Beyond Technology Automation, 'Connectivity' is the Issue
To advance, a policy philosophy is necessary.

Last year, the government announced the 'Smart Manufacturing Innovation Vision 2025' and pledged to establish 30,000 smart factories by 2025. Accordingly, approximately 5,000 smart factories were deployed by 2017.

A forum titled "Measures to Promote Smart Factories" was held under the auspices of Assemblyman Kim Cheol-min. Attended by representatives from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and industrial complexes nationwide, the forum discussed relevant legal regulations for smooth budget allocation and strategies to revitalize smart factories.

A survey of companies that have actually adopted smart factories revealed positive effects, including an average 30% increase in productivity, a 45% reduction in defect rates, a 16% reduction in costs, and a 35% reduction in delivery times. Nevertheless, the lack of a clear definition of a smart factory is hindering growth.

Song Byeong-hun, Director of the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center, who gave the keynote presentation, explained, “Smart factories are currently evolving into complex forms that reflect new demands for connecting equipment and people rather than just automation systems,” adding, “Technologically, ‘connection’ is becoming an issue beyond automation.”

With the addition of digital technology to manufacturing, digital transformation is crucial. Digital transformation refers to the entire process of a digital twin, which involves visualizing the factory environment in advance. Center Director Song emphasized that the core technologies of smart manufacturing are equipment interoperability integration, value chain integration, production process integration, and human-centered production.

Director Song advised, “Smart factories must now unify the communication methods of existing equipment to create a connectable environment, connecting not only inside the factory but also to the outside. It will evolve into a form where production processes are standardized and extend to production design. Finally, it must be accompanied by a policy philosophy centered on human-centered production. This is because while dissemination and expansion are possible with technology alone, advancement requires policy support.”

Min Su-hong, CEO of Frontec, a company that implemented a smart factory through the Smart Factory Promotion Team, stated, “Most companies with smart factories in place remain at the basic stage. We are striving for advancement, but support is insufficient.” He added, “Current government policy focuses on creating a large number of smart factories, but I believe that advancement should also be reflected in the policy.”

He added, “They promote smart factories by saying that productivity increases and quality improves, but in reality, it is the quality of the workers' working environment that improves. We need to promote the fact that employees also benefit from it.”

Center Director Song stated, “The most important aspect of the factory of the future is vision. The value of good labor is crucial. Automation is not without risks,” adding, “For advancement, the system must change first. Under current regulations, fences are required to use collaborative robots, and humans are prohibited from approaching them. Introduction is difficult due to these factors.” He pointed out that "even with new technologies, it is difficult to use IoT immediately due to regulations under the Radio Waves Act."

It was also pointed out that workforce training related to smart factories is important. Seo Won-gap, a manager at the Korea Small Business Promotion Agency, stated, “Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) do not immediately begin operating smart factories just because they have been introduced. This is because they lack the personnel to manage them.” He explained that they have created a training program where current employees learn through hands-on practice at the factory. However, he noted, “Realistically, the training is structured as a short-term course. It is difficult for current employees to operate it within such a short timeframe.”

Accordingly, they explained that there is a need for a plan in which the company guarantees the training period for current employees and allows them to receive the training they desire at the training site for an extended period.

Lee Tae-jin, Executive Director of Metanet Global, stated, “In Germany, the state is leading the agenda. By establishing an organization called Industry 4.0, it has created a system involving various ministries, companies, and labor unions,” adding, “We also need a system that can oversee human resources, the advancement of SMEs, and technology development.”

He added, “It is also a problem that large corporations are missing in the domestic market. The entire value chain connection between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises is being lost.”