Challenges and barriers in integrating Industry 4.0 and continuous improvement into an operational excellence plan

Figures & data

Table 1. Constructs, theoretical framework, items to be evaluated and scales for the research inquiry.

Constructs	Theoretical references	Item	Scales
Inovation	Calabrese et al. (2022); Tsakalerou & Akhmadi, (2021); Martinho et al. (2022).	The development of new human and organizational skills makes it possible to explore new opportunities for innovation and increase in technologies, impacting strategic management?	[] Totally agree [] Agree [] Indifferent [] Disagree [] Totally disagree
		Industry 4.0 practices, driven by worker involvement, encourage process efficiency, resulting in higher and better productivity through which factors?	[] Better use of resources and tools [] Greater operational efficiency [] Greater integration between different areas [] More safety for workers [] Reduction of waste [] None
		Strategy and technological competences lead to sustainable processes and help in the management of operations?	[] Totally agree [] Agree [] Indifferent [] Disagree [] Totally disagree
Operations management	Ciccarelli et al. (2022); Foley et al. (2022); Tripathi et al. (2022); Liu et al. (2022); Schumacher et al., (2022); Huang et al. (2022); Fettermann et al. (2018); (Lotfi and Saghiri 2018r); Sangwa and Sangwan (2018).	OpEx establishes strategies for competitiveness in different markets, ensuring long-term competitive advantages through the use of technologies in manufacturing processes?	[] Totally agree [] Agree [] Indifferent [] Disagree [] Totally disagree
		Considering the factors presented, which one best summarizes the organizational and procedural understanding of the importance for the implementation of Industry 4.0 practices.	[] Organizational and procedural understanding [] Flexibility [] Integration of indicators [] Complex management models, aimed at solving problems [] Overlapping processes [] Resilience of workers to changes [] None
		Availability of intellectual capital is necessary to develop processes, often created quickly and iteratively and to produce adaptable results.	[] Totally agree [] Agree [] Indifferent [] Disagree [] Totally disagree
		Digital production systems facilitate process adaptability, based on the value stream model for Industry 4.0 practices.	[] Totally agree [] Agree [] Indifferent [] Disagree [] Totally disagree
		The development of long-term quality practices and the flexibility to serve customers helps to break down operational barriers.	[] Totally agree [] Agree [] Indifferent [] Disagree [] Totally disagree
		The difficulty of deploying OpEx program in factories with high variability and on-demand production jeopardizes operations management integrated with Industry 4.0 practices.	[] Totally agree [] Agree [] Indifferent [] Disagree [] Totally disagree
		What is the level of maturity in operations management in relation to the implementation of Industry 4.0 practices?	[] Very good: all processes linked and monitored in a virtual way [] Good: processes linked and monitored in a virtual way, with occasional problems [] Reasonable: processes linked but not monitored in a virtual way [] Bad: few processes linked and not monitored in a virtual way [] Very bad: processes not linked
Quality management	Ciccarelli et al. (2022); Foley et al. (2022); Tripathi et al. (2022); Rajab et al. (2022); Conference et al. (2022); Huang et al. (2022).	Considering the factors presented, which ones allow you to identify strategic trends in the development of quality products?	[] Value Stream Mapping – VSM [] Kanban and 5S [] Plan, Do, Check, Action – PDCA [] Six Sigma [] Total Productive Maintenance – TPM [] Operational Excellence plan [] None
		Considering the technologies presented, which ones increase productivity and are they oriented towards the strategy adopted by the companies?	[] Big data [] Internet of Things – IoT [] Additive manufacturing [] Shop floor management [] None
		The use of technologies depends on an organized and effective management of operations and requires the availability of qualified human and technological resources?	[] Totally agree [] Agree [] Indifferent [] Disagree [] Totally disagree
		Quality programs help to add value?	[] Yes [] No
		What technologies help the OpEx program in the transition of organizations to a strategic model of value creation and addition?	[] Big data [] Internet of Things – IoT [] Additive manufacturing [] Shop floor management [] None
		OpEx organizations are focused on adding value?	[] Totally agree [] Agree [] Indifferent [] Disagree [] Totally disagree
Competitive advantage	Tripathi et al. (2022); Conference et al. (2022); Huang et al. (2022); Tsakalerou & Akhmadi (2021).	Development of technologies, implementation of Industry 4.0 and digital integration in manufacturing used as a differentiation strategy in adding value?	[] Totally agree [] Agree [] Indifferent [] Disagree [] Totally disagree
		What factors help in the development of strategic objectives for manufacturing?	[] Development and integration of technologies [] Integration of technologies [] Operational Excellence plan [] None
		What factors help the OpEx program to establish competitiveness strategies through training in Industry 4.0 practices, with management models aimed at different technologies?	[] Total quality management and continuous data collection [] Integration of resources and areas [] Reengineering [] Process Automation (Robotic Process Automation – RPA) [] Process virtualization [] None

Table 2. Characterization of the sample, by country and sector of economic activity.

Economic Sector	Countries										Sample
	South Africa	Germany	Argentina	Brazil	Chile	United States	France	Poland	Portugal	Sweden
Food	1			9							11%
Consumer goods				5							5%
Pharmaceutical				4							4%
Mining				2							2%
Chemical				5						1	7%
Services				6		1			1	1	10%
Processing		2	1	42	1	5	2	1			60%
Transport				1							1%

Table 3. Variables (V), categories of variables and the respective theoretical references.

Variable	Category	Theoretical references
V1. Developing new skills with technology. V9. Sustainable processes.	Innovation	Calabrese et al. (2022); Tsakalerou & Akhmadi (2021); Martinho et al. (2022).
V2. Use of technologies in OpEx. V3. Availability of intellectual capital and process development. V6. Operational barriers. V7. Implementation of OpEx in industries with high production variability. V8. Maturity to implement Industry 4.0 practices. V11. Adaptability of processes to Industry 4.0 practices.	Operations management	Ciccarelli et al. (2022); Foley et al. (2022); Tripathi et al. (2022); Liu et al. (2022); Conference et al. (2022); Huang et al. (2022); Fettermann et al. (2018); Lotfi and Saghiri (2018); Sangwa and Sangwan (2018).
V4. Availability of intellectual capital and technology development. V10. OpEx programs are focused on adding value.	Quality management	Ciccarelli et al. (2022); Foley et al. (2022); Tripathi et al. (2022); Liu et al. (2022); Conference et al. (2022); Huang et al. (2022).
V5. Industry 4.0 practices and added value.	Competitive advantage	Tripathi et al. (2022); Conference et al. (2022); Huang et al. (2022); Tsakalerou & Akhmadi (2021).

Figure 1. Method for analysis of statistical variables.

Table 4. Propositions (P), categories for the propositions and respective theoretical references.

Propositions	Category	Theoretical references
P1. Organizational and process understanding are important for the implementation of Industry 4.0 practices.	Operations management	Ciccarelli et al. (2022); Foley et al. (2022); Tripathi et al. (2022); Liu et al. (2022); Conference et al. (2022); Huang et al. (2022); Fettermann et al. (2018); Lotfi and Saghiri (2018); Sangwa and Sangwan (2018).
P2. Knowledge of different manufacturing methods allows identifying strategic trends in the development of quality products. P3. The use of technologies increases productivity and is oriented towards the strategy adopted by companies. P4. OpEx programs provides, with the help of technologies, the transition of organizations to a strategic model of creation and add value. P5. Quality programs help to add value.	Quality management	Ciccarelli et al. (2022); Foley et al. (2022); Tripathi et al. (2022); Liu et al. (2022); Conference et al. (2022); Huang et al. (2022).
P6. OpEx establishes strategies for competitiveness through training in Industry 4.0 practices. P8. Strategic objectives directed towards manufacturing.	Competitive advantage	Tripathi et al. (2022); Conference et al. (2022); Huang et al. (2022); Tsakalerou & Akhmadi (2021).
P7. Industry 4.0 practices help process efficiency.	Innovation	Calabrese et al. (2022); Tsakalerou & Akhmadi (2021); Martinho et al. (2022).

Figure 2. Contribution of variables to compose components.

Table 5. Variables and correlations which compose component 1.

Variable	Correlation
V1. The development of new skills with technology.	0.75
V5. Industry 4.0 practices and value addition.	0.29
V6. Operational barriers.	0.40
V2. Use of technologies in Operational Excellence.	0.46
V9. Sustainable process.	0.11
V11. Adaptability of processes to Industry 4.0 practices.	0.24

Table 6. Variables and correlations which compose component 2.

Variable	Correlation
V3. Availability of intellectual capital and process development.	0.18
V8. Maturity to implement Industry 4.0 practices.	0.15
V10. Operational Excellence is focused on adding value.	0.35
V4. Availability of intellectual capital and technology development.	0.30
V9. Sustainable process.	0.70

Table 7. Variables and correlations which compose component 4.

Variable	Correlation
V2. Use of technologies in Operational Excellence.	0.62
V9. Sustainable process.	0.20
V6. Operational barriers.	0.40
V5. Industry 4.0 practices and value addition.	0.16

Table 8. Summary of component compose.

Component 1	Component 2	Component 4
Development associated with technology	Sustainable process	OpEx and application of technologies
V1. The development of new skills with technology.
V2. Use of technologies in the OpEx.		V2. Use of technologies in the OpEx.
	V3. Availability of intellectual capital and process development.
	V4. Availability of intellectual capital and technology development.
V5. Industry 4.0 practices and value addition.		V5. Industry 4.0 practices and value addition.
V6. Operational barriers.		V6. Operational barriers.
	V8. Maturity to implement Industry 4.0 practices.
V9. Sustainable process.	V9. Sustainable process.	V9. Sustainable process.
	V10. OpEx organizations are focused on adding value.
V11. Adaptability of processes to Industry 4.0 practices.

Figure 3. Overview of organizations regarding the implementation of the OpEx plan and Industry 4.0 practices.

Figure 4. Strategic trends for quality.

Figure 5. Vectors that support the OpEx plan and Industry 4.0 practices with strategic policies.

Figure 6. Conditions for the implementation of Industry 4.0 practices in organizations.

Figure 7. Technological means that provide a competitive advantage for organizations.

Figure 8. Vectors that influence the efficiency of processes.

Figure 9. Strategic aspects for process development.

Figure 10. Framework that assists in operations management and continuous improvement processes.

Table 9. Relationship between propositions and components.

	Propositions
	P1	P2	P3	P4	P5	P6	P7	P8
Component 1	x	x	x	x			x	x
Component 2	x				x	x
Component 4	x		x	x				x

Figure 11. Variables that impact the OpEx plan, considering Industry 4.0 practices.

Table 10. Biggest challenges and barriers to integrate Industry 4.0 and continuous improvement into an operational excellence plan.

Challenge	How to overcome?
Satisfactory results	Massive data analysis and dissemination of acquired knowledge
Add value through technologies	Investment in qualified people and process improvement
The transition of organizations to a world-class technological model, impacting all businesses	Availability of intellectual and technological capital
Quick decision making	Consolidated and existing data in the processes. Integration between different areas, through different technological resources
Integration between areas, resources and processes	Better organizational understanding
Sustainable development	Resource Integration
Competitive advantage	Integration between technologies, processes and quality
Integration of indicators	Integration between areas, resources and processes
Greater assertiveness in identifying bottlenecks and errors in processes	Changing control from a human-machine approach to a software-machine approach
Barriers	How to overcome?
Cost of technological integration	Investment in more accessible technologies to break the first barrier
Development of new professional skills	Training
Resilience of human resources to new technologies and processes	Better organizational understanding
Integration of processes for Industry 4.0 practices	Understanding of the technologies used and how to apply them in the processes
Organizational culture	Adoption and implementation of a consistent OpEx, investment in human and material resources and adherence to a dynamic and transparent management model

Calabrese, A., Dora, M., Levialdi Ghiron, N., & Tiburzi, L. (2022). Industry’s 4.0 transformation process: How to start, where to aim, what to be aware of. Production Planning and Control, 33(5), 492–512. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2020.1830315

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Tsakalerou, M. & Akhmadi, S.(2021). Agents of innovation: Clusters in industry 4.0. Procedia Manufacturing, 55(C), 319–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2021.10.045

 Google Scholar

Martinho, R., Lopes, J., Jorge, D., de Oliveira, L. C., Henriques, C., & Peças, P. (2022). IoT Based Automatic Diagnosis for Continuous Improvement. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(15), 9687. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159687

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Ciccarelli, M., Papetti, A., Cappelletti, F., Brunzini, A., & Germani, M. (2022). Combining world class manufacturing system and Industry 4.0 technologies to design ergonomic manufacturing equipment. International Journal on Interactive Design & Manufacturing (IJIDeM), 16(1), 263–279. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12008-021-00832-7

 Google Scholar

Foley, I., McDermott, O., Rosa, A., & Kharub, M. (2022). Implementation of a lean 4.0 project to reduce non-value add waste in a medical device company. Machines, 10(12), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3390/machines10121119

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Tripathi, V., Chattopadhyaya, S., Mukhopadhyay, A. K., Saraswat, S., Sharma, S., Li, C., & Rajkumar, S. (2022). Development of a data-driven decision-making System using lean and smart manufacturing concept in Industry 4.0: A case study. Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2022, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/3012215

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Liu, W., Peng, T., Stief, P., Dantan, J., Etienne, A., & Siadat, A. (2022). Using Industry 4.0 Capabilities for Identifying and Eliminating Lean Wastes. 55th CIRP Conference on Manufacturing Systems, (2021), 117, 21–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2022.04.004.

 Google Scholar

Schumacher, S., Hall, R., Bildstein, A., & Bauernhansl, T. (2022). Toolbox Lean 4. 0 – Development and Implementation of a Database Approach for the Management of Digital Methods and Tools. Procedia CIRP, 107(2021), 776–781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2022.05.061

 Google Scholar

Huang, Z., Jowers, C., Kent, D., Dehghan-Manshadi, A., & Dargusch, M. S. (2022). The implementation of Industry 4.0 in manufacturing: From lean manufacturing to product design. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 121(5–6), 3351–3367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-09511-7

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Fettermann, D. C., Cavalcante, C. G. S., Almeida, T. D., & Tortorella, G. L. (2018). How does Industry 4.0 contribute to operations management? Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 35(4), 255–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681015.2018.1462863

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Lotfi, M., & Saghiri, S. (2018). Disentangling resilience, agility and leanness: Conceptual development and empirical analysis. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 29(1), 168–197. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-01-2017-0014

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Sangwa, N. R., & Sangwan, K. S. (2018). Development of an integrated performance measurement framework for lean organizations. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 29(1), 41–84. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-06-2017-0098

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar