self-assessment

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has changed profoundly the entrepreneurial environment. In particular, smaller companies have difficulties putting 4.0 paradigms into practice. If one considers that small and medium-sized enterprises form the backbone of the European economy, then it becomes all the more obvious which leverage effect suitable implementation concepts for SMEs can have. The following article therefore presents an evaluation model for the definition and prioritization of Industry 4.0 implementation measures, which is based on the requirements for SMEs.

Due to an ongoing digitization of everyday life and fast changes in the business environment, enterprises face numerous external and internal challenges. In order to stay compe-titive, enterprises, especially SMEs require an effective use of information and communication technology (ICT) as well as a deep understanding of ICT in general and in digital innovation in particular. In this paper, we reveal the self-assessment of 24 companies regarding their own digitization level and ICT use as well as regarding further aspects, challenges and requirements regarding the complex topic of digitization.

Production systems require a continuous development to contribute to the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry. Therefore, the audit of production systems enables the determination of the current maturity level of production. This allows for the identification of deficits and the definition of starting points for a sustainable optimization of the production. This article focuses on the development of a maturity level based self-assessment concept for the evaluation of the sustainability of production systems.