The Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board and the Plattform Industrie 4.0 take a stand on the discussion surrounding the term "Industry 5.0". Since its introduction at the Hannover Messe 2011, Industry 4.0 has established itself as a pioneering model that is gaining in importance worldwide. The frivolous use of "Industry 5.0" is criticized as it does not provide any new content and leads to uncertainty. Industry 4.0 stands for a comprehensive industrial revolution that is driving continuous change in all areas of society.
"Industry 5.0" aims to focus on human-centeredness
The term "Industry 5.0" has been used more frequently recently to focus on "human-centeredness", among other things. However, according to the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board and the Industry 4.0 Platform, the term Industry 4.0 has always included the benefits for society as its most important goal. In addition, the term Industry 4.0 stands for the fourth industrial revolution, which, like all previous revolutions, will take a long time to be fully implemented. This includes the use of new technologies and value creation models involving the people involved. The typical software abbreviation "4.0" symbolizes the importance of software in this process, but should not be understood as a version number and replaced by "5.0".
"The fourth industrial revolution - i.e. Industry 4.0 - encompasses a wide range of aspects," explains Peter Liggesmeyer (Fraunhofer IESE), spokesperson for science on the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board. "The content that is currently being discussed as Industry 5.0 is included in its entirety. There is therefore a risk that the unnecessary term will lead to confusion."
"Small and medium-sized companies are now also aware of the importance of Industry 4.0," adds Harald Schöning (Software AG), industry spokesperson on the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board. These companies are confused and unsettled by the term Industry 5.0. They must not be allowed to lose momentum on their way to Industry 4.0 as a result."
"Our mission is the scaling and broad implementation of the principles of Industry 4.0. We can only achieve this goal with the committed participation of SMEs," emphasizes Henrik Schunk (Schunk GmbH & Co. KG), Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Industry 4.0 platform. "The discussion about Industry 5.0 is not only misleading, but also risks the essential acceptance and participation of this key group. The core topics such as work design, human-centered approaches and the development and integration of AI and generative AI are already being addressed intensively in the Industry 4.0 working groups. A call leads to irritation and therefore makes no sense."
The entire statement is available at https://www.acatech.de/die-vierte-industrielle-revolution-und-industrie-5-0-eine-kritik/.
