The research introduces the fourth industrial revolution philosophically, exploring the application of innovation and automation in broad terms and the Internet of Things (IoT) specifically within the mining industry. It explains the business and societal motivation for such interventions, highlighting some of the key benefits. It further explores the inadvertent risks, some of which have already manifested in mining applications and others which can be inferred from other industrial and social applications. A critical analysis is conducted of the application of the South African Mine Health and Safety Act and Regulations on such applications in the mining environment, as well as considering key other pieces of South African legislation. A comparative analysis with Australian legislation confirms that Western Australia has recognised the need for regulation and have started regulating, primarily mining automation, at least. Through these analyses it is established that a legislative vacuum exists, despite the general application of many requirements in relation to safety considerations during the utilisation of IoT applications. The paper concludes by recommending collaboration between the Department of Mineral Resources and the Chamber of Mines to seek ways to lead legislative and regulatory developments in this space in order to enable the sustainability of the South African mining industry. In particular, the research suggests the emphasis should be to legally encourage and permit the implementation of IoT solutions in the mining industry in as many instances as reasonably possible, whilst consecutively addressing the new and emerging risks created through such. / Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Public Law / LLM / Unrestricted

Ensuring the long-term survival and competitiveness of the company is of paramount importance. As a company, adapting to Industry 4.0 (4IR) brings many new opportunities through new technologies that are developing exponentially. In logistics, companies will be able to achieve shorter lead times, fewer errors and greater flexibility. This study is about how retail operations create a successful implementation of automated warehousing to adapt to survive the era of Industry 4.0. The research question is: - How do retail operations implement automated warehouses within the Industry 4.0 framework? The collection of empirical data was done through 11 interviews with respondents from Swedish retail companies that are in the implementation process, or have completed the implementation of an automated warehouse. The respondents have a position in the company that includes knowledge about the implementation of the automated warehouse. Results show four important themes: Identification, Realization, Adaptation &amp; Valuation to create a successful implementation where companies manage to adapt to 4IR. The study shows that it is not enough for companies to follow a process description. It turned out to be more complicated than that as it requires a mental adaptation in the company itself over a long period of time and that this is really permeated in the culture and in the employees. This study has both theoretical and practical contributions. The main contribution to theory realized in this thesis is that companies that want to succeed in implementing 4IR even before the actual practical process begins need to adapt the whole company, including the visions, ways of thinking, culture, etc. to make the actual transition towards 4IR as easy as possible. From a practical point of view, this study contributes both from a societal, consumer and business perspective. / <p>Grade: A</p>

Digital competence used to be a confusing concept, until recently when some researchers coined a comprehensive definition of digital competence and formulated a conceptual framework in an SME context. However, the framework was only at a conceptual level and required to be tested with the empirics of a qualitative or quantitative study. By an abductive qualitative approach, this research explored existing theories on digital competence and formulated a new digital competence framework in Swedish manufacturing SME perspective. Moreover, with cross-sectional study design, this research explored the role of digital competence in the internationalization process of six Swedish manufacturing firms, which is unprecedented in academic literature. Our findings indicate that digital competence is an evolving concept which develops gradually with technological advancements and requires a combination of three integral components: i) Digital technologies (basic and advanced level digitalization), ii) Automation of organizational processes, iii) Human resources who have the latest digital skills and are duly motivated to use these skills. This research affirms that after attaining digital competence Swedish manufacturing SMEs can sustain a competitive advantage in their international markets and it successfully facilitates in the firm’s internationalization process. / Digital kompetens brukade vara ett förvirrande koncept fram till nyligen när vissa forskare utarbetade en omfattande definition av digital kompetens och formulerade en konceptuell ram i ett små och medelstora sammanhang. Ramverket var dock endast på en konceptuell nivå och krävdes att testas med empiriken i en kvalitativ eller kvantitativ studie. Genom ett abduktivt kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt undersökte denna forskning befintliga teorier om digital kompetens och formulerade en ny digital kompetensram inom svenskt tillverkningspolitiskt perspektiv. Vidare undersökte denna undersökning rollen som digital kompetens i internationaliseringsprocessen av sex svenska tillverkningsföretag, vilket är enastående i den akademiska litteraturen. Våra resultat tyder på att digital kompetens är ett utvecklande koncept som utvecklas gradvis med tekniska framsteg och kräver en kombination av tre integrerade komponenter: i) Digital teknik (grundläggande och avancerad digitalisering), ii) Automatisering av organisationsprocesser, iii) Personal som har de senaste digitala färdigheterna och är vederbörligen motiverade att använda dessa färdigheter. Den här forskningen bekräftar att svenska tillverkare små och medelstora företag efter att ha uppnått digital kompetens kan upprätthålla en konkurrensfördel på sina internationella marknader och framgångsrikt underlättar företagets internationaliseringsprocess.