Reducing Error in Manufacturing in Industry 4.0: A Systematic Literature Review

Error has always presented a challenge for the quality team, but never more so than under Industry 4.0. In Industry 4.0, the operator is required to work on more complex products, be flexible across processes, and be interconnected to machines, dealing with streams of in-process data. This change in work has led to higher error and, therefore, greater challenges for the quality function. In order to understand how best to apply the capacity available under Industry 4.0 to ease this burden, it is important first to understand the current approach to quality and where the research gaps lie. In this paper, an analysis of how error and quality has been managed in manufacturing, in the first 10 years of Industry 4.0, is completed, using a systematic literature review. Seven thematic clusters are identified in this research from 64 selected papers. They are Quality Management Systems, Total Quality Management, Measurement and Analysis, Human Factors, Technology, Human-System Integration, and Training. A synthesis of the thematic clusters reveals sustaining innovations across all activities. The summary of current approaches will assist quality teams better to improve their approach to reduce error and will identify where there are future research opportunities.