Quality 4.0: leveraging Industry 4.0 technologies to improve quality management practices – a systematic review

• Published in: The International journal of quality & reliability management Vol. 40; no. 2; pp. 628 - 650
• Main Authors: Saihi, Afef, Awad, Mahmoud, Ben-Daya, Mohamed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 25.01.2023; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Automation; Big Data; Cost analysis; Decision making; Digital technology; Economic analysis; Engineering; Enterprise resource planning; Factories; Horizontal integration; Industry 4.0; Internet of Things; Literature reviews; Manufacturing; Quality control; Quality management; Systematic review; Total quality; Value chain; Value creation; Internet of things; Predictive quality; Decision making; Quality 4.0; Machine learning; Quality control; Industry 4.0; Big data; Quality management
• ISSN: 0265-671X; 1758-6682
• DOI: 10.1108/IJQRM-09-2021-0305

PurposeQuality 4.0 is an emerging research topic concerned with rethinking how quality management needs to be adopted in the digital era. The purpose of this research is to conduct a systematic review on the state of the research in the field of Industry 4.0 impact on improving quality management aspects and how technology can be leveraged to enhance its practices.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of the literature published in the last 5 years is conducted. 52 papers were selected, mapped based on the technology they focused on and categorized based on the addressed quality aspects.FindingsThe review revealed various areas where quality management can benefit from Industry 4.0 technologies, identified several research gaps and suggested new directions for future research. Firstly, the literature provided some insights about industry 4.0 potential contributions but lacks further detail on the exact applications and solutions through use cases and case studies. Secondly, there has been a focus on the potential benefits provided for quality control while there is a clear scarcity in terms of the other quality management tools and methodologies. Thirdly, there is a lack of studies on economic analysis or detailed impacts on quality costs that justifies the substantial investments needed. Finally, there is a need for including more studies about the mapping and integration of ISO 9001 requirements and Industry 4.0 features.Originality/valueThis is the first attempt to conduct a comprehensive review on the ways industry 4.0 technologies can be leveraged for the field of quality management. Based on this review, several directions for further research in this area are identified.