An Exploration of Organisational Readiness for Industry 4.0: A Predictive Maintenance Perspective

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which selected Slovenian companies are prepared to integrate the complex requirements of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) into their asset management practices, using the specific example of predictive maintenance. Methodology/Approach: A research study was conducted on a sample of Slovenian manufacturing companies. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire to investigate the extent to which companies are engaged with new technologies and their current and future focus on their use in predictive maintenance. Findings: The analysis of the empirical data shows that companies are aware of the benefits that can be achieved with I4.0 solutions. The results also show that the companies surveyed lack a clear vision and implementation roadmap for I4.0. The results also show that the majority of companies in the sample are still at an early stage of predictive maintenance strategy maturity. Research Limitation/implication: The sample of responding companies is limited to the Slovenian manufacturing industry, and the subjective information comes from only one representative person in each company. Originality/Value of paper: The paper is one of the first studies to highlight digitalisation and predictive maintenance in the context of I4.0.