Striking the Right Balance Between Disruptive Technology and Human-Centricity: The CAPS Framework

The EU funded SEISMEC project aims at showing how human-centric solutions can empower a highly skilled, value-driven and increasingly creative industrial workforce in Europe, introducing a paradigm shift within the Industry 5.0 framework. This shift transcends the Industry 4.0 focus on technology and intensive data analytics, embracing an Industry 5.0 approach that prioritizes the synergy between empowering human practices and cuttingedge technologies. This new paradigm is built on the belief that empowering workers and maintaining industrial competitiveness are not opposing goals but complementary ones. Achieving this balance requires ethical digital practices and a thoughtful consideration of key empowerment factors, encapsulated in what is known as the CAPS framework.

C (Collaboration + Creativity): Leveraging advanced technologies to streamline and standardize operations should open up, rather than limit, exciting new opportunities for both individual and collective creativity

A (Autonomy + Automation): Automation should empower autonomy by taking over mundane, hazardous, or inefficient tasks, allowing workers to focus on more meaningful, skill-driven goals that foster a sense of achievement.

P (Privacy + Productivity): Technological advancements should treat privacy and productivity as complementary, rather than conflicting, ensuring that innovation respects individual rights while enhancing efficiency.

S (Safety + Satisfaction): Prioritizing safety should never diminish job satisfaction or be driven by concerns over job loss. Instead, safety should be a catalyst for both security and fulfilment in every aspect of operations.

The SEISMEC project argues that operationalizing these key CAPS empowerment factors will determine the success of this paradigmatic shift and provides targeted questions for each factor at three categories (worker, organization, and industry-wide) to help you assess your own organization.

Source: SEISMEC – Piloting the Shift to Human-Centric Industry