Intelligent management in the age of Industry 4.0 – an example of a polymer processing company

In the article, the significance and essence of management of intelligent manufacturing in the era of the fourth industrial revolution has been presented. The current revolution has a large impact on the operation of the company. Through the changes resulting from the application of modern technologies, production processes are also undergoing revolutions, which results in changes in such indicators of business development. Management of intelligent manufacturing is also a challenge for socially responsible activities; due to solutions of Industry 4.0, enterprises directly and indirectly influence environmental protection, which results in benefits for all mankind. In the article, the analysis and assessment of management of intelligent manufacturing, using modern technologies during the production process, has been carried out, with particular emphasis on the components of management such as: monitoring, control, autonomy, optimization. Moreover, the impact of the above components of management on changes in the following indicators (KPI – Key Performance Indictors) has been evaluated, i.e. (1) quality, (2) rapidity of the production process implementation, (3) performance and (4) productivity, (5) decrease in waste generated during the technological process and (6) amount of consumed electricity. For the purposes of conducting the research, a case study has been used, developed due to the information shared by the company manufacturing machinery and equipment for the polymer processing industry, in which intelligent solutions of Industry 4.0 are being applied. The presented article is a significant contribution to the current development of knowledge in the field of implementing Industry 4.0 solutions for polymer processing. The article is a combination of theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of management and practical industrial applications. It refers to the most current research trends.