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“Industry 4.0” is a term now in common use generally to describe the “fourth industrial revolution”, a term that it is used interchangeably with. But what does it mean, on a high level and specifically for what impact it might have on your business?

To get us all on the same page, let’s first go back to “Industry 1.0” and be clear about the other distinct eras of industrial revolution:

Managing power supplies can always be a challenge. There are a lot of variables involved, especially when you want your power to be cordless and mobile. There are competing needs – in some scenarios, there is a constant need for more power as the number of devices, their features and their wireless needs grow, but traditionally this results in more weight. At the same time, many devices use less power than ever, allowing for smaller and smaller power packs to meet the need, but can be more expensive using the new chemistries and form factors they require.

There are a lot of innovations in manufacturing getting press in recent years, but most of them relate to the improvement of productivity through process improvement – continuous improvement, supply chain management, culture and developing talent. But there is one radically innovative technology that is flying under the radar but is already poised to bring the sci-fi future into today’s factories.

This year has been another banner year for all of us and our customers at Newcastle Systems, and with the short week we have for the Thanksgiving holiday, we wanted to take a moment to take stock and share some of what we are thankful for:

Last week we talked about a few common myths regarding Quality Control (see “5 Myths About Quality Control”), but one myth we did not cover was the one about Quality Assurance being the same thing. It’s not uncommon to hear them used interchangeably, and in a closed-loop environment of a large facility, it might not make a difference if everyone agrees to what the definitions are in their environment. But if you ever plan to use outside resources in any way, or want to make sure you are on the same page with suppliers and customers, it might be a good idea to understand the differences and apply them accordingly.

The annual DC Metrics study has been published and while the entirety of the report is worth studying as an excellent source of industry benchmarks and trends, we wanted to share and dive into a few of the highlights that jumped out at us as significant this year.

Despite the fact that ‘Sophia’, a humanoid robot, was granted citizenship by Saudi Arabia and the growing fear and trepidation among retail and warehouse workers in the past decade, the integration of robotics and automation into warehouse processes is hardly the job “Robot Job Stealing Apocalypse” it has been made out to be.

Over the last few years, warehouse technology has seen some major shifts. Some of these have entered the scene with a bang, and others have been more subtle but will have major effects in the future. As warehouse managers adjust to the new mobile, connected world, they have to consider many different aspects including cost of the technology, relevance to their business and how it will improve any or all parts of the process.