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Hilding Anders International

Interview With Davide di Blasi, Global Quality and Lean Director

Evolving Digital transformation in IoT Space

Interview With Davide di Blasi

Davide di Blasi has acquired 13 years of experience in Manufacturing in 3 different multinational companies. He has served several positions like Quality SPC, Lean Coordinator, Production Manager, Plant Manager, Industrial Director, Lean and Quality Director, and since 2016 partnership with Pavia University in Lean Production training course. He is continuously involved in leading people to common topics combined with a profound belief in lean principles.

What are the major hurdles that companies witness in the Industrial IoT space? What technologies do they adopt to mitigate these challenges?

The major problem companies facing nowadays is poor data management and digitalization. With my 12 years of experience in the IoT space, I have seen many companies, factories, or plant decide to go with a standalone solution which is probably cheaper in the beginning. But from a global point of view, it doesn’t hold any opportunity to check what kind of software is placed in a system locally. It’s not easy to find a global solution that can fit everyone because there are many solutions available in the market on which money can be spent. Sometimes companies don’t see the benefit of choosing a poor solution for data management or stopped looking for digital transformation. They can’t send the previous data after a few months or years as they decide to stay with an imperfect system, which can not handle because of the massive amount of monitoring. These problems can easily be seen in any complex organization without a tangible system or solution. With the Internet of things (IoT), ELT, and other most useful things are there that can be placed in advance at the lab and in plants; before that’s available on the cloud, the companies can mitigate such challenges.

What strategy and technologies will you adopt in order to mitigate these challenges?

The first step of the strategy is commitment. If companies have commitment, they can create a dedicated staff to adopt different invisible transformations.

Not only the IT staff but also the other most important departments of the organizations because this kind of process requires transnational roles. It is the first step to organize and identify a dedicated staff inside the organization for the change. Second, identify the most critical sides and plan with huge potential and low-level digitalization in business. In China, most companies have two or three big sites in Europe that are good to start. Digital prevention and improvement provide companies a way to compete with others in the market.

What are the current trends in IoT technology that companies should be on the lookout for?

There is a lot of demand for several applications and offers available today at different prices. Companies need to identify their needs and requirements while approaching the right solution. They should be more focused on the tools to view real-time performance tracking efficiency and leverage more benefits. It is important to define the key requirements initially and not follow the existing trend in the market. Companies should avoid spending lots of money on a system that they don’t need. Always choose the system that fits your requirements.

Companies should avoid spending lots of money on a system that they don’t need. Digital prevention and improvement provide companies a way to compete with others in the market

In your experience as a global quality and lean director, how important is it for entrepreneurs to understand and implement lean principles in Manufacturing?

I think that the correlation between the traditional lean, quality approach and digitalization today is very odd. The traditional way is more related to a kind of Japanese approach that is very low pack and high patch. The world is changing, and we have the opportunity and possibility to visualize and make tangible devices to monitor real times analysis. And it addresses the main correlation that I see today as a director. Digitization is now possible with the device, software, tools, and application available in the market. The main discussion is for quality because quality processes control statistical process analysis. If you have data, you can elaborate immediately; there is a lot of statistical analysis that gives you information regarding your process. And if your process is under control or out of control, it means it’s an opportunity to see digital transformation in Manufacturing. It clearly shows a correlation between lean quality and digitization.

According to you, what does the future of the manufacturing and IoT industries look like? What changes in the market do you foresee in the next 12-18 months?

I think we need that level of digital communication and digital companies that are more powerful from a technical perspective. We think we have everything available that we need, but it’s true. Sometimes in the house, we may operate some function and need some data. And clearly, it’s a consequence of our kind of mindset in the organization. It’s what we need to change the mindset of that organization in the coming years. Also, look in the box and see what’s up in this one last year in the digital world while working remotely.

The articles from these contributors are based on their personal expertise and viewpoints, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of their employers or affiliated organizations.