How Industry 4.0 concepts are applied in the Portuguese clothing industry: Some evidences

Abstract

Industry 4.0 is the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies, including textile and clothing industry. The concept of Industry 4.0 is based on the integration of information and communication technologies, industrial technology and is mainly dependent on building a Cyber-Physical System (CPS) to prepare a digital and intelligent factory, to become more digital, customized and (why not?) also green. The purpose of Industry 4.0 is to build a highly flexible production model of personalized and digital products and services, with real-time interactions between people, products and devices during the production process. This paper will show how a Portuguese clothing company (GUIMA) is preparing their processes, skills and resources to be in the Industry 4.0. The research team is following the industrial process for four months, starting from the reception and quality control of raw materials and accessories, until the orders expedition to different customers. Some results already obtained shows how the digitalization is yet in a preliminary stage in the clothing industry and is necessary to prepare the entire resources from the clothing company to achieve the horizontal and vertical integration in the manufacturing I4.0.