Industry 4.0 Reference Architectural Models: Critical Review and Opportunities

Abstract

Technological development is pushing industry towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Organizations would need to recognize the importance of adopting the different types of technology as an enabler to ensure their survival in this new paradigm shift. Industrial 4.0 will change organizations and business models particularly in the manufacturing sector. Recognizing the importance of Industry 4.0, many countries, such as the USA, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and others, have begun deriving national policies, plans and strategies to accelerate digital transformation in the manufacturing value chain through various information technology enablers. Supporting such policies are also the various technical reference models which attempt to provide a set of standard and guideline of technology adoption particularly in the area of assets and organisational integration. This paper evaluates the common reference models for Industrial 4.0. These reference models share commonality and differences with the aim for national or local adoption albeit the desire to strive for global emulation and acceptance. While localisation of reference models is logical, these models lack the consideration of social-technical focus, including further research needed on asset integration with security and data interface standard, method to mitigate high cost of adoption, and in the areas of workforce and business process readiness.