ABSTRACT
Manufacturing has been hugely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many critical global value chains either halted or seriously interrupted. Most interactions with customers and employees have to take place in a contactless or virtual way. As such, digital operation is the way to remain in business through mandatory shutdowns and restricted activity. To that end, this paper presents a literature review on the acceleration of the digital transformation triggered by COVID-19 as a catalyst in the utilization of Industry 4.0 technologies. Furthermore, a conceptual framework for digital transformation and Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) business models change is proposed.
ABSTRACT
The lockdown due to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic forced both educators and students to swift and rely on digital technologies in order to ensure the successful completion of modules based on the official curriculum. Universities are still facing the challenging issue to offer high quality learning opportunities without risking participants' health. Towards that end, the current study presents a Hybrid Model under the Teaching Factory framework concept that has been successfully implemented and validated. In a hybrid laboratory case study, Engineering students guided remotely laboratory personnel towards a successful manufacture and assembly of a customized remote-control car. Benefits and boundaries of the current approach are discussed along with future perspectives.