Production Engineering Competencies in the Industry 4.0 context: Perspectives on the Brazilian labor market

Bischof-dos-Santos, Christiane; Oliveira, Elisandreia de

doi:10.1590/0103-6513.20190145

Brasil

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Research Article • Prod. 30 • 2020 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-6513.20190145 linkcopy

Production Engineering Competencies in the Industry 4.0 context: Perspectives on the Brazilian labor market

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Paper aims With its focus on Production Engineering, the advent of Industry 4.0 is increasingly changing the way things are done. In order to further the knowledge regarding this context as well as understand to what extent Brazil is prepared for digital transformation, this study has a twofold aim: 1) to provide a comprehensive conceptualization on competencies currently required for production engineers working in Brazilian manufacturing industries and, 2) to verify if these competencies are aligned with those established by the Brazilian Ministry of Education for engineering schools.

Originality Competencies and skills currently required for production engineers have not been described and researched on a comparable in-depth level before.

Research method Initially, a content analysis was conducted in order to compile the main competencies in Production Engineer job listings. Next, a chi-square analysis was performed to assess relationships between compiled competencies.

Main Findings The results show that companies are increasingly requiring soft competencies beyond technical expertise, in particular, communication skills.

Implications for theory and practice Academicians, educators, as well as policy makers and industry leaders can benefit from the information provided in this study.

Keywords Engineering School; Competencies; Labor Market; Chi-square analysis; Content analysis

Categories (Competencies)	Determination of category	Definition used in this study
Analytical expertise	A priori	According to Brill et al. (2006) involves prioritizing, capturing, and using knowledge, being able to research .
Autonomy	A priori/a posteriori	Related to self-driven ways of working, initiative and ability to work efficiently without direct supervision, and improve themselves continuously (Shamim et al., 2016)
Communication skills	A priori/a posteriori	Involves listening effectively, having strong verbal and written communication skills (Brill et al., 2006). In our study, proficiency in different languages was also considered a significant communication skill.
Creativity	A priori	As stated in the WEF report, (2018, p.29), “innovation requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems”.
Multi-skilled and Flexible	A priori	Presented in the listings as ‘able to work with multidisciplinary scope of development’ and ‘successful integration in interdisciplinary and multicultural teams.’ Adaptation to any technology is also a required competency, as stated by Ghobakhloo (2018).
Problem-solving expertise	A priori	Considered by Brill et al. (2006) as the individual´s ability to recognize a problem, manage crises and risk, frame a problem, know the escalation point, and know how to apply alternate methods.
Project management skills	A priori	“The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements” (Englund & Highlights, 2012)
Relational capability	A priori	According to Dyer & Singh (1998), relational capital refers to mutual trust, respect, friendship, and high reciprocity among individuals.
Technical expertise	A posteriori	According to Santos et al. (2017), technical competencies are related to different actions such as analysis, design, planning, implementation, control, and improvement.

Peer analysis	Chi-square statistic	p-Value
Analytical Expertise x Autonomy	5.820	0.016
Analytical Expertise x Communication skills	22.530	< 0.001
Analytical Expertise x Problem Solving Expertise	10.124	0.003
Analytical Expertise x Project management	5.333	0.021
Analytical Expertise x Relational Capability	12.800	< 0.001
Analytical Expertise x Technical Expertise	10.889	< 0.001
Autonomy x Communication skills	10.124	0.003
Autonomy x Relational Capability	5.822	0.016
Communication x Technical Expertise	34.458	< 0.001
Context knowledge x Problem Solving Expertise	5.822	0.016
Problem Solving Expertise x Relational Capability	10.124	< 0.001
Project Management x Technical Expertise	5.822	0.016
Relational Capability x Technical Expertise	7.143	0.008

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Associação Brasileira de Engenharia de Produção Av. Prof. Almeida Prado, Travessa 2, 128 - 2º andar - Room 231, 05508-900 São Paulo - SP - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: production@editoracubo.com.br

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[1] Source: adapted from Rouvrais et al. (2006)

Transversal competencies	Interpersonal communication (group work, creativity)
	Learning orientation
	Oral and written communication
	Project management
Technical competencies	Designing
	Modelling
	Developing
	Testing, assessing and validating solutions
	Interdisciplinary approach