5G Technology: The Key to Boost Industry 4.0 in Indonesia

5G Network Opens the Possibility of Digitizing Mining in Indonesia

The much-talked fifth-generation mobile network, also known as 5G, has been an exciting topic in the tech industry for many years now. This also triggers the acceleration for implementing the 5G in Indonesia.

According to Chinese tech giant Huawei, 5G is set to take efficiency and productivity for industries to the next level on a global scale. With such analyses, 5G in Indonesia will bring the country’s fourth industrial revolution to a new high.

For boosting Industry 4.0, 5G in Indonesia becomes the key to improving the Internet of Things (IoT), smart manufacturing, and collaboration via the cloud. The faster mobile network capacity, flexibility of use, and ultra-low latency show how industries can fully optimize the usage of 5G in Indonesia other than smart manufacturing, such as the mining industry.

Indonesia is blessed with an abundance of mineral resources means that it is home to several mining companies. The two most important concerns for mining companies, safety, and efficiency, add to how 5G in Indonesia can also help the mining industry’s productivity.

5G in Indonesia will open up the innovations for the mining industry, such as providing unmanned trucks and excavators and AI for monitoring mining belt conveyors. Early warnings and troubleshooting can be identified immediately as the entire process is automated.

Indonesia’s telecommunications provider giants, such as Telkomsel and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchinson, are set to establish their 5G services in major Indonesian cities like Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, Bandung, Denpasar, and Makassar, although still with limited coverage.

5G Network in Indonesia: Current State of Infrastructure

Digital Talents as a Future Resource

With Indonesia’s digital economy being estimated to grow eight times by 2030, talents within the country will need more than just basic digital skills to tap into this growth potential.

According to Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Nadiem Makarim, The number of digital talents needed is in the millions, and Indonesia is still desperately lacking. Nadiem mentioned that the education system must be drastically changed to meet the requirements of digital talents. Nadiem also adds it is crucial to focus on cultivating Indonesian digital talents to keep up with the demand of the ever-increasing digital economy.

The Merdeka Belajar and Kampus Merdeka initiatives are programs schools and universities are implementing. They distribute technology school equipment like laptops and projectors and provide high-speed internet.

Kampus Merdeka allows Indonesian students to study outside majors for three semesters. They can get real-life work experience at tech companies. This is an effort to strengthen collaboration between companies and future digital talents.

Providing recruitment and HR establishment service, Cekindo offers a one-stop solution for finding digital talents following industry needs.

To support the digital industry growth in Indonesia, President Joko Widodo also asks local digital talents pursuing their careers abroad to come back to Indonesia to contribute to the growing 4.0 industry.

President Joko Widodo thinks that Indonesia needs digital talents in many fields, namely AI, cloud computing, digital design, digital marketing, and blockchain. The untapped potential of Indonesia’s digital economy is massive, especially with its estimated growth of USD 146 million.

After seeing a significant increase in 2020 and 2021, investing in Indonesia’s digital industry for a solid infrastructure, such as a 5G network, should be prioritized.

5G Network Benefits the Mining Industry

Aspects of Digitizing The Mining industry

Mining companies see extraordinary growth even when minor business process improvements are made. The betterment of yield, productivity, and utilization can increase output massively. In Indonesia, mining contributes to around 5% of the country’s GDP and 15% of exports.

With its contributions, taking the mining industry in Indonesia to be digitalized can raise profits by 20%. Utilizing technological advances, such as 5G in Indonesia, the mining industry can show higher production levels and improve safety for workers, as digitization creates a more standardized process.

However easy this may sound, upgrading skills and a personnel refresh will be necessary for companies going through this digital process. Savings in the mining industry has shown significantly by implementing Industry 4.0.

Advanced analytics, the Internet of Things, automation, machine learning, and robotics are just a few examples of Industry 4.0 implementation. Indonesia is one of the countries to recognize the potential of Industry 4.0, and many mining companies have only slowly moved toward it instead of taking it up at a more rapid pace.

The slow advancement is caused by their difficulties in capturing the business impact and scaling up use cases. Slow internet connectivity at sites, low education levels on digital ecosystems, and a small number of local reference cases are why Indonesia’s mining industry is not reaching its full potential.

In a mining company, some processes can be digitized, which will improve output. Increased transparency across the entire value chain will result in better handoff.

The real-time transparency when dealing with supply chain processes (from pit to port to market) will enable better decision-making and maximize margins. Other than that, the better data they now get can eliminate unknowns in the digital transformation.

Building the exemplary data architecture modularly and on par with the business requirement foundation will help us use the data effectively. This will rapidly tweak plans and schedules for better inventory management. It will also improve blending and reduce the costs of demurrage.

According to EY, there are several areas where advanced technological solutions can help a company in its digital transformation.

Digital Twin

A Digital Twin is also known as a solution that creates a replica of a mine that blends AI with mining knowledge to spot problems before it happens and identifies new opportunities for better asset productivity, cost, and overall quality.

Cyber Security

Developing cyber security with current enhancements will improve day-to-day resilience with a more proactive and pragmatic approach that fits the future.

Integrated Operating Center

An intelligent decision-making hub wherein miners can adapt to operations with agility in changing conditions. This system can help miners plan, set up, and run IOCs for greater productivity and performance benefits from going digital.

How the 5G Network Benefits the Mining Industry

The mining industry is beginning to understand the importance of undergoing a digital transformation. Improvements in infrastructure and communication networks are required to address these challenges.

5G will be the most important to boost this transformation. Once 5G is fully established, data can be captured with 100x speed, and artificial intelligence applications will be highly improved.

The mining industry will benefit from some developments such as:

Self Driving Vehicles: this is a risky transportation process where minerals are sent from the extraction point to the deposits and then to the processing areas. These vehicles will prevent accidents and injuries to workers and reduce fuel consumption, increasing efficiency.

Real-Time Monitoring: mining operators will receive a reduction in maintenance costs. The monitoring improvement also prevents up to 70% of potential damage if the machines provide analyzable data. Potential faults of wear and tear can also be seen immediately.

Inspections with Unmanned Drones: areas deemed unsafe for humans can be accessed by automated aerial vehicles such as drones, reducing inactive periods by 7%.

The mining industry in Indonesia is perceived as one of the critical sectors of the national economy. Therefore, every company must provide the relevant business licenses and permits to comply with the regulations.