A hierarchical model for industry 4.0 concepts

Abstract Purpose: This research aims to structure a hierarchical model that integrates the industry 4.0 (I4.0) concepts and standardizes concepts based on the literature. Originality/value: Kamble et al. (2018) point out the lack of architecture to represent I4.0 concepts. This paper brings an approach to the relationship between these concepts of I4.0. It expands the studies by Ghobakhloo (2018) and Liao et al. (2017) and homogenizes terms present in the literature. Design/methodology/approach: From a systematic review of the literature in the Scopus and ScienceDirect databases, from 2011 to 2019, 91 articles were reviewed, of which 58 articles were analyzed. Findings: From the literature, the terms related to I4.0 were grouped into three categories: technologies, principles, and dimensions. Technology clusters represent tools used to promote changes and transformations in the processes, here called principles. These changes and transformations create new industry standards, enabling process integration for problem-solving, and contributing to implementing intelligent management. The relationship between these categories results in a hierarchical model for I4.0 concepts. This hierarchical model can be used to identify opportunities for future research, demonstrating associations between categories that have not yet been explored. It opens possibilities for organizations to enter the fourth industrial revolution. The results help practitioners and researchers to understand this new process in detail and facilitate the construction of a valid and operational intelligent manufacturing platform.