This paper presents an image of the machine and equipment operator in the context of the development of industrial cyberphysical systems and adaptive automation in manufacturing companies. The development of technology makes new challenges for machine and equipment operators. The concept of Industry 4.0, which has been lashed for a decade, is shaping a new work environment for operators who operate machinery and equipment. Industry 4.0 is the term used for technological advances in the fourth industrial revolution. Advanced information and communication technologies, supported by full automation and robotization, the Internet of Things and cloud computing to control production, are changing the existing ways of operating machinery and equipment. There are discussions in the literature around the role of machine and equipment operators in modern factories. Secondary sources of information was the basis for outlining the general (framework) conditions of work and profile of the operator of machinery and equipment in Industry 4.0. The aim of this paper is an introduction to the broad topic of issues about the role of the operators of machinery and equipment in cyber-physical systems of production.
Keywords: Industry 4.0; machines and equipment operator; cyber-physical production systems