It is not the lack of technology in Africa, but rather the lack of skills, that is reducing the ability of companies to adopt new manufacturing technologies, says special purpose machinery manufacturer Jendamark Automation innovation executive director Yanesh Naidoo.

Companies aiming to become smart enterprises must take the long-term view of how they must change their ways of working to support new demands and meet the desired objectives.

"In terms of digitalising factories, bridging the adoption gap is not only about ensuring that the executives on the top floor have visibility to machines on the shop floor, but also about ensuring that operators and technicians understand the reasons, the context and their roles for technologies being deployed on the shop floor," said Jendamark Odin Solutions engineering manager Jeannie Serfontein.

Companies in Africa are producing advanced manufacturing equipment and systems that are mainly exported to developed countries and regions. Jendamark exports up to 95% of the high-technology production lines and systems it builds to companies in the EU.

"We have the technology in Africa, but not the adoption. This mismatch in skills is one of the reasons Industry 4.0 has not had the impact we thought it would have had by now," Naidoo said during the second day of the Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) Africa 2024 Summit, in Sandton, Gauteng, on October 17.

The company has introduced various solutions, such as workstation operator guidance, that enable operators to develop their skills on the job.

This ensured that the process was completed according to the correct quality requirements and specifications, while retaining the flexibility of a human operator who could build many different components, said Serfontein.

Similarly, the company's Odin virtual reality solution can be used to upskill employees in a safe, virtual environment, which can also simulate various errors to expose them to potential problems and how to solve them without risk to them or to operations.

"Such training also allows employees to expand their workstation footprint by developing new skills to perform new functions," she added.

Additionally, digitalisation of factories and smart manufacturing was a "lifestyle, not a project", and required continuous training and skills development, said Naidoo.

"Companies must also allow room for employees to make mistakes because, when you are developing products at the cutting-edge of existing technology, you will not always be right and, in fact, will often get it wrong more times than right before a breakthrough," he noted.

Allowing employees, from the shop floor to the top floor, to play and experiment with new technology systems and providing them with training on these systems was critical, he added.

It was much simpler to develop plans, but more time needed to be spent on the shop floor, where much of the change would occur, by ensuring that the changes were communicated, understood and training provided for people to adopt the plans, the new systems and the digital, smart factory, said Serfontein.

Additionally, sometimes the barrier to introducing new technologies was a perception that leaders wanted to minutely monitor employee's performance. This required that leaders explain that the intention was to boost efficiency, visibility and agility, and not to a create "whip", said Naidoo.

Further, scaling up hardware was very different to scaling up software systems, especially given the complexity of real-world environments. Companies should appreciate that such hardware challenges, as well as safety considerations, would mean that it would take time to achieve digital transformation objectives, he added.

"Many people perceive Industry 4.0 to be IT-led, but it is the opposite and must be engineering-led initiatives that will have an impact on the shop floor.

"IT is an enabler, and the main focus should be to deliver an outcome and provide value to the business, from the engineers to employees on the shop floor. The experts should be supported by the IT team to achieve the intended outcomes safely and securely," Naidoo said.

Meanwhile, teams tended to develop an appreciation for technologies when they used them and learedn by experiencing how the new systems worked and what they could do for the employees and the enterprise, said Serfontein.

"Make technologies available to your employees and they will start to appreciate the technologies and their evolving roles," she said.

It is important that the role of education in an organisation must not be understated.

"Digital transformation is people. It can start with a simple roadmap, such as to reduce paper, put in place real-time visibility of processes, or streamlining communications. As the company becomes more adept at implementing new systems, it can then look at automating some processes and managing by exception," said Naidoo.

"It is also about digitally transforming people in the organisation. Employees must understand the impact on the organisation from a human perspective, otherwise investments in technology could be wasted."

Industrial companies should start with small-scale initiatives and, even if projects are not perfect, get some of these projects through to the end so that everyone in the organisation can understand what it takes to implement change, he said.