Industry 4.0 and automation inagri-industrial plants
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63618/omd/revinvlid/v2/n2/32Keywords:
Industry 4.0, industrial automation, agribusiness, digital transformation, operational performanceAbstract
The digital transformation of agro-industrial plants faces challenges related to technological maturity, interoperability, investment, workforce skills, and the availability of context-specific evidence for Ecuador and Latin America. The study aimed to analyze the relationship between the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies, the level of automation, and the operational performance of agro-industrial plants. A qualitative, documentary, descriptive, non-experimental, and retrospective longitudinal study was conducted, based on publications from 2020–2025, analyzed using thematic coding and content analysis. The results showed that sensors, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things accounted for 85% of technology mentions, while 54% of the proposals remained at TRL levels 3–4. Automation was primarily linked to quality control, continuous monitoring, and modeled reductions in energy consumption ranging from 3.9% to 9.8%. The discussion revealed that technical benefits outweighed the available financial evidence and that SMEs faced greater constraints in terms of capital, knowledge, and infrastructure. It was concluded that agroindustrial modernization progressed gradually but unevenly, thus requiring phased planning, capacity building, and standardized performance indicators.
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