It’s a myth that adoption of industry-4 means getting rid of legacy machines. Almost every manufacturer has legacy machines, and Industry-4 systems have to integrate with these. So it is very important for business leaders to demand this from solution providers and include legacy machines in smart manufacturing initiatives.

Follow few simple steps –

• It always starts with business objectives. So identify overall KPIs and outputs required from legacy machines for these KPIs.
• Identify a solution provider who has competencies to connect with legacy machines irrespective of their make and model
• The solution provider will also help you gather the right data for the right analysis – for example, only machine status (on/off/idle) can give you a lot of insights into productivity
• Agree on minimum viable output required and create standard definition to ensure smooth communication across multiple departments and cross functional teams
• Do a detail survey of legacy machines. There can be multiple options for connectivity. Do a cost-benefit analysis of these options and decide which is most optimum

Increase value derived from legacy machines and let them be part of digital transformation!