The occupational health and safety dimension of Industry 4.0

The growing worldwide demand for capital and consumer goods, together with the need for a sustainable, eco-friendly and resource-saving type of manufacturing, have led to the fourth stage of industrialization, the so-called Industry 4.0 phenomenon (9, 48). This was first mentioned in Germany in 2011 as a proposal for the development of a new concept of economic policy based on high-tech strategies that may “digitally connect everything in and around a manufacturing operation in a highly integrated value chain” (10, 28). Through a higher level of automation, interconnection and computerization, Industry 4.0 aims to improve operational performance in order to achieve an increased, customi