3 questions for Hartmut Hirsch-Kreinsen about organisational change in the industry (Key Theme 4/ Key Themes of Industrie 4.0)

Prof. Hartmut Hirsch-Kreinsen, Research Fellow at the Social Research Centre of TU Dort­mund University

Bild: © privat
Munich, 05 March 2024

1. A human-oriented work and organisational design requires an understanding of Industrie 4.0 that includes both the social and technical dimensions of change. Where do you see the key levers here?

The general view of labor research has long been that digitalised production processes, including Industrie 4.0, should be understood as socio-technical systems. For a human-oriented or qualification-oriented design of digitalised production processes, this means that the interaction of digital technologies with the personnel and organisational changes induced by them must always be taken into account. In other words, the central lever is to design the overall production system in such a way that the connections between the different parts are taken into account. It is not just about looking at and designing the work organisation or a technical system in isolation, but rather ensuring that they are well coordinated and effective in the context of the entire production system.

2. In view of the accelerating digitalisation, skills development and further training will continue to be the central building blocks for successfully managing digital change socially and economically in the future. In which areas of Industrie 4.0 do you see the greatest change in skills requirements and how can these be met?

General answers are difficult here because new competence requirements for employees arise in different ways depending on the function, employment segment, qualification level and digital systems and therefore require specific measures. Depending on the work situation, valid analyses and the development of tailor-made qualification and further training concepts are always required. Of course, two often neglected prerequisites are essential for this: Firstly, companies must view skills development and further training as strategic tasks. Secondly, employees must be provided with sufficient resources and motivating conditions for effective qualification measures.

3. A successful introduction of Industrie 4.0 and the associated business models must be accompanied by organisational change. What should companies particularly take into account in advance?

As emphasised by the Research Council in its Key Themes for research and development, for the successful implementation of Industrie 4.0 and the associated business models, far-reaching corporate organisational adjustments are necessary, ranging from the working level to the management level. Industrie 4.0 is changing the traditional roles of employees, managers and workers’ councils. Digital media make information and knowledge more transparent within and across the company and management functions are differentiated at different levels – hierarchical, horizontal, in the network, etc. Overall, it should be noted that a lack of “lessons learned”, a lack of an adequate error culture and inadequate solutions for knowledge storage and knowledge transfer in the organisation, especially in globally distributed value chains, are key reasons why many companies do not have prototype status of Industrie 4.0. It is not only important to overcome traditional ways of thinking and processes, but also to bring about a change in the culture and organisational structure of companies through suitable change management methods. A comprehensive reassessment of the understanding of leadership and the forms of employee participation is therefore essential.

The publication of the Research Council Industrie 4.0 „Themenfelder Industrie 4.0 (2. überarbeitete Fassung)“ deepens these topics. The publication can be found here (in German).