Critical infrastructure organisation management - An analysis of the transition to the Industry 4.0 era
type: CreativeWork
description: Critical infrastructure systems (CISs) provide the services that are vital for the economic prosperity, security, and well-being of society. These include power transmission and distribution, telecommunications, transport, and water distribution networks, to name a few. CISs are comprised of both physical and digital assets that provide infrastructure services but require interaction with people to operate. Through sociotechnical systems theory, we can model CISs through the interactions between social and technical factors that influence organisational performance, which is directly linked to the quality of the infrastructure services provided. The task of managing CISs involves not only the effective monitoring of physical assets, system interdependencies, and emerging risks and trends, but also the management of organisational aspects including people, processes, and working cultures. The interaction of these aspects during CIS operations is formalised within the field of organisational theory. Developed society is currently experiencing a technological revolution, often termed as Industry 4.0, whereby the operational and management capabilities of CISs and organisations are being transformed through the use of bespoke technologies and system analytics. These technological advancements are allowing organisations to gain new insights into how they can operate, maintain, and protect their systems and assets more effectively. The idealised Industry 4.0 model envisions that all data capture, storage, and analysis processes will be fully automated to enable automated decision-making with minimal human intervention. However, advancements of this type will change how critical infrastructure (CI) organisations are structured and managed. At present, organisational theory lacks the ability to capture and provide governance on the evolving relationships between technologies, people, and processes in CIS management. This research addresses this shortcoming by critically ana…
abstract: Critical infrastructure systems (CISs) provide the services that are vital for the economic prosperity, security, and well-being of society. These include power transmission and distribution, telecommunications, transport, and water distribution networks, to name a few. CISs are comprised of both physical and digital assets that provide infrastructure services but require interaction with people to operate. Through sociotechnical systems theory, we can model CISs through the interactions between social and technical factors that influence organisational performance, which is directly linked to the quality of the infrastructure services provided. The task of managing CISs involves not only the effective monitoring of physical assets, system interdependencies, and emerging risks and trends, but also the management of organisational aspects including people, processes, and working cultures. The interaction of these aspects during CIS operations is formalised within the field of organisational theory. Developed society is currently experiencing a technological revolution, often termed as Industry 4.0, whereby the operational and management capabilities of CISs and organisations are being transformed through the use of bespoke technologies and system analytics. These technological advancements are allowing organisations to gain new insights into how they can operate, maintain, and protect their systems and assets more effectively. The idealised Industry 4.0 model envisions that all data capture, storage, and analysis processes will be fully automated to enable automated decision-making with minimal human intervention. However, advancements of this type will change how critical infrastructure (CI) organisations are structured and managed. At present, organisational theory lacks the ability to capture and provide governance on the evolving relationships between technologies, people, and processes in CIS management. This research addresses this shortcoming by critically ana…
author: O'Brien, Sally
language: eng
keywords: Digital transition, Industry 4.0, Infrastructure management, Sociotechnical
license: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/8e2ba8f1-ceba-462c-90f0-1f31d8d60ce4/download
license: http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved
date published: 2022-07-01
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:23:54Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.96902