| Sonia GARCÍA-MORENO1, Víctor-Raúl LÓPEZ-RUIZ2
Abstract: Improving the working environment is a structural dimension of Industry 4.0., where technological change affects occupational safety and continuous training. This paper examines whether Industry 4.0. transformation is associated with more robust labor conditions in the European Union and in Germany, Spain, and Romania. The analysis distinguishes between total economic activity and manufacturing to capture differences by sector in safety and workforce adaptation. The study uses harmonized Eurostat data covering different time spans according to the indicator and combines standard measures with derived indicators constructed by the authors. These include accident incidence, severity composition, relative manufacturing differentials and training dynamics. The results show a general decline in accident incidence but also reveal uneven trajectories in the qualitative structure of occupational risk and in the development of training capacity. Germany presents the most stable trajectory, with declining accident incidence, contained severity indicators and an established training structure in firms. Spain shows a more ambivalent pattern. Adult learning improves markedly, but manufacturing remains the clearest safety concern because incidence and severity gaps persist. Romania records rapid gains in adult learning and low accident incidence, although these coexist with a heavier severity burden and a weaker training base in enterprises. The paper does not reject the view that Industry 4.0. can improve safety and training. Rather, it shows that improvement remains partial and uneven when the analysis also considers accident severity and training provided by enterprises. Occupational safety and training, therefore, constitute core conditions for a balanced, resilient, and sustainable industrial transition. Keywords: Industry 4.0.; working environment; occupational safety; training systems; digital transformation; comparative analysis Read full article 1University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), 02071, Albacete, Spain; ORCID No. 0000-0001-7552-5280; (corresponding author); sonia.garcia10@alu.uclm.es 2University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), 02071, Albacete, Spain; ORCID No. 0000-0002-2850-1662; Victor.Lopez@uclm.es |
PUBLISHED in
Journal of Knowledge Dynamics,
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