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Bainbridge, MD, 2023. Industry 4.0: an analysis of the impact upon UK-based automotive manufacturing organisations. DBA, Nottingham Trent University.
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Abstract
Industry 4.0 is an emerging technology-based phenomenon that some have described as a new era in manufacturing, which is so potentially disruptive it has sometimes been labelled the fourth industrial revolution. It is argued that since the launch of Industry 4.0 in 2011 (Kagermann et al., 2013) there has been a distinct level of media hype, uncertainty and scepticism surrounding this high technology strategy. Given these uncertainties, this thesis aims to explore the level of Knowledge, Adoption and Impact within the UK automotive and manufacturing industry. Being that Industry 4.0 is still arguably emerging, it was decided that questionnaire surveys and interviews were the most appropriate instruments to provide the flexibility to answer the research questions.
It was found from both the interviews and the survey that the overall level of diffusion of Industry 4.0 within the UK automotive manufacturing sector is only beginning to emerge slowly. Despite over 10 years in the making since its launch in Germany in 2011 (Kagermann et al., 2013), the level of awareness remains surprisingly low within the UK automotive manufacturing industry. It was revealed that some within the automotive and manufacturing industry still fail to distinguish between Industry 4.0 and today’s evolving industrial technologies, suggesting a level of confusion persisting within the sector.
In contrast, a small number of pioneers were found to have a more thorough understanding of Industry 4.0 and having taken positive steps to engage with this industrial phenomenon, looked to have pushed the boundaries further. With Industry 4.0 beginning to emerge in the UK, confusion has arisen within the automotive manufacturing sector entailing that the level of impact was somewhat difficult to determine.
It was observed from the interviews that the push for Industry 4.0 has attracted the attention of many technology providers in their attempt to sell technology and services. The research concluded that despite the ‘revolutionary’ jargon used as marketing hype by these organisations, for the moment Industry 4.0 within the UK automotive manufacturing sector is more around evolution than revolution.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Creators: | Bainbridge, M.D. |
| Contributors: | Name Role NTU ID ORCID |
| Date: | May 2023 |
| Rights: | The copyright in this work is held by the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the author. |
| Divisions: | Schools > Nottingham Business School |
| Record created by: | Laura Ward |
| Date Added: | 19 Feb 2024 10:45 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Feb 2024 10:45 |
| URI: | https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/50880 |
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