A Leap from Operator 4.0 to Operator 5.0: Antecedents, Enablers, and Barriers in Human-Centered Manufacturing

When one considers the journey from Operator 4.0 (O4.0) to Operator 5.0 (O5.0), given the current evolution of the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) investments in many manufacturing firms today, there appears to be no clear pathway towards O5.0. One therefore wonders if such a pathway is for example shorter, longer, faster, slower, etc. for workers in firms of different characteristics, e.g. size, resources, I4.0 maturity, etc. And if so, what does the operator’s journey from O4.0 to O5.0 look like? This study therefore aimed to examine what the path to Industry 5.0 (I5.0) demands of an Operator 4.0 in the human-centered manufacturing environment. An in-depth case study was implemented to assess the antecedents, enablers, and barriers for shop floor workers in the transition from Operator 4.0 to Operator 5.0. The results show that the motivation of operators to co-evolve their skills either under or over the I4.0 maturity level of the firm is enabled by the type of leadership style, and strategic orientation of the firm on one hand, or is inhibited by the leaders and organizational culture on the other hand. The study concludes that the development path of the worker from O4.0 to O5.0, especially the human-centricity dimension, is still greatly underdeveloped in both practice and theory.