There are many topics which has attracted researches with regards Industry 4.0. I will list some of them:

Lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0

Circular Economy and Industry 4.0

Concepts and Reviews on Industry 4.0

Organizational Structure on Industry 4.0

Labor and Human Resources Issues on Industry 4.0

Impacts of Industry 4.0 on Supply Chains

Industry 4.0 x Smart Cities

I am working on topics such Quality 4.0, or Quality Management 4.0.

In general, it has to be about the network organization and its digitized services. Here, I see an effective focus on Digital Supply Chain Management (DSCM) and Logistics 4.0. New services are currently being developed, which, based on Industry 4.0, will continue to develop logistics on a digitalized basis. This also includes AI and maybe blockchain applications. With all this, you should not forget rebounds in the target parameters. There is some recent literature dealing with rebounds in industrial digitization in terms of system efficiency and sustainability. Look e.g. @Tilman Santarius, @Hans Jakob Walnum. This raises a major topic: the still unclarified sustainability relevance of Industrie 4.0. Efficiency gains are certainly not automatic.

Multi-criteria decision making models and Agent-based modeling of supply chains and manufacturing systems

There are many topics which has attracted researches with regards Industry 4.0. I will list some of them:

Lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0

Circular Economy and Industry 4.0

Concepts and Reviews on Industry 4.0

Organizational Structure on Industry 4.0

Labor and Human Resources Issues on Industry 4.0

Impacts of Industry 4.0 on Supply Chains

Industry 4.0 x Smart Cities

It is more precise to discuss about the branches of I4.0, such are: Quality 4.0 (Gunasekaran et al., 2019)[W1] , Maintenance 4.0(Franciosi et al., 2018; Scurati et al., 2018)[W2] , Safety 4.0 (Badri et al., 2018)[W3] , Cybersecurity 4.0 (Lezziet al., 2018)[W4] , Operator 4.0(Peruzziniet al., 2018)[W5] , Logistics 4.0 (Barreto, et al., 2017)[W6], SCM, Lean.....

[W1]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092552731830375X

Gunasekaran, A., Subramanian, N., Ngai W. T. E. (2019). Quality management in the 21st century enterprises: Research pathway towards Industry 4.0.International Journal of Production Economics,207, 125-129.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2018.09.005.

[W2]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405896318315866

Franciosi, C., Iung, B., Miranda, S., Riemma, S. (2018).Maintenance for Sustainability in the Industry 4.0 context: a Scoping Literature Review.IFAC-PapersOnLine, 51(11), 903-908.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2018.08.459

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166361517307558

Scurati, G. W., Gattullo, M., Fiorentino, M., Ferrise, F., Bordegoni, M., Uva, A. E. (2018). Converting maintenance actions into standard symbols for Augmented Reality applications in Industry 4.0.Computers in Industry, 98, 68-79.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2018.02.001.

[W3]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753517315035

Badri, A., Boudreau-Trudel, B., Souissi, A. S. (2018).Occupational health and safety in the industry 4.0 era: A cause for major concern?. Safety Science, 109, 403-411.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2018.06.012.

[W4]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166361518303658

Lezzi, M., Lazoi, M., Corallo, A. (2018). Cybersecurity for Industry 4.0 in the current literature: A reference framework. Computers in Industry,103,97-110.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2018.09.004.

[W5]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S036083521830651X

Peruzzini, M., Grandi, F., Pellicciari, M. (2018).Exploring the potential of Operator 4.0 interface and monitoring.Computers & Industrial Engineering, In press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2018.12.047.

[W6]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351978917306807

Barreto, L., Amaral, A., Pereira, T. (2017). Industry 4.0 implications in logistics: an overview. Procedia Manufacturing, 13, 1245-1252.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2017.09.045.

Dear Friends and Colleagues of RG,

The above discussion shows that the dominance in the subject of development of information technology applications of computerized advanced information processing typical of the current technological revolution Industry 4.0 in various branches of industry dominates. The current technological revolution described as Industry 4.0 is determined by the development of the following technologies of advanced information processing: Big Data database technologies, cloud computing, machine learning, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, Business Intelligence and other advanced data mining technologies.

Therefore, I am asking you with the following question:

In which areas of industry and what types of information technologies of computerized advanced information processing are applicable?

In which branches, fields of industry and what types of information technologies of computerized advanced information processing find application? To what extent the development of robotics, work automation and the implementation of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things technology etc. are implemented in production processes, logistics, production management, etc.?

Best wishes

There are lots, for example but not limited to:

Advanced automation

Connectivity

Cloud Computing

Block-chain Technology

Big Data - for identifying inefficiencies or production defects for example

Cyber Security

Augmented Reality

Industrial IOT - Machines / Internet Connectivity

Integrated Enterprise resource planning

All of these can bind together other relatively new manufacturing technologies such as:

Mass produced carbon composites

Additive manufacturing

laser welding

advances in paint technology - dirt repellent for example

Advanced robotics - reduce simple manual tasks

Advanced QA techniques such as in line CT scanning

Advancements in battery hybrid and battery tech - automotive.

Its a complex and diverse but very interesting topic. How do we advance technology in these instances manufacturing technologies and link them with the connectivity technology provided to us via the internet and software advances.

I4.0 with lean into Global SCM will be a near to perfect blend for an industrial engineering seeking more specific research

In our last paper, we discuss the operation perspective and suggest prominent future research avenues for the topic. Maybe you can find something of interest. You can freely download the full text at the folling link

https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Z060bquFC-cy

Hey! In sum, the use of technologies related to internet of things, big data, connectivity... I highly recommend the following reference:

Frank, A. G., Dalenogare, L. S., Ayala, N.. F. Industry 4.0 technologies: implementation patterns in manufacturing companies. International Journal of Production Economics, v.210, p.15-26, 2019.

It's a very recent paper that talks about the use of Industry 4.0 technologies in manufacturing companies.

Dear Friends and Colleagues of RG,

I suggest the following questions and research problems in the above topic: Productivity is a key aspect of economic growth. However, it is also important to choose what should be produced with the growing importance of taking into account the issue of ecology, care for the protection of the natural environment. Do you agree with my opinion on this matter?

In view of the above, I am asking you the following question: What is the significance of the development of production and the productivity in modern economies?

Please reply I invite you to the discussion

Thank you very much

Best wishes

Advanced Industrial Automation, Fuzzy and Stochastic Manufacturing Optimization, Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Robots, Cloud Systems, Global SCM and Manufacturing, etc.