Abstract
The paper analysed factors that has the most impact in influencing the achievement of a sustainable process management model in the implementation of Industry 4.0 concepts within the Czech SME manufacturing sector. Several factors were identified and their interactions with digital technologies within the production environments was analysed. These factors, from an organisational perspective were identified as critical to success in the quest to achieve Industry 4.0 compliance and digital transformation of the manufacturing operations of companies. They include: strategy, organisational fit, competitiveness, operations and human resources. A mixed methods approach was adopted for the research. It involved both the qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches. The qualitative aspect involved an extensive systematic review of relevant literature which was useful in developing the conceptual framework and identifying the relevant factors that enable the implementation of an efficient Industry 4.0 process management model in SMEs; the quantitative aspect involved the use of a survey questionnaire to collect data which was analysed using confirmatory factor analysis statistical approach to test the measures of the constructs in the proposed conceptual framework. The result from the statistical analysis shows the factors that in the conceptual model that were supported as being relevant in achieving an efficient process management model for successful implementation of Industry 4.0 concepts in Czech manufacturing SMEs. The research limitation is based on the fact that the SMEs covered in the quantitative aspect of the research are restricted to a particular geographical location – Czech Republic. It would be interesting to have similar studies conducted in other geographies for a comparative perspective. It contributes to the scientific and practical discourse on Industry 4.0 process management model implementation in SMEs by investigating the phenomenon through the production of credible scientific evidence.
Highlights
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) within the manufacturing segment of industry are often faced with challenges related to achieving productivity improvements in their operations and manufacturing processes
Another interesting perspective is that of Petrasch and Hentschke (2016) whose assessment of Industry 4.0 is done in terms of technological concepts classified under three broad categories: Embedded Systems (ES)/CPS (Cyber-Physical Systems), Internet/Cloud of Things (IoT/CoT), Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)/ Internet of Services (IoS)/Cloud Computing (CC)
The idea of categorization is relevant in simplifying the inquiry into the dynamics of Industry 4.0 and all related concepts such as Lean Manufacturing which is a methodology with the potential to improve productivity and decrease costs in manufacturing organizations (Sanders, Elangeswaran, & Wulfsberg, 2016); Business Process Modelling (BPM) which describes behavioral aspects of a system and are usually on the for-mal requirements or early design level (Petrasch & Hentschke, 2016); and Cyber-Physical Systems and how they interact with current practices such as Lean Manufacturing in improving efficiency of existing processes analysis and modelling systems
Summary
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) within the manufacturing segment of industry are often faced with challenges related to achieving productivity improvements in their operations and manufacturing processes. More than often, these challenges result in budget and time overruns which in turns leaves them saddle with the prospects of lower levels of productivity, reduced competitiveness and a reduction in profitability. SMEs are aware of the time in which to learn and adopt new manufacturing technologies that will bring them significant benefits in the future and help them to It is about the stage in the organiza-tion and control of the entire value stream along the lifecycle of production technologies (Chromjakova, 2017, p. 3)
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