Implementation of Industry 4.0 in a Lean Manufacturing Environment: Interactions and Challenges
The interaction between Lean Manufacturing (LM) and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) has received increasing attention in recent years, however the literature is still scarce in assessing how the combination of these two themes can influence the results of organizations. Therefore, this work sought to analyze, through a case study, the impacts of the interactions between I4.0 and LM in a Brazilian company of the automotive sector. Since its development in Japan in the 1940s, LM has been widely used to maximize value for customers and minimize waste. The widespread use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in manufacturing shapes the concept of I4.0, connecting physical and digital systems and integrating value chains. Even with different approaches, LM and I4.0 share the same goals of increasing flexibility and productivity. Two views on their relation can be drawn from the literature: the LM serves as the basis for I4.0 and I4.0 improves LM effectiveness. Although the literature presents evidence of the positive impacts of the union of the two concepts, so far there are few studies that empirically demonstrate the benefits of this interaction, especially in Brazilian companies. The results of this research corroborate the view found in the literature, as they indicate that the introduction of these new technologies positively impacts existing LM practices, and the previous presence of this management system forms the basis for the effective introduction of I4.0.