Understanding Industry 4.0: Definitions and insights from a cognitive map analysis

Abstract

Goal: The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of Industry 4.0 concepts and technologies through the lens of practitioners and scholars with considerable expertise in this field.
 Design / Methodology / Approach: A qualitative research was conducted based on seven semi-structured interviews guided by an open questionnaire, which was developed with the main goal of understanding the concept of Industry 4.0 and the technologies that compose this industrial phenomenon.
 Results: Based on this methodology, a cognitive map is presented as the result and final product of this study. This cognitive map is composed of five different clusters, each one represented by different colors, which relate to each of the questions in the questionnaire. Our analysis provides a better understanding of (i) the main concepts of Industry 4.0; (ii) the implementation stages for companies; (iii) the main enabling technologies; (iv) the concept of M2M (machine-to-machine); and (v) the scenario in Brazil. Each one of the clusters enables a discussion by bringing what is in the literature on the topic.
 Limitations of the investigation: The main limitations of the article are found in the subjectivity of the results and also in the scarcity in the literature related to some topics covered in the clusters.
 Practical implications: This research can be potentially useful for practitioners, since it sheds light on the Industry 4.0 concept and how technologies are used to integrate processes.
 Originality / Value: The clusters answers of the cognitive map allowed comparisons with the literature and a discussion about Industry 4.0, making it possible to direct and check gaps in the research.

Potential COVID-19 impacts on the transition to Industry 4.0 in the Brazilian manufacturing sector

“…According to Brizolla et al (2019), these professionals need to better understand the connection between Industry 4.0 concepts and the company's strategies. The lack of knowledge of these professionals and resistance to changes in organizational culture are the main barriers for the transition of manufacturing sector to Industry 4.0 (Benitez et al , 2019; Contador et al , 2020; Rocha et al , 2019; Satyro et al , 2019).…”

Cyber Threat Actors for the Factory of the Future

“…The generic term Industry 4.0 encompasses all these developments as a concept for the networking of the industrial landscape. The term was coined in Germany in the early 2010s and since then has prompted many technical/scientific publications worldwide [50]. The integration of existing technologies and tools such as embedded systems, sensors, and other industrial hardware to enable real-time data processing reflects the Industry 4.0 ecosystem.…”

Practice-Based Learning as Lever for Successfully Adapting Supply Chain 4.0 Technology: Foreground People

“…Taking a second look at the DHL trend radar, the human side of supply chain management is missing. Likewise, literature and cases on SCM 4.0, [1], [16], [2] have a fascination for the technology development, using AI, IoT, Robots of different kinds etc. to optimize the flow of goods and the speed of information and decision making in supply chain.…”