Visual management in the era of industry 4.0: Perceived advantages and disadvantages of digital boards

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate digitalized visual management, with a focus on the relative advantages and disadvantages of digital and analogue boards in manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach: The case study of this paper was conducted at two different business units within the same large multinational company, Sandvik. Data was collected through 15 unstructured and semi-structured interviews with managers and machine operators. Findings: More advantages than disadvantages with digital boards were found. Only two disadvantages are absolute, while the other disadvantages can be counteracted to some extent. Originality: Currently there is a shortage of studies exploring advantages and disadvantages of digital boards as visualization tools Research limitations/implications: This paper is based on a single case study focusing on stoppage causes, and thus cannot be fully generalised to all manufacturing companies or all contexts. The actual performance effects of analogue and digital boards were not examined in this paper. Practical implications: The findings are applicable to for managers considering investing in digital boards in manufacturing, to be used for continuous improvement but also for other production-related applications.