The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) is tasked with preparing the city’s companies for technology changes and updated business methods. Chamber members had the opportunity to learn more about the organization’s work on 12 March during a visit to two of HKPC’s initiatives – The Hatch and Inno Space. 

The Hatch, a joint undertaking between HKPC and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology in Germany, is the first systematic Design Thinking workshop in Asia. It aims to help businesses adapt to the Industry 4.0 era by promoting innovative industrial technology.

“Industry 4.0 is the underlying concept behind smart manufacturing,” said Jake Chan, Senior Consultant at HKPC. He also explained that Enterprise 4.0, or e4.0, deals with the digitization of enterprises and value chains by implementing six key technologies: sensors, network, data, human-machine interface, artificial intelligence and service robotics. 

“The aim of e4.0 is to establish and improve business intelligence forecasting capabilities, so that a company can become a ‘predictive enterprise’,” Chan said. 

HKPC does not just work with established businesses, and at Inno Space members learned about this ecosystem that provides support for start-ups and inventors to turn their ideas into products.