Analyzing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Manufacturing Sector and its Readiness for Industry 4.0

Abstract

In the last 250 years, the world experienced three industrial revolutions that changed societies as we know it, and today, we are at the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0. Just like its predecessors, the new phase of industrial revolution is expected to change the traditional practice of many industries, including the manufacturing industry. However, unlike its predecessors, the change is expected to be at a different rate, scale and force from anything humanity have seen before. With the emergence of Industry 4.0 technologies, the manufacturing sector will need to adjust its structure, process and products to satisfy the requirements of this transformation. The manufacturing sector in the UAE plays an imperative part in its economic diversification efforts and the pursuit of sustainable economic growth and the government enacted many strategies to support the growth of this sector. However, there is lack of literature describing the current state of the manufacturing sector in the UAE with respect to Industry 4.0. This research proposes a framework for evaluating the readiness of the manufacturing sector for Industry 4.0 in three dimensions through the use of survey study. Preliminary results show that there is lack of knowledge about Industry 4.0 in general, and specifically when it comes to the potential benefits and expected changes bought by the transformation, and the main driver behind implementing Industry 4.0 concept is pressure from rivals and market requirements. Also, certain level of Industry 4.0 technologies exists with the potential to increase the level of implementation. Moreover, there is a gap in the skillset needed for Industry 4.0 and no plans initiated to close this gap. Finally, surveyed companies are still developing their Industry 4.0 strategy and organization culture plays an important role in driving digital transformation.

Date of Award	Dec 2019
Original language	American English