Empowering factory employees through low-cost automation in IOT adoption

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to understand the potential and challenges of incorporating low-cost automation (LCA) in the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) within the context of Industry 4.0 implementation and how it influences factory employee empowerment.

Design/methodology/approach: Multiple case studies were conducted with industrial companies located in Sweden. Relevant empirical evidence was collected from the workshops where factory employees explored and prototyped simple IoT solutions to improve their work environments.

Findings: The study revealed multiple benefits of LCA incorporation, including enhancing factory employees' knowledge, skills, and motivation for improvement. The compatibility of LCA with Lean production was also found to be positive for the employees. However, the study also identified several challenges, mainly concerning preparing organisational preconditions that enable or facilitate the incorporation, such as its strategic alignment and securing managers' understanding and support. The study found a tension between simple IoT solutions and large integrated solutions in terms of empowerment. Managing the tension was found particularly challenging.

Originality/value: This paper provides a more comprehensive understanding of the potential and limitations of incorporating LCA into IoT adoption than previous studies. It highlights the potential of a bottom-up approach to IoT adoption which is currently predominated by top-down, engineering-driven approaches.