Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-kw2vx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-11T06:28:00.987Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Prototyping industry 4.0: enhancing efficiency and productivity in small enterprises through iteration and low-cost solutions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2024

Håkon Havsgård ,
Daniel Nygård Ege  and
Martin Steinert
Håkon Havsgård*
Affiliation:
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Daniel Nygård Ege
Affiliation:
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Martin Steinert
Affiliation:
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
*
haakonhav@gmail.com

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This paper explores the implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in Small Enterprises (SEs), focusing on the unique challenges they face. It presents four case studies demonstrating how low-cost, low-effort solutions can enhance efficiency and productivity in small companies. The solutions, developed in a local makerspace, address specific manufacturing challenges that lack affordable or existing off-the-shelf solutions. The paper highlights the value of iterative prototyping in implementing Industry 4.0 solutions and discusses how this approach can help SEs overcome adaptation challenges.

Keywords

prototypingindustry 4.0small and medium size enterprise (SME)case study
Type
Design Organisation, Collaboration and Management
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 4: DESIGN 2024 , May 2024 , pp. 275 - 284
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2024.

References

Bradski, G., 2000. The OpenCV Library. Dr. Dobb's Journal of Software Tools.Google Scholar
Buchenau, M., Suri, J.F., 2000. Experience prototyping, in: Proceedings of the Conference on Designing Interactive Systems Processes, Practices, Methods, and Techniques - DIS ’00. Presented at the the conference, ACM Press, New York City, New York, United States, pp. 424–433. https://doi.org/10.1145/347642.347802CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Contreras Pérez, J.D., Cano Buitrón, R.E., García Melo, J.I., 2018. Methodology for the Retrofitting of Manufacturing Resources for Migration of SME Towards Industry 4.0, in: Florez, H., Diaz, C., Chavarriaga, J. (Eds.), Applied Informatics, Communications in Computer and Information Science. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp. 337–351. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01535-0_25Google Scholar
Ege, D., Lilleløkken, O., Auflem, M., Steinert, M., 2020. Dealing with Ecological Validity and User Needs when Developing Simulation Based Training Equipment – Case Study of a Medical Palpation Task Trainer. Procedia CIRP 91, 722–727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2020.03.116CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisenhardt, K.M., 1989. Building Theories from Case Study Research. The Academy of Management Review 14, 532–550. https://doi.org/10.2307/258557CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghobakhloo, M., Iranmanesh, M., 2021. Digital transformation success under Industry 4.0: a strategic guideline for manufacturing SMEs. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management 32, 1533–1556. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-11-2020-0455CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jaspert, D., Ebel, M., Eckhardt, A., Poeppelbuss, J., 2021. Smart retrofitting in manufacturing: A systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production 312, 127555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127555CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jimeno-Morenilla, A., Azariadis, P., Molina-Carmona, R., Kyratzi, S., Moulianitis, V., 2021. Technology enablers for the implementation of Industry 4.0 to traditional manufacturing sectors: A review. Computers in Industry 125, 103390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2020.103390CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kriesi, C., Blindheim, J., Bjelland, Ø., Steinert, M., 2016. Creating Dynamic Requirements through Iteratively Prototyping Critical Functionalities. Procedia CIRP, 26th CIRP Design Conference 50, 790–795. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2016.04.122CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kumar, P., Bhamu, J., Sangwan, K.S., 2021. Analysis of Barriers to Industry 4.0 adoption in Manufacturing Organizations: an ISM Approach. Procedia CIRP, The 28th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering, March 10 – 12, 2021, Jaipur, India 98, 85–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2021.01.010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lauff, C., Kotys-Schwartz, D., Rentschler, M., 2018. What is a Prototype? What are the Roles of Prototypes in Companies? Journal of Mechanical Design 140. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4039340CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lim, Y.-K., Stolterman, E., Tenenberg, J., 2008. The anatomy of prototypes: Prototypes as filters, prototypes as manifestations of design ideas. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. 15, 7:1–7:27. https://doi.org/10.1145/1375761.1375762CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masood, T., Sonntag, P., 2020. Industry 4.0: Adoption challenges and benefits for SMEs. Computers in Industry 121, 103261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2020.103261CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McFarlane, D., Ratchev, S., de Silva, L., Hawkridge, G., Schönfuβ, B., Angulo, G.T., 2022. Digitalisation for SME Manufacturers: A Framework and a Low-Cost Approach. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 14th IFAC Workshop on Intelligent Manufacturing Systems IMS 2022 55, 414–419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2022.04.229CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McFarlane, D., Ratchev, S., Thorne, A., Parlikad, A.K., de Silva, L., Schönfuß, B., Hawkridge, G., Terrazas, G., Tlegenov, Y., 2020. Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring: Low Cost Digital Solutions for SMEs, in: Borangiu, T., Trentesaux, D., Leitão, P., Giret Boggino, A., Botti, V. (Eds.), Service Oriented, Holonic and Multi-Agent Manufacturing Systems for Industry of the Future, Studies in Computational Intelligence. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp. 40–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27477-1_4Google Scholar
Müller, J.M., Buliga, O., Voigt, K.-I., 2018. Fortune favors the prepared: How SMEs approach business model innovations in Industry 4.0. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 132, 2–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.12.019CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, P., 2018. Managerial challenges of Industry 4.0: an empirically backed research agenda for a nascent field. Review of Managerial Science 12, 803–848. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11846-018-0283-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schröder, C., 2016. The Challenges of Industry 4.0 for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Abteilung Wirtschafts- und Sozialpolitik, gute gesellschaft – soziale demokratie # 2017 plus.Google Scholar
Sigov, A., Ratkin, L., Ivanov, L.A., Xu, L.D., 2022. Emerging Enabling Technologies for Industry 4.0 and Beyond. Inf Syst Front. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-021-10213-wCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steinert, M., Leifer, L.J., 2012. ‘Finding One's Way’: Re-Discovering a Hunter-Gatherer Model based on Wayfaring. International Journal of Engineering Education 28, 251.Google Scholar
Stentoft, J., Adsbøll Wickstrøm, K., Philipsen, K., Haug, A., 2021. Drivers and barriers for Industry 4.0 readiness and practice: empirical evidence from small and medium-sized manufacturers. Production Planning & Control 32, 811–828. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2020.1768318CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stock, T., Seliger, G., 2016. Opportunities of Sustainable Manufacturing in Industry 4.0. Procedia CIRP, 13th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing – Decoupling Growth from Resource Use 40, 536–541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2016.01.129CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yilmaz, G., Qurban, K., Kaiser, J., McFarlane, D.C., 2023. Cost-effective digital transformation of SMEs through low-cost digital solutions, in: Low-Cost Digital Solutions for Industrial Automation (LoDiSA 2023). Presented at the Low-Cost Digital Solutions for Industrial Automation (LoDiSA 2023), Institution of Engineering and Technology, Cambridge, UK, pp. 117–121. https://doi.org/10.1049/icp.2023.1742Google Scholar
Yin, R.K., 1984. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Zheng, T., Ardolino, M., Bacchetti, A., Perona, M., 2021. The applications of Industry 4.0 technologies in manufacturing context: a systematic literature review. International Journal of Production Research 59, 1922–1954. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2020.1824085CrossRefGoogle Scholar