Assessing Industry 4.0 readiness in manufacturing: a self-diagnostic framework and an illustrative case study

The purpose of this paper is to present an Industry 4.0 Readiness Assessment Framework (I4.0RAF) and demonstrate its applicability and practical relevance through a case study of a large manufacturing firm in an emerging economy.

The research firstly involved a synthesis of recent literature for the identification of important determinants, and their constituent criteria, for assessing the readiness of a manufacturing firm to transition to an Industry 4.0 setting and structuring them into a readiness assessment framework that can be used as a self-diagnostic tool. The framework was illustrated through a case study. The empirical findings of readiness assessment are validated using semi-structured interviews of senior management of the organization.

The proposed I4.0RAF was found to be a practically applicable self-diagnostic tool that can be used to assess a firm's readiness to transition to an Industry 4.0 setting with respect to eight important determinants. Cross-functional participation in the assessment helped the organization to determine priorities and interdependencies among the determinants.

The determinants and their constituent criteria can be further streamlined using inputs from practitioners, consultants and academics.

The findings demonstrate the interdependencies between the determinants, help to delineate interventions that can lead to synergistic outcomes and enabls planning to achieve higher levels of Industry 4.0 maturity.

A self-diagnostic tool as a basis for an informed discussion on transitioning to an Industry 4.0 setting is presented and illustrated through a case study in an emerging economy.