Briefing: Calling for a norm-critical perspective of digitalisation

A question that becomes important as the level of digitalisation increases in society and businesses is accounting for how one interprets digitalisation. There are positive examples of digitalisation in relation to gender, age and physical ability and how digital technologies can positively enhance a workplace, although the norm-critical perspective is seldom represented. A more dynamic perspective such as the norm-critical is needed to depict potential limiting structures or assumptions interpreted by digitalisation. This briefing paper takes on an interpretative approach using the Swedish manufacturing industry as a case to illustrate the perspectives related to gender, age and physical ability relative to digitalisation. The norm-critical perspective has formed the narrative and viewpoints presented in this paper. The aim is to highlight the norm-critical perspective as a potential analytical lens among researchers and industry professionals alike to understand how digitalisation is negotiated and given value and how digitalisation is manifested and interpreted to that given value.

Impact of Industry 4.0 Platform on the Formation of Construction 4.0 Concept: A Literature Review

In recent years, due to the rapid development of the fourth industrial revolution and new platforms of information technologies, intelligent systems have received widespread attention in many industries and have brought the potential to improve the efficiency of the construction industry. These facts led to the appearance of a new concept in construction industry called Construction 4.0. Therefore, this article seeks to explore the state of implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the construction industry and analyze their impact on the formation of the Construction 4.0 concept. In order to achieve the aim of this article, a literature review was conducted using the most relevant publication in this field. Moreover, authors carried out a bibliometric analysis among 195 selected research articles related to the Industry 4.0 and Construction 4.0 to identify interconnections between these concepts. The results show that Industry 4.0 has the greatest impact on productivity growth in construction and that interest in digital technologies is growing every year, but their penetration into the construction industry is currently slow and limited. The authors suggest that further research needs to be focused on future ethical issues that may arise and on synergies between Construction 4.0 technologies.