Towards a Framework for Assessing the Maturity of Manufacturing Companies in Industry 4.0 Adoption

Abstract

The recent introduction of new disruptive technologies aimed at monitoring, controlling, optimizing, and automating production systems is shifting the manufacturing landscape towards a fourth industrial revolution. In this new industrial paradigm, manufacturing companies face complex challenges requiring the development of new organizational and technological capabilities. With this context in mind, this chapter is intended to provide a maturity assessment framework to understand the transformation process in manufacturing companies transitioning to Industry 4.0. The proposed framework is applied to 10 in-depth industrial case studies in Canada and Italy, two countries with increasing awareness of the Industry 4.0 revolution. A comparative case analysis revealed four different standards, or archetypes, for Industry 4.0 adoption, which are discussed and analyzed, highlighting a relationship between a company's manufacturing configuration and its path towards Industry 4.0 adoption.