Perceived Impacts of Industry 4.0 on Manufacturing Industry and Its Workforce: Case of Germany

Abstract

Through the introduction of computers and the commercial rise of the internet over the past decades, the manufacturing industry has changed dramatically worldwide. The recent Industry 4.0 development, referred to as the increasing digitalisation and the interconnection of products, value chains and business models, is most likely to change not only the way we live but also the way products are manufactured. Manufacturing processes will become more autonomous, integrated and intelligent. This will further lead to changes in requirements for the manufacturing workforce towards an increasing need in software, programming and interdisciplinary skills. This study looks at what effects Industry 4.0 will or might have on the manufacturing process as well as on the skills and knowledge required from its workforce over the next decades. The study was carried out by reviewing respective literature and by conducting semi-structured interviews with experts, which revealed a number of insights into the impacts of Industry 4.0 within Germany’s manufacturing context.