PRIME–INSPECT: A Socio-Technical Framework for Trustworthy Intelligent Automation and Real-Time Decision-Making in Industry 4.0

Intelligent automation is a core component of Industry 4.0, enabling artificial intelligence (AI) systems to support or execute operational and managerial decisions in real time. In high-risk industrial environments such as mining and metallurgy, real-time decision-making improves efficiency but also raises critical challenges related to trust, explainability, human oversight, and institutional accountability. This study proposes PRIME–INSPECT, a two-layer socio-technical framework designed to support trustworthy AI-driven real-time decision-making. The PRIME (predict, regulate, interpret, mitigate, execute) layer formalizes the operational decision flow, embedding control mechanisms, uncertainty quantification, and explainability into the automation pipeline. The INSPECT (integrity, navigability, supervisory control, policy maturity, ethical compliance, collaboration, trust calibration) layer defines the organizational and governance conditions required for safe deployment. The framework is conceptually developed through a structured literature synthesis and supported by exploratory empirical grounding through stakeholder perceptions from IT and top management participants, alongside an illustrative industrial use case intended to demonstrate conceptual applicability rather than engineering performance validation. The findings highlight the importance of aligning operational AI processes with institutional safeguards to support calibrated trust and responsible automation. The empirical component is intended to provide conceptual and organizational grounding of framework dimensions rather than quantitative validation of predictive performance. PRIME–INSPECT provides a structured architecture for designing and governing AI-enabled real-time decision systems in high-risk industrial contexts.