ADAPTION - Industry4.0 maturity model

The ADAPTION maturity model, which was developed by the Chair of Production Systems (LPS) at the Ruhr-University Bochum, among others, attempts to take up the positive findings from the existing maturity models and to avoid the critical aspects. To this end, guidelines were formulated in a joint research project as to which requirements the newly developed ADAPTION maturity model should fulfil and for which purposes it is suitable: (1) Many maturity models that came onto the market in the course of the digitalisation or Industry 4.0 debate focus (almost) exclusively on the technical side. The ADAPTION maturity model, on the other hand, is based on the socio-technical approach, which emphasises the interdependence of its three dimensions: technology, organisation and personnel (T-O-P). If one dimension, e.g. technology, changes, this usually means that changes in the other two dimensions are also necessary. The socio-technical approach ensures that the change process is considered in its entirety. (2) The ADAPTION maturity model is not designed as a benchmark, nor is it intended to suggest that it is always better to get as far up or as far to the right as possible. Accordingly, the ADAPTION maturity model is not designed to achieve the aforementioned 'perfect maturity' with a view to digitalisation and Industry 4.0 by working through individual levels, as Hübner and colleagues (2017) suggest, but rather to find solutions that represent the optimum for the respective company from the interaction of various factors and can thus also lie below the 'perfect maturity' level. (3) The ADAPTION maturity model can be used for different initial situations. It helps in the search for solutions to concrete problems, supports strategic corporate planning and stimulates the imagination when corporate managers feel a need for change. (4) The ADAPTION maturity model can be used for different objects of investigation. It can therefore be used for different operational production areas as well as for the entire production. The view of the inter-company value chain is also integrated. The ADAPTION maturity model is unsuitable for non-production-related functional areas such as design, marketing or human resources. Concentrating on production is intended to provide the necessary depth of focus and thus prevent overly trivial results. (5) The ADAPTION maturity model is changeable/adaptable and does not aim at completeness. Rather, it is important that - depending on the area of inve-stigation - unnecessary criteria are omitted or criteria can be added indepen-dently: The ADAPTION maturity model evolves through constant change. (6) Overall, the ADAPTION maturity model is intended to initiate discussions within the company. It is intended to stimulate consideration of different, not only technical, approaches to solutions, and it is intended to prevent falling prey to a technocentric Industry 4.0 euphoria, which can be counterproductive: There are usually several ways to solve a problem or a new requirement. (7) The ADAPTION maturity model does not specify fixed migration paths, but supports companies in deriving individual measures and identifying and shaping their own development path on the way to a cyber-physical production system.