Track: Special Track: Industry 4.0

Abstract

 The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) has become the main focus for economic development and competitive advantage for countries and industries. The advancement of the 4 IR technologies introduced the era of digital technology, whereby all industries, government institutions, small and medium enterprises are seeking these technologies such as the internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and machine learning to name but a few. Yet, there is a perception that the South African manufacturing sector is lagging behind with the adoption of these advanced technologies. Moreover, some of these manufacturers are still depending on their traditional methods and conventional machine tools. Meanwhile, the era of digital technology has presented these tools with industries that had successfully achieved a competitive advantage within the marketplace. As a result, this paper analyses the factors contributing to economic growth and sustainability in relation to the adoption and usage of new technologies. The paper provides some insights into the readiness and adaption of the South African manufacturing sector of the new technologies as well as the global conformity with 4IR. Industries are being forced to rethink their business processes and the way they conduct business. In response to the challenges deriving from globalization, manufacturing companies today face the need for more flexible and agile manufacturing equipment. Also, the pressure has been posed by their competitors that have taken advantage of these technologies and noted significant improvement in cost reduction, cycle time, productivity, and safety issues.  Clearly, the usage of the industry 4.0 tools such as automation, robotics, smart production, artificial intelligence, and big data presents opportunities. From the South African manufacturing perspective, 4IR is challenging a sector that has been in decline for the past decade due to a lack of adopting advanced manufacturing technologies. Whereas this sector is one of the sectors that is expected to strengthen economic growth and job creation. Findings suggest that there is a need to rethink the current production systems in order to develop a manufacturing digital transformation model that enables the conversion to smart factories,  automation processes, real-time data of production process, and marketplace. The findings also revealed that there are few component elements that need serious attention, namely, ICT infrastructure, high tech skilled retention, development of the high-tech skilled workforce, particularly digitally skilled workers -  which is the main problem in both developed and developing countries.