Methodological approach to assessing the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on the productivity of metallurgical enterprises

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to develop and test a methodological approach to assessing the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on the productivity of a metallurgical enterprise through a consistent conversion of technological effects into economic results. The methodology is based on a three-level evaluation system comprising operational indicators, local economic effects and strategic investment criteria. At the operational level, equipment availability, performance and product quality ratios are combined into an integrated equipment effectiveness index. Economic effects are measured through the monetization of avoided downtime, production-flow acceleration, quality improvement and robotization, while investment efficiency is assessed using discounted cash flow and scenario analysis. The approach is tested using data from PJSC Severstal. The model indicates a potential increase in the integrated equipment effectiveness index from 64.8% to 84.6%, or 19.8 percentage points. With an investment portfolio of RUB 2.803 billion, the baseline scenario yields an annual operating effect of RUB 2.1 billion, a five-year net present value of RUB 4.236 billion and a discounted payback period of approximately 1.8 years. The results support the applicability of the approach to project-level assessment of industrial digitalization initiatives, provided that verifiable production data and explicit scenario assumptions are used.