Still struggling with Industry 4.0? Well, here comes Industry 5.0!
In the current context of climate change and social tensions is Industry 4.0, with its focus on profit and growth, fit for purpose? An alternative vision proposed by the EU looks to set Industry 4.0 in a broader context where technology is to be capitalised on and human-centricity, sustainability and resilience become the driving force. They call this Industry 5.0.
There are a number of people trying to predict what comes after Industry 4.0. These can be broadly categorized into three visions. The first two (Bionics / Synthetic Biology and Human-Robot working) take a more technological stance. That is, like previous industrial revolutions the introduction of new technologies will bring about disruptive change. The third vision proposed in an EU Research and Innovation Policy Brief is not a technological revolution in the traditional sense, but a change in perception which encourages industry to look beyond the economic to become resilient providers of prosperity.
Why is this important?
The concept of industry 5.0 supports three of the Commission’s priorities "An economy that works for people", "European Green Deal" and "Europe fit for the digital age" and is already being woven into Policy initiatives. This reflects a wider movement in which people are considering the the future of work and calls for wellbeing to be central to that thinking.
How Industry 5.0 aligns to the Centre for People-Led Digitalisation
The aim of the Centre for People-Led Digitalisation is to improve the outcome of the adoption of digital technologies through prior explicit consideration and planned appropriate action that prioritises human needs and working patterns in the design and implementation of digitalised work systems.
We will bring together research conducted across different fields including economics, policy, management and human factors, to create a practical and useable change management approach which puts thinking about people central to planning and implementing new technologies.
Additional Resources
Author’s profile
Dr Susan Lattanzio is the Research and Industry Engagement Manager for the Made Smarter Innovation: Centre for People-Led Digitalisation. Her research focuses on the use of transdisciplinary approaches which bring together different academic disciplines and non-academic stakeholders to solve real-world problems.
If you would like to know more about this research, please email p-ld@bath.ac.uk.
