By spring 2024, Investissement Québec’s two cyber-physical factories will implement a new concept: that of the “digital twin”, which will allow them to accelerate the pace towards what is called Industry 4.0.
“We support several business profiles in mastering their operations processes,” underlines Geneviève Lefebvre, director, digital transformation, at Investissement Québec – CRIQ. “They must seek new productivity gains. With the digital twin, the entire flow of materials and data of the company is reproduced in software. »
Basically, the digital twin is a decision-making tool that allows you to make real choices based on what simulations linked to the different machines in a factory indicate in relation to production or delivery, for example.
Please note: this is not, however, a mechanism that you can use overnight as an entrepreneur.
“The question we often get asked is why not do it from the beginning? Because a digital twin needs to be nurtured. It’s real-time modeling, so we need real-time data,” explains François Gingras, vice-president of Investissement Québec.
“A production floor is complex,” adds Ms. Lefebvre. It includes countless amounts of data: orders, humans, equipment, surprises… It requires a level of control and understanding. »
The two factories, which are located in Montreal and Quebec City respectively, are designed to help entrepreneurs in the province understand what to do to take a shift towards digital transformation. To date, nearly 2,000 participants have visited them.
On site, the Investissement Québec team uses practical tools to represent all the typical stages of a factory, from order entry to delivery.
The visits, which last either half a day or a full day, get managers’ minds buzzing. “It’s first enthusiasm, then the realization [that it involves work and investment] and then a positive openness to say to yourself ‘I have a plan, an idea’,” explains François Gingras .
There are several steps before maximizing your potential in this area. A company can first start by digitizing its administrative processes before gradually integrating more digital technologies into its ways of doing things, for example.
How quickly a company can make this shift depends on the reality of the company and then “the time and focus” it will put into it. It is often counted in years.
While some sectors have adopted it more quickly, such as automotive or food, digital transformation is “essential” for growing companies. And it’s a “continuous” process, according to Geneviève Lefebvre.
“Businesses all have an interest in looking at the digital options available to them,” believes François Gingras. We are people who are not here to push a solution, but to see what best suits their situation. »
– Investissement Québec operates two cyberphysical factories, one in Montreal and the other in Quebec.
– These factories are used to show companies how they can take a digital shift.
– Over the next six months, Investissement Québec wants to implement the “digital twin” in its factories.
– Demand for digital transformation advice has been increasing in recent years, according to IQ.
– Digital transformation is an ongoing process that requires constant attention and effort from a company’s managers, according to IQ experts.
