More than 10 years of industry 4.0 in the Netherlands: an opinion on promises, achievements, and emerging challenges

ABSTRACT

The concept of Industry 4.0, as a means to move forward in the industrial ecosystem, has reached an important turning point. Where do we stand now in terms of industrial innovation and transition? This opinion paper provides an overview of the situation in the Netherlands, a reflection on what has been achieved by the Industry 4.0 paradigm, and the necessary way forward to solidify its implementation. Tentative results reveal that the pervasiveness of Industry 4.0 applications is sector-specific. This work provides industrial stakeholders and academics with useful suggestions and a possible path to move towards better integration of Industry 4.0 in company reality. In this opinion paper, we employ a mixed methods research methodology to argue that, based on our findings on industrial adaptation in The Netherlands, Industry 4.0 is the outcome of an evolutionary process and not of a revolution, as it is often claimed.

KEYWORDS:

• Industry 4.0
• Smart industry
• demystification
• Industry 4.0 pervasiveness

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data available on request from the authors. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author [Alberto Martinetti, [email protected]].

Additional information

Notes on contributors

A. Martinetti

A. Martinetti (1985) is an Associate Professor at the department of Design, Production and Management (DPM) of the University of Twente. With a Ph.D. in Occupational Safety (2013) his research lines focus on Maintenance Engineering and Humanitarian Engineering to improve the living conditions of underserved communities.

K. Nizamis

K. Nizamis was born in 1988 in Kavala, Greece. Since 2019 he is an Assistant Professor in Multidisciplinary Design at the Design, Production, & Management (DPM) department at the University of Twente. He has a Master of Engineering in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Democritus University of Thrace in Xanthi, Greece, and a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Twente, where he also performed his Ph.D. research in Biomechanical Engineering.

P. Chemweno

P. Chemweno is an Assistant Professor in Advanced Manufacturing and Humanitarian Engineering. His research focuses on organizational and management factors influencing the transition from traditional manufacturing to the ‘Industry of the Future’ where increased roles are anticipated for automation and robotics.

C. Goulas

C. Goulas is an Assistant Professor at the University of Twente’s Faculty of Engineering Technology. Dr. Goulas is a Metallurgical Engineer & Materials Scientist, currently leading research in the field of 3D printing processes for large scale applications and novel materials for 3D printing. He holds a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Delft University of Technology and a Diploma (MSc) in Mining & Metallurgical Engineering from National Technical University of Athens.

L.A.M. van Dongen

L.A.M van Dongen (1954) has worked for the Netherlands Railways (NS, 100% state owned) for 35 years. He retired as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), responsible for the asset management of the rolling stock fleet, workshops and maintenance equipment in August 2019. Since 2010 he is also professor in Maintenance Engineering at the faculty of Engineering Technology, in the Department of Design, Production and Management of the University of Twente.

I. Gibson

I. Giboson is best known for his work in the area of Additive Manufacture or 3D Printing. He as been working in this field for over 25 years; long before it was considered ‘çool’. As well as Professor in Design Engineering, he is Scientific Director of the University’s Fraunhofer Project Centre in complex systems engineering.

S. Thiede

S. Thiede is the chairman for the department Design, Production and Management (DPM) in the Engineering Technology faculty of the University of Twente. He is Professor and chiar in Manufacturing Systrems and his interested is in the planning and operation of manufacturing systems/factories. This includes the interaction of different processes over the process chain but also with other factory elements like technical building services.

E. Lutters

E. Lutters being educated as a Mechanical Engineer while having an keen interest in product design, teaches subjects related to product development as the linking pin between design and (production) engineering. This ranges from production techniques & systems, via design methodology to information management and virtual reality. He is Professor and chair of Information driven Product Development & Engineering.

T. Vaneker

T. Vanaker is an Associate Professor in the AMSPES group of the department Design, Production and Management (DPM) at the University of Twente. His main research interests are 3D printing/Additive Manufacturing (Design for AM, development of AM processes, research and improvement of mainstream AM processes) and Industrial Robotics (factory automation strategies, smart manufacturing). He is the program director of the EngD Robotics and he is a member of CIRP.

G. M. Bonnema

G. M. Bonnema is Professor and chair in Systems Engineering And Multidisciplinary Design at the department of Design, Production and Managment (DPM) of the University of Twente. His goal is to improve the adoption of Systems Engineering in multidisciplinary development environments. A holistic approach as provided by Systems Engineering is needed to bind together findings in various engineering fields to develop well-designed, well-balanced and purposeful products and systems.