The Fourth Industrial Revolution, a subject frequently discussed among researchers and practitioners, is transforming manufacturing companies around the world thanks to new advanced technologies, promising to increase performances at the operational level, and transforming their organizational structure. This topic is still new and mostly unexplored, with many themes waiting to be investigated. Early studies suggest that Industry 4.0 is likely to completely change the work of firms willing to invest in smart tools, instruments granting increased visibility on the processes realized. High attention is also on the evolution of the roles of the workforce, and the new skills and competences that will be required to perform daily tasks. Of course, the definition of a clear strategy behind the digitalization project seems to be a fundamental element for the success of the transformation. Nevertheless, the link among these elements is still widely uncharted. This research study is therefore aimed at identifying if a relation among these variables do exist, and how it impacts the development of new Smart Factories. The study, after a brief introduction of the main characteristics of Industry 4.0 and early research on Smart Factories, presents an extensive literature review, aimed at identifying examples of strategic implementation of advanced technologies. Then, an empirical research is carried out, collecting evidence from multiple 4.0 projects, through the use of the Survey and the Case Study methodologies. In the end, new Smart Factory Models are identified, distinguishing them according to the objectives behind the digitalization project and the consequent actions required for advanced tools implementation, as well as the impacts observed at the organizational and operational level. This research contributes with interesting insights on manufacturing strategy, also identifying future directions for further investigate the topic.
La Quarta Rivoluzione Industriale, un argomento molto discusso tra ricercatori e manager, sta trasformando le aziende manifatturiere di tutto il mondo grazie alle nuove tecnologie avanzate, con la promessa di migliorare le performance operative, e trasformando, al contempo, la loro struttura organizzativa. Tale soggetto è ancora nuovo e largamente inesplorato, con molte tematiche ancora in attesa di essere analizzate più in dettaglio. Le prime ricerche sembrano indicare che l’Industria 4.0 porterà ad un cambiamento radicale nel lavoro delle aziende disposte ad investire nelle tecnologie smart, strumenti in grado di garantire una maggiore visibilità sui processi realizzati. Grande attenzione è posta anche sulla futura evoluzione del ruolo dei lavoratori, e delle nuove abilità e competenze richieste per realizzare le attività giornaliere. Sicuramente, la definizione di una strategia chiara alla base del progetto di digitalizzazione sembra essere un elemento fondamentale per il successo della trasformazione. Nonostante ciò, la definizione di un legame tra questi elementi sembra essere ancora mancante. Questa ricerca si propone dunque di identificare se una relazione tra tali variabili esista, e come essa possa impattare lo sviluppo delle nuove Smart Factories. Dopo una breve introduzione delle caratteristiche principali dell’Industria 4.0 e delle prime ricerche sull’argomento delle Fabbriche Intelligenti, la trattazione presenta una dettagliata analisi della letteratura, volta a identificare esempi di implementazione strategica delle tecnologie avanzate. Successivamente, una ricerca empirica viene presentata, raccogliendo evidenze da diversi progetti 4.0, utilizzando le metodologie della Survey e dei Case Study. In conclusione, i nuovi Modelli di Fabbrica 4.0 sono stati identificati, distinguendoli in base agli obiettivi dietro il progetto di digitalizzazione e le conseguenti azioni necessarie per l’installazione delle nuove tecnologie avanzate, così come gli impatti osservati a livello organizzativo e operativo. Questa ricerca contribuisce quindi con rilevanti risultati alla teoria sulle strategie manifatturiere, e, allo stesso tempo, identifica nuove direzioni verso le quali proseguire in futuro l’analisi di questi argomenti.
Smart factory models : manufacturing strategy, organization and operations management
Reginaldi, Elena
2019/2020
Abstract
The Fourth Industrial Revolution, a subject frequently discussed among researchers and practitioners, is transforming manufacturing companies around the world thanks to new advanced technologies, promising to increase performances at the operational level, and transforming their organizational structure. This topic is still new and mostly unexplored, with many themes waiting to be investigated. Early studies suggest that Industry 4.0 is likely to completely change the work of firms willing to invest in smart tools, instruments granting increased visibility on the processes realized. High attention is also on the evolution of the roles of the workforce, and the new skills and competences that will be required to perform daily tasks. Of course, the definition of a clear strategy behind the digitalization project seems to be a fundamental element for the success of the transformation. Nevertheless, the link among these elements is still widely uncharted. This research study is therefore aimed at identifying if a relation among these variables do exist, and how it impacts the development of new Smart Factories. The study, after a brief introduction of the main characteristics of Industry 4.0 and early research on Smart Factories, presents an extensive literature review, aimed at identifying examples of strategic implementation of advanced technologies. Then, an empirical research is carried out, collecting evidence from multiple 4.0 projects, through the use of the Survey and the Case Study methodologies. In the end, new Smart Factory Models are identified, distinguishing them according to the objectives behind the digitalization project and the consequent actions required for advanced tools implementation, as well as the impacts observed at the organizational and operational level. This research contributes with interesting insights on manufacturing strategy, also identifying future directions for further investigate the topic.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/171154