Title: Assessing the readiness for Industry 4.0 of metalworking companies: evidence in the south of Brazil

Authors: Luis Fernando Moreira; Gabriel Vidor

Addresses: Department of the Master's and Doctorate in Business Administration, University of Caxias do Sul, PPGA-UCS, Francisco Getúlio Vargas, 1130, Caxias do Sul, RS, Block F, Brazil ' Department of the Master's and Doctorate in Business Administration, University of Caxias do Sul, PPGA-UCS Francisco Getúlio Vargas, 1130, Caxias do Sul, RS, Block F, Brazil; Department of the Professional Master's Course in Production Engineering – PPGEP-UCS, Francisco Getúlio Vargas, 1130, Caxias do Sul, RS, Block F, Brazil

Abstract: In Brazil, Industry 4.0 is still in the development phase, but there is a growing interest on the part of companies. In 2021, the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) conducted a survey that showed that 69% of Brazilian companies already use some Industry 4.0 technology. The main benefits recognised by the adoption of these technologies are increased productivity, improved product quality, and decreased production costs. This research aims to develop an Industry 4.0 maturity scale that applies to the metalworking sector of the Serra Gaúcha, considering the specific factors of the sector, such as the technologies applied in the sector and the processes. The maturity scale should be able to measure the level of maturity of companies in the metalworking sector about the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0. The research method is quantitative, and descriptive, applied through a survey of 250 companies in the metalworking sector of the Serra Gaúcha, Rio Grande do Sul. Brazil. The results show that Brazilian companies are still in the initial phase of adopting Industry 4.0 technologies.

Keywords: Industry 4.0; maturity; metalworking; scale development; Brazil.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTLID.2024.140317

International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 2024 Vol.15 No.4, pp.384 - 424

Received: 21 Sep 2023
Accepted: 20 Nov 2023
Published online: 02 Aug 2024 *

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