Towards industry 4.0: a roadmap for the South African heavy industry sector

Abstract

The rapid growth and expansion of the Internet, as well as technical advances in the area of sensor technology, allow for the interconnection of physical objects for the purpose of achieving collective goals, which paves the way for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Industry 4.0 paradigm is a relatively new concept that still requires detailed investigation and discussion. Standards, technologies, and overall guidelines need to be presented; thus this review paper aims to address key questions to provide some clarity on navigating the tide of Industry 4.0. The key enabling technologies, and the extent to which these technologies can be applied in industry to achieve the fundamental goals of Industry 4.0, are presented and discussed. Current challenges that hinder Industry 4.0 adoption in the South African mining sector are discussed, and a short discussion on the way forward is presented. In brief, this article aims to present a detailed roadmap for the implementation of Industry 4.0 methods in the South African mining sector. From the literature, a digital framework and toolbox have been compiled to serve as a roadmap for the way forward in successful Industry 4.0 adoption. The proposed framework and toolbox are presented, with a theoretical case study

Die vinnige groei en uitbreiding van die internet, asook tegniese vooruitgang in sensortegnologie, het die interkonneksie van fisiese voorwerp moontlik gemaak. Dit het die weg gebaan vir die Vierde Industriële Rewolusie. Die Industrie 4.0 paradigma is ʼn relatiewe nuwe konsep wat diepe ondersoek en bespreking benodig. Standaarde, tegnologieë, en algehele riglyne moet aangebied word en hierdie artikel is daarop gemik om sleutelvrae met betrekking tot Industrie 4.0 te beantwoord. Die sleutel onderliggende tegnologieë, en tot watter mate die tegnologieë toegepas kan word om die fundamentele doelstellings van Industrie 4.0 te bereik, word voorgehou en bespreek. Bestaande uitdagings wat as struikelblokke vir die aanvaarding van Industrie 4.0 in die Suid-Afrikaanse mynbedryf aangetref word, word bespreek saam met ʼn kort aanbieding oor die pad vorentoe. Hierdie artikel verskaf ʼn gedetailleerde padkaart vir die implementering van Industrie 4.0 metodes in die Suid-Afrikaanse mynbedryf. ʼn Digitale raamwerk en gereedskapkis is vanuit die literatuur saamgestel om ten einde te dien as die padkaart. ʼn Gevallestudie word ter illustrasie voorgehou