Greece and the Industry 4.0 intelligent automations

Article by Alex Nikolaidis, Associate Advisor, Sector of Industry, Development, Networks & Regional Policy, SEV, at Business File

Demand for intelligent industrial automations in Greece is increasing during the last years. Several Greek manufacturing companies, mainly in the sectors of food industry and metal constructions, have made progress in integrating Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and intelligent systems into production process, inventory management, preventive maintenance, invoice processing, etc., gaining know-how from international best practices.

However, domestic industry has the potential to make further progress, given the automation / digitalization levels of more mature European and international markets. According to the International Federation of Robotics (EFR), in 2016 Greece was ranked 36th in 44 countries regarding the robot density in the manufacturing industry (17 robots / 10,000 employees in industry, although the actual number might be much lower due to re-exports), lagging Portugal (58), Hungary (57), Poland (32), Israel (31) and Turkey (23). Since then, we estimate that the density index of Greece is improved, since several investments in robotic systems and smart factories were made, but not to an extent that would enable our country to converge on other European countries.

Competitive advantages
The development of a smart factory, that integrates industrial automations and digital technologies, includes benefits like better quality management (lower cost of control mechanisms by 7-12%), faster prototyping procedures up to 30%, focus on preventive maintenance (increased production time up to 60%, reduced maintenance costs by 5-10%), increased availability of raw materials by 20-30%, increased productivity of assets by 10-20%, improved quality by 10-35%, shorter changeover by 10-20% and lower inventory volume by 15-25%. Overall, production facilities become more efficient, since repetitive tasks are conducted with high precision and speed, while enterprises are more agile, adjusting timely their production volume to the fluctuations of demand.

Transformation of jobs
It’s more precise to say that the disruptive technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution, intelligent automations included, will contribute to the transformation of jobs (and not actually loss). SEV foresees that the changes will focus on augmenting human tasks with intelligent automations. Also, we should have in mind that the integration of intelligent systems in manufacturing may contribute to the emergence of new professions and job opportunities. For instance, investments in robots will surely increase demand for operators and engineers of robotic systems, chief robotics officers, technicians for augmented reality systems, etc. In this respect, enterprises have to upskill/reskill their workforce.

Greek SMEs and Robots
SMEs have a lot to benefit from Industry 4.0 automations. We expect that funding will be widely available from 2022 onwards. Indicatively, “Greece 2.0” plan will prioritize the financing of SMEs through subsidies of approximately €370 mn. for digital transformation actions (electronic payments, telework, digital office, etc.). Also, it will provide €75 mn. to manufacturing SMEs for investments in smart manufacturing and AI technologies. The new Development Law will prioritize digital transition, providing subsidies for investments in digital and technological transformation, the use of “Industry 4.0” technologies, robotics and AI, and the upgrade of relevant skills. Similarly, the new “Digital Transformation” program of NSRF 2021-2027 will include horizontal actions regarding the stimulation of investments of SMEs in innovative technologies, their take-up in all sectors of the economy, the development of digital skills, etc.