Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1216587
26 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2020 Sectors Next, let's filter the responses based on which sector with which the respondent iden- tifies to see if this uncovers any differences in perspective. Of the company role choices that we offered in the survey (i.e., original equip- ment manufacturer, PCB fabricator, assembly services provider, supplier, other), a signifi- cant majority identified as manufacturers and OEMs. In light of this, we will concentrate on these two sectors. Manufacturers Responses from manufacturers were com- prised exclusively of executive/management and engineering roles, with a nearly even split between the two roles. In response to the ques- tion asking to define what "digital factory" and "Industry 4.0" meant to them, two responses stood out: 1. "The digital connection between product and production data, equipment, and people in an automated way, using artificial intelligence at its limit." The leading response in the third slot was scalability, while all the other responses started to flatten out. Scalability is a slightly different kind of objective than revenue growth or cost containment. Overall, these objectives suggest good basic business management priorities: grow rev- enue, reduce operating costs, and invest in expansion. What roadblocks might the readers be fac- ing in implementing a digital factory solution, and responses covered the entire spectrum of choices (Chart 2). These responses align with some of the observations about digital factory obstacles made earlier in this issue by Sagi Reuven. In the "other" category, respondents most often men- tioned inter-machine communications issues. These comments generally came from respon- dents who also report having started their tran- sition to a smart factory. This would suggest that implementation in an existing facility may bring additional complexity to setting up data collection. Chart 2: Of the following, which do you expect—or have already faced —as key roadblocks to implementing a digital factory?