The degree of readiness for the implementation of Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 is causing significant changes in industrial sectors mainly in Europe, USA, and some countries in Asia. Industry 4.0 is a set of disruptive digital and physical technologies that offer new values and services to customers and organizations. In this study, we propose a model to measure the degree of readiness of a manufacturing organization with regard to the implementation of Industry 4.0. Some models have been proposed in the past to determine the degree of maturity of a company that measures the progress made by the company in the implementation of Industry 4.0. However, no model has yet been proposed that determines the degree of readiness of a company, which is an earlier step in the maturation process. To develop the proposed model in this study, we employ a structure based on the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J4000 standard for measuring the implementation of lean manufacturing in a company; the model is duly modified to encompass Industry 4.0 principles and concepts. The proposed model comprises eight technology enablers that are the most relevant based on existing literatures. The real-world utilization of the proposed model is tested by an auto-parts manufacturing company in Brazil.