Industry 4.0: A Competitive Differentiator for Performance Management Practitioners: An Integrated Management System Perspective

This paper seeks to critically evaluate the Critical Success Factor’s (CSF’s) of Integrated Management Systems and Industry 4.0. A categorical analysis will take place following a literature review, in order to explore the commonalities and differences between each of these five areas within the contexts of both IMS and I4.0. This research has identified several crossover areas in each of these categories, as well as a number of significant differences. For managers, this not only implies that the implementation of IMS can be aided by Industry 4.0 (and vice-versa), but also that the areas in which there is significant crossover, are to be expected to occur more frequently (i.e. benefits and disadvantages), or are of greater importance (i.e. drivers, barriers, and CSFs). As this paper is conceptual in nature, empirical research exploring the relationships between these similarities/ differences, as well as whether these findings are aligned with practical realities, are required. This piece provides an overview of the benefits, drivers, disadvantages, barriers, and CSFs relating to IMS and I4.0, and discusses the implications of this for practitioners.