GPQI participates in the Industrial Transformation Mexico Fair 2023

From 04 to 06 October 2023, the ITM, an event of the Hannover Messe, celebrated its fifth anniversary in the city of Léon, Guanajuato in Mexico. Since its first edition in 2019, the ITM has become the most important fair on technology and Industrie 4.0 in Latin America. The fair offers a platform for public and private sector representatives to discuss topics ranging from digital transformation and smart manufacturing to automation and innovation for a sustainable industrial transformation.

 

GPQI hosted two panel discussions as part of the fair’s conference program. In these two panels, industry stakeholders deliberated on sustainability, interoperability, and cybersecurity as pillars of Industrie 4.0 and initiatives to strengthen Mexico’s QI for the transition towards electromobility. Industrie 4.0 and electromobility are two of the core topics addressed in the German-Mexican Dialogue on Quality Infrastructure (QI).

 

Three pillars for Industrie 4.0: sustainability, interoperability and cybersecurity

On 5 October, Heiko Herden, Technical project coordinator from the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau - VDMA), Ricardo Ibañez, Project Management Officer at Siemens Digital Industries & Product and Solution Security Officer (Industrial Cybersecurity) and Carlos Ramirez, Technical Director at Wago Mexico, participated in a panel discussion on key elements for the transformation towards Industrie 4.0.

 

The panel discussion aimed at elaborating on the role of sustainability, interoperability and cybersecurity for a successful implementation of Industrie 4.0 technologies. The discussion was held in the context of the growing need for digitalisation as well as the green transition.

The experts highlighted three essential elements for a successful transition to Industrie 4.0: sustainability, interoperability, and cybersecurity. They further identified Important challenges in all three areas: Interconnectivity of different data spaces, increasing cybersecurity threats and the need to accelerate the decarbonisation of the manufacturing sector.

 

In discussing possible responses to these challenges, standardisation emerged as an overarching topic. Panellists underlined the importance of using international standards like ISO/IEC 62443 for industrial cybersecurity, the Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) standard (IEC 62541) for Industrie 4.0 and ISO 14001 on Environmental Management Systems for a safe, efficient, and sustainable expansion of industry 4.0 technologies.

 

In this context, Ibañez emphasised the work of the expert group on Cybersecurity in the framework of the German-Mexican QI-Dialogue. This Working Group currently develops implementation guides for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), mappings of international cybersecurity standards and recommendations for regulation based on international standards.

 

Towards electric and low-emission transport in Mexico

On 06 October, industry experts from the automotive and urban mobility sectors exchanged perspectives on the status of the transition towards e-mobility in Mexico. They pointed out the importance of ensuring vehicle quality and safety through a robust and internationally harmonised QI-system, both for a successful transition and to strengthen the competitiveness of Germany and Mexico within the global value chains.

 

Alejandro Saniger, Urban Mobility Director at Bosch Mexico, presented the work on QI for electromobility that is currently being developed in four White Papers within the framework of the German-Mexican QI-Dialogue. The White Papers contain mappings of international technical regulations and standards, as well as recommendations to strengthen QI for e-mobility in Mexico on topics like charging infrastructure and batteries, heavy-duty vehicles and light vehicles.

 

Osvaldo Belmont Reyes, Technical Director of the Mexican Association of the Automotive Industry (AMIA), complemented Saniger’s perspective by emphasising the importance of public and heavy-duty transport as pioneers in the adoption of electromobility. Important challenges remain with respect to technical regulation, standardisation and conformity assessment for heavy duty vehicles in Mexico, as highlighted by the respective White Paper.

 

If you would like to engage in the German-Mexican QI-Dialogue, please contact us.