Having recognised the enabling role of product lifecycle management (PLM) technology for equipping industry in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR/4IR), the Department of Trade and Industry supported the establishment of a new PLM technology centre at the CSIR, by making Siemens PLM software licenses available to the CSIR. This software will be used to support small, medium and micro enterprises.

This Industry 4.0 PLM centre for technology thus forms a virtual and physical platform  for learning and  collaborative product development space for industry and researchers alike whilst demonstrating state of the art industry case studies

The rapid rise and convergence of emerging technologies is driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR/4IR). This is a collective term for technologies and concepts of value chain organisation that draw together cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things and the Internet of Services, as well as other emerging technologies, such as cloud technology, big data, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, agile and collaborative robots, and additive manufacturing. By enabling smart factories, virtual and physical systems of manufacturing globally cooperate with each other in a flexible way. PLM is an important enabler of the fourth industrial revolution.

The new PLM capability will help to drive the digital transformation of industry with cooperation at all levels between companies, industries and institutions. It  will provide Industry 4.0 readiness assessments and benchmarking against similar companies; plant simulation and optimisation services; plant automation and human-centred automation solutions, including robotics; product development support; PLM; regulatory support and the building of digital replicas of physical assets for products and plants.