Industry 4.0 and Development of Industrial Labour · Industry 4.0 and Development of Industrial Labour. ... Development of Industrial Labour. 4. Prospects. ... Prospects do exist

Prof. em. Dr. Hartmut Hirsch-Kreinsen

Research Area Industry and Labour Research

TU Dortmund University

Industry 4.0 and Development of

Industrial Labour

Hirsch-Kreinsen, December 2017 2

Agenda1. The Concept of Industry 4.02. Economic and Social Expectations3. Development of Industrial Labour4. Prospects


Digitalization of the economy –The „Second Machine Age“ is emerging

professions of all kinds –from laywers to truck driverswill be upendedintellectual work will be automated

A long period of gestation for ICT: • processing power exploded• costs tumbled• digitalization of just about everything

Phase of „disruptive“ change is beginning:


A new wave of digitalization of economic an socialprocesses

First wave: since the 1990ies digitalization of immaterial information-based processes, e.g. financing, consultancy, publishing, music-industries, communication etc.

Second wave: since the last decade integration of internet/virtual world with physical systems – Internet of Things

„Second-wave-mutation“ of technological, economic andsocial development (Zuboff, 2010)


The German version: From Industry 1.0 to Industry 4.0

cf. achatech


Vision of manufacturing – Industry 4.0


A radical innovation of industrial prozesses

Fundamental change of process structures Systems optimize themselfes automously Planning and execution in real time Application in manufacturing, logistics, planning and contolling,

engineering, managementNew business models Individualization of products and lot size 1 Service orientation, „smart“ ervices Integration of market and customer data through Big Data methods

Change of labour !?




Fundamental changes of traditional forms ofmanufacturing organization

Technologically driven self-optimization and re-configuration ofthe autonomous system

Overcoming the existing technological and economic limits ofautomation

Ability to deal autonomously with external varying demands and unexpected process disturbances

Networked products and process technologies, logisticalfunctions, planning departments

Industry 4.0 as „disruptive“ processinnovation


Economic expectations

Meeting individual customer requirementsDynamic design of business and engineering processesOptimized decision-taking Increasing resource productivity and efficiencyCreating value opportunities through new servicesResponding to demographic change in the workplace Improving work-Life-balance

(cf. achatech)


(Source: Platform Industrie 4.0, 2016)


A more differentiated prospect

(Source: Platform Industrie 4.0, 2016)


Mainstream opinion: Human beings remain essential…


(cf. BITKOM et al. 2015)

Men as the conductor of the value chain




Pessimistic perspective− High levels of job loss

− Deskilling and polarisation ofqualification

− New kinds of stress and employeesurveillance

− Unregulated flexibilization of work

− Precarization and socialdegradation

Optimistic perspective− Compensation of job losses by job

creation

− Upgrading of jobs and skills

− Optimization of work processes andreducing of stress

− Regulated flexibilization andimproved work-life balance

− Generally: revaluation of industrialwork

Contradictory forecasts on the future of work


Own source

Automationtechnology-driven Organization

„substitute for labour in a wide range”

(Frey/Osborne 2017)

Upgradingintegrated, flexible Organization

„better jobs…at every level …enriched by an informating technology“ (Zuboff 1988)

Polarization segmented Organization

„lousy and lovely jobs” (Goos/Manning 2007)

Divergent scenarios of production labour


Optimization of existing processes using digital technologies Gradual development of new tasks and new qualification requirements Step-by-step innovations and only slow adaptation to the existing

structueres Avoidance of risks and costs (follw-up costs) of the new technologie

Very often „incremental“ change of labour

Maintaining existing operating and working structures High relevance of available skills and experiences Maintaining highly efficient conventional processes „Updating“ of existing skill structures and work organizations

Scepticism and caution, especially among SMEs


Challenges for work design

− Realization of optimistical perspective desirable – but no automaticmechanism

− Although „technology push“, but never overestimating technologicalpotentials

− Versus „technical determinism“ – rather freedom of work design at varioushierarchy levels

− Development of labour depending on design goals, strategic decisions, negotiating processes and the course of introduction processes of digital technologies

Industry 4.0 as a design project


Dimensions of work design

Man-machine interfaces/man-machine-interactionWork organization:

jobs and division of laborcooperatin and communicationscope of action and control/hierarchy

Competences:skills and qualificationlearning opportunitiesintegration of new IT and of traditional manufacturingcompetences

Overall system: hierarchy and management


Socio-technical design as a pre-condition for economic efficiency

Industry 4.0 as socio-technical system

− Not either technology orhuman, but matching oftechnology, human andorganization

− Not optimizing individual subsystems, but optimization of the entiresystem




Limits of Industry 4.0

• Operativeness and fields of application of the new systems not yet clear

• High efficiency of existing processes, but unclear gains of I4.0• Adjustment problems and compatibility with existing IT /

production systems - “immense" cost of data migration and porting

• Often unclear investment costs and follow-up costs

SMEs: lack of resources and competences, skepticism, caution and aversions


Prospects do exist

Advanced functional and economic use potentials of ICT Fast diffusion due to lower costs and continuous

improvement of the applicability of the systems The need to push technological development and automation

due to market requirements and the lack of skilled labour Push by influential groups of actors: computer science,

manufacturing science, politics, larger companies - national and international


Prospects for the development of work

Prerequisite for human-oriented work design in various dimensions, e.g. support and learning functions

Stabilization and expansion of socio-political desirable employment

Use of the design potential of Industry 4.0 to increase the attractiveness of industrial labor in the face of growing scarcity of skilled workers and demographic challenges

Reindustrialization, relocation of globalized production sites and creation of new industrial jobs possible


Thank you for your attention!

[email protected]

Documents

Industry 4.0 and Development of Industrial Labour · Industry 4.0 and Development of Industrial Labour. ... Development of Industrial Labour. 4. Prospects. ... Prospects do exist