Industry 4.0: Technology Mapping and the importance of Cognitive Ergonomics

The fourth industrial revolution brings a new paradigm, based on advanced manufacturing and industrial internet. So much has been debated about the knowledge and skills of Operator 4.0. However, the cognitive aspects that are intrinsic to this new paradigm are not considered in these analyses. This work aimed to study the Industry 4.0 under a macro, based on information standardization and technology mapping, and a micro vision focused on cognitive ergonomics. Industry 4.0 attributes pointed to an increasing industry complexity during a technological virtualization process, requiring faster and assertive decisions in the face of a wide range of information. It was found that the Operator 4.0 will oversee the solution of increasingly interdisciplinary problems in a digital environment, requiring denser cognitive efforts and more accurate social-emotional skills, such as communication, motivation, autonomy, perseverance, resilience, collaboration and creativity. The case study pointed out as a highlight the Online Predictive Maintenance, which aims to obtain predictability of failure for each component monitored in machines and equipment. The operating routine linked to this new technology confirms how much mental processes will be required in the face of the Industry 4.0 scenario, since a high flow of information was verified, associated with the rapid decision-making in the use of new technologies.