Industry 4.0 in systems thinking: From a narrow to a broad spectrum

Industry 4.0 has been changing technological reality in manufacturing. The smart industry arises as a new pattern of digital systems, information technology and internet solutions. Impacts of Industry 4.0 are multifaceted and complex for all organizations and economies. Beyond changes, Industry 4.0 brings new organizational dynamics: less operational processes implying in new labour competences and more efficient results. From system thinking, it is possible to look at a transformation as a whole, and system perspective can propose a real understanding of impacts, allowing the development of strategies and policies that contemplate new needs and demands of this paradigm. By analysing interconnected dimensions, this work aims to discuss the relevance of systems thinking to an extensive look at the consequences of this industrial paradigm. As a result, a framework of main impacts and relations of Industry 4.0 by systems thinking was developed.