By: Félix Hernández
We’ve learned that the future is built by those who ask the right questions. One compelling question would be: How do we improve our industry? Like Socrates, who guided his interlocutors toward the truth through thoughtful questioning—picture him wandering through a courtyard with greenery and a small fountain, asking wise questions that prompt inner connection and discovery—today’s 4.0 technologies and digitally transformed industries are doing something similar.
Imagine a 21st-century factory with automated lines and workers collaborating. It’s the start of the morning shift, and the plant manager convenes the team coordination meeting. Leaders gather—especially production and quality heads—to engage in what used to look like a daily status report. But that ritual has changed.
Now, everyone watches a large dashboard on a screen wall. Some add quick reports from their workstations. The truth is right there: numbers, graphs, traffic lights showing productivity, data processed from IoT-connected machinery, robots, PLCs, and linked systems—ERP for orders, logistics systems, attendance control.
It’s no longer the latest, fastest machine that excites the manager—now, it’s flexibility, customization, and real-time production. The OT network (operations network) is as essential as a power plug. The plant manager no longer wants data once a day; they need it constantly, at all times.
A typical factory can generate terabytes of useful data in a single shift. Production is fast-paced and leaves no time for manual data reconciliation. Here lie the new Socratic industrial questions:
- Are delivery deadlines met?
- What causes delays?
- Can a poorly specified service order be rerouted?
- Which non‑quality test is raising concerns?
- Is there enough intermediate stock?
- How many overtime hours are needed?
- Are we preparing for predictive maintenance?
- Has the planning team simulated the next delivery cycle?
The challenge of Industry 4.0 is undeniably massive. Telefónica Empresas is committed to meeting it successfully. That’s why, in March, they signed a collaboration agreement with Geprom to work together across industrial sectors—automotive, auxiliary components, manufacturing, food, pharmaceuticals, logistics, energy—offering solutions covering the entire manufacturing cycle: procurement, flexible manufacturing, maintenance, quality control, warehouse logistics, and energy consumption monitoring.
For Telefónica Empresas, it’s a source of pride to “connect” factories, not only by securing the base infrastructure—networks and servers—but by powering the platforms that form the Industry 4.0 backbone.
Our industry will remain competitive only if it adopts these new tools. Many call it transformation, but the key is to see it as an opportunity to produce higher-value outcomes for our country.
And remember—the ultimate question remains: How to improve our industry?
Perhaps the answer lies in a Socratic–Kaizen fusion, blending East and West, digital and connected, a potent formula for the breakthrough we need.
To make that journey easier, Telefónica Empresas offers a specific pathway at its Demonstration Center, as shown in this video: