Degree

Master of Business Administration Executive

Faculty / School

School of Business Studies (SBS)

Year of Award

2023

Advisor/Supervisor

Dr. Rameez Khalid, Associate Professor, Department of Management

Project Type

MBA Executive Research Project

Access Type

Restricted Access

Executive Summary

My research goal is to make a viable plan for a textile company to transition to Industry 4.0. I4.0 is a rapidly developing technology that enables businesses to maximize profits through efficient manufacturing and smart working practices. The first objective of my research is to determine the case company readiness scores in the six dimensions of Industry 4.0. The six dimensions are categorized as strategy and organization, data-driven service, employee, smart operation, smart product, and smart working. These six dimensions are evaluated into five levels. level 0 outsider, level 1 beginner, level 2 intermediate, level 3 experience, level 4 expert, and level 5 are the top performers. The case company evaluates at level 2 (intermediate) in overall assessment I 4.0 readiness level. The six-dimensional individual assessment of the case company evaluated Data-driven service at level-03 (experience), employees at level-04 (expertise), and smart operation at level-02 (intermediate). Smart products and smart working which are at level 01 (beginning), and strategy and organization which are at level 0 are evaluated as the firm improvement area. The second objective of the research is to determine the barriers and drivers of the case company to implement I4.0. The transformation of a new industrial revolution is not an easy task, the case company faced challenges during the adoption of innovative technology SCADA, robotics, and energy analytics in the past year. Strategy and organization, lack of digital skill, high payback period, integration, and standardization of technology are the critical barriers to implementing I4.0 technology. The company encounters numerous difficulties throughout daily operations. Lack of digital skills, labor turnover rate, high rejection, on-time delivery of raw materials, and equipment breakdowns are the case company problematic areas. In consideration of these problems human resources, product and efficiency, product mix, and supply chain are the critical drivers to implement I4.0. The third objective of the research is to propose a plan to move towards I4.0 for the case company. The I4.0 consultant proposed a technology adoption plan in various departments to overcome these operational challenges like SCADA system to automate the process, programmable logic control for outdated machines for process data monitoring and control, IoT-based sensor technology for OEE dashboard and predictive maintenance regime, smart conveyor system for process optimization, SAP Fiori for eliminating paperwork and human error, and collaborative robot for right-sizing of the workforce. The lead time of these I4.0 technology adoptions is (4-8) months and the total estimated cost of technology is 100000 ix USD. The time mentioned above varies according to the business case and scope of work and the cost depends upon the global market of I4.0 and economic recession. The case company needs to adopt these recommendations to transform to I4.0: Develop a corporate-level digitalization strategy that outlines how the company will embrace I4.0 technology over a five-year period in accordance with its business needs, by considering the case company major drivers’ product and efficiency, human resources, supply chain, product mix and the consultant proposed plan as stated above. A cross-functional team is formed to carry out the I4.0 Project. The IT department is the primary stakeholder in the project formulation and execution, and it should ensure that the technology complies with all applicable legal and IoT infrastructure requirements. The cross-functional team creates an I4.0 requirements check sheet in consideration of the current organization's IT infrastructure this check sheet is used during the procurement of the new machinery to make sure that the new equipment is capable of machine learning and data sharing. A training program based on automation and digitization should be created to train and develop the second- and third-layer team i.e., production supervisor and plant operator.

Pages

94

Notes

The research project is help for engineers who want to implement I4.0 technology effectively in their business facility. This report help formulator to formulate effective plan in term of time and cost by analyzing barriers and drivers and current readiness level in domain of Industry 4.0

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