebuild existing plants (brownfield).

The Current State of Manufacturing Digitalization

In the 1980s and 1990s, manufacturing was at the forefront of digitalization, evolving from mostly manual and analog processes to automation. However, despite the introduction of new technologies like IoT, 5G, cloud computing, and AI, productivity growth in manufacturing has stalled over the last 15 years. Even in the biggest companies, paper and Microsoft Excel still rule the world, and the technologies applied are mature and rather old.

Scaling Challenges and Organizational Silos

Two primary factors are holding back the progress of manufacturing digitalization:

1. Technical Scaling Problem: Each plant is unique in its landscape, making it hard to scale solutions. Pilots often succeed, but rollouts face incompatible systems and makeshift solutions, leading to slow progress and shelved projects.
2. Organizational Silos: The divide between IT and OT is even wider than that between Dev and Ops. Initiatives started by either side often fail due to a lack of involvement from the other side, leading to further mistrust and separation.

Bridging the IT-OT Divide

Despite these challenges, some organizations have successfully brought digitalization to the shop floor by fostering cooperation between IT and OT. Inspired by DevOps, van Lammeren and Ariens identified eight patterns of IT-OT cooperation and developed a three-step plan to bridge the divide.

Here are the eight patterns of IT-OT cooperation, as mentioned in the presentation:

1. Facilitation: Smaller projects with limited scope, where a person or group from each organization acts as the interface to build common understanding, trust, and relations between IT and OT.
2. Temporary 4.0 Team: A more daring approach for organizations with better IT-OT relationships, where a temporary team is formed to work on a specific project. It is important to dissolve the team once the project is completed to avoid complications.
3. Cross-Functional Teams: A crucial step in moving from a silo-based organization to one where IT and OT work together on common problems such as maintenance, sustainability, and energy management. This approach enables the transition from isolated pilots to fast delivery of global-scale solutions.
4. Agile Methodologies: Once the right teams are in place, Agile methodologies can be introduced to further improve efficiency and collaboration. However, it is important not to introduce too much change at once, as it may halt progress.
5. Common Understanding: Building a shared understanding of each other’s roles, responsibilities, and challenges is essential for effective collaboration between IT and OT.
6. Trust and Relationship Building: Fostering trust and building strong relationships between IT and OT teams is crucial for successful collaboration and project outcomes.
7. Shared Goals and Objectives: Aligning IT and OT teams toward common goals and objectives helps ensure that everyone is working toward the same vision and priorities.
8. Continuous Improvement: Regularly assessing and improving the collaboration process between IT and OT teams is essential for long-term success and adaptability to changing business needs.

To bridge the divide, van Lammeren and Ariens suggest this three-step plan:

1. Bring IT and OT together, but not too close: Start with smaller projects and limited scope, with a person or group from each organization acting as the interface to build common understanding, trust, and relations.
2. Transition to cross-functional teams: Move from a silo-based organization to cross-functional teams where IT and OT people work together on common problems like maintenance, sustainability, and energy management. This step is crucial for moving from isolated pilots to fast delivery of global-scale solutions.
3. Introduce Agile methodologies: Once the right teams are in place, introduce Agile methodologies to further improve efficiency and collaboration. Be cautious not to introduce too much change at once, as it may halt progress.

Success Stories and the Future of Manufacturing Digitalization

Van Lammeren and Ariens have seen success stories where the implementation of these concepts has led to faster solution delivery and happier customers. In one example, a plant manager reported that an intern completed a dashboard in three weeks that would have taken four to five months with different departments a year prior.

As more organizations adopt these principles, van Lammeren and Ariens believe that the digital transformation in manufacturing is only starting now. They encourage executives to explore the intersection between IT and manufacturing and help spread the word about the importance of bridging the IT-OT divide for Industry 4.0.

In conclusion, while the path to manufacturing digitalization is not easy, fostering collaboration between IT and OT through cross-functional teams and Agile methodologies can lead to significant improvements in productivity, efficiency, and innovation. As the industry continues to evolve, executives must prioritize bridging the IT-OT divide to unlock the full potential of Industry 4.0.

Watch van Lammeren and Ariens full presentation in our video library here.

And sign up for the next Enterprise Technology Leadership Summit here.

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