An Industry 4.0 maturity model for machine tool companies

Abstract

Industry 4.0 is the new productive paradigm that is driving the 4th industrial revolution. The specific difficulties in adapting to this new approach pose challenges for Machine Tool (MT) companies, mostly Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). In order to implement a route appropriately, tools such as the Maturity Model (MM) can be very useful, since they help to evaluate the initial state of the company and to plan a development road map. Over the last few years, several MMs geared towards Industry 4.0 have been created and released, some of which are specifically aimed at certain sectors. However, there is none specially developed for an industry of such vital importance as the MT sector. This article presents a new MM adapted to this type of company, with a design based on previously validated developments and standards relating to MM. A representative company in the sector was chosen as a case study for testing the new tool, with excellent results. It was decided that the next step should be to disseminate it to more companies so that it could become a standard MM in the sector.