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Contemporary Advances in Industry 4.0 Technologies and Theories for Manufacturing Sustainability

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 40981

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hamed Gholami

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Mines Saint-Etienne, Univ Clermont Auvergne, INP Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, UMR 6158 LIMOS, F-42023 Saint-Etienne, France
Interests: sustainable production; reconfigurable manufacturing systems; supply chains; Industry 4.0 technologies; AI-enabled decision making models; big data analytics; optimization
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Prof. Dr. Safian Sharif

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Department of Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor 81310, Malaysia
Interests: smart manufacturing; sustainable production; product design and development; artificial intelligence; optimization; simulation; life-cycle assessment; sustainability

Prof. Dr. Georges Abdul-Nour

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Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Quebec in Trois-Rivieres, Trois-Rivieres, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada
Interests: asset management; intelligent manufacturing (I4.0); lean manufacturing; six sigma; optimization; simulation modeling; supply chain management; operations management; multiple-criteria decision analysis; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Riding on the machines that changed the world, industry has undergone numerous revolutions—from the initial steam-engine-powered machines to the advent of electricity in industrial processes for mass production; then the automated machines, which involved advanced electronics and information technologies in automating the production process; and today, the fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) which integrates smart machines with digital technologies to maximize industrial productivity. Considering the seminal report on ‘Our Common Future’ as a corporate sustainability reference, the common revolutions have also appeared in manufacturing. This ranges from the traditional substitution-based manufacturing to the advent of lean manufacturing for reducing waste and creating value in production processes, which is being followed with green manufacturing, which involves the 3R (reduce, reuse, and recycle) concept in greening product supply chains, and, today, sustainable manufacturing, which takes sustainability issues into three interrelated compartments—product, process, and system—using a broader innovation-based 6R methodology to not only meet the 3Rs but also to remanufacture, redesign, and recover the products over multiple life cycles.

There are many significant efforts to develop sustainability in the manufacturing industry; however, the development is generally traced by compartmentalizing the manufacturing’s integral elements (i.e., products, processes, and systems), which requires (1) a paradigm shift from single life cycle, open loop to multiple life cycle, closed loop at the product level; (2) the optimization of technological advancements and process planning to reduce energy and resource intake, toxic wastes, and occupational hazards, and to improve product life via the manipulation of process-driven surface integrity at the process level; and (3) the integration of the entire supply chain, from the major life-cycle stages to the multiple life cycles at the system level. It is contended that Industry 4.0 and its enabling technologies and principles give the unique opportunity to move towards this end.

This Special Issue is therefore aimed at presenting contemporary advances in Industry 4.0 technologies and theories for manufacturing sustainability. It intends to cover the biocomplexity of the environment and associated technological challenges facing the needs of society for economic growth and prosperity as applied to the design and manufacturing of discrete products. We hereby invite authors to submit original research and critical review articles developing sustainability into Industry 4.0 technologies and theories throughout all levels of manufacturing—from pre-manufacturing, manufacturing, and use through post-use stages in the life cycle—to enable a shift in the manufacturing context towards a more sustainability-based state.

Dr. Hamed Gholami
Prof. Dr. Safian Sharif
Prof. Dr. Georges Abdul-Nour
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

sustainable manufacturing
green production
lean thinking and tools
Industry 4.0 technologies
intelligent techniques and theories
life cycle assessment
techno-sustainability assessment
multiple-criteria decision analysis
circular economy
stakeholder value

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 2108 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implementation of an Industry 4.0 Strategy Adapted to Manufacturing SMEs: Simulation and Case Study

by Marc-Antoine Roy, Georges Abdul-Nour and Sébastien Gamache

Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15423; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115423 - 30 Oct 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4271

Abstract

Quebec’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing field are facing a major challenge: implementing a successful digital transformation in an increasingly competitive world, with a labor shortage and customer demand for highly customized products. Technology is a leading solution for improving competitiveness. However, the tools and subsidies available offer little in terms of results for these companies, which have neither the prerequisites nor the resources to successfully carry out their digital transformation. This research aims to develop an adapted Industry 4.0 strategy for manufacturing SMEs reorienting themselves toward mass customization. It seeks to demonstrate that agility and modular design are prerequisites, and it advocates for individual assessments as success factors. The research presents the development of such a strategy for manufacturing SMEs. A case study in the form of action research, combined with a simulation-based experimental design based on a sample of one Quebec manufacturing SME, serves to validate the implementation of the adapted strategy. This research emphasizes the importance of lean, agility and modular design concepts and of individual assessment for successful Industry 4.0 implementation in SMEs. Future research could systematize modularity management in the Industry 4.0 era to boost SME competitiveness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Advances in Industry 4.0 Technologies and Theories for Manufacturing Sustainability)

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15 pages, 2433 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of the COHRV Conceptual Framework to Enhance Sustainable Manufacturing

by Georgina Elizabeth Riosvelasco-Monroy, Iván Juan Carlos Pérez-Olguín, Luis Asunción Pérez-Domínguez, Luis Carlos Méndez-González and Salvador Noriega-Morales

Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16804; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416804 - 14 Dec 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1925

Abstract

For the implementation of Industry Industry 4.0 (I4.0), companies need the commitment of several departments, knowledge and technology within data management, cyber physical systems, and Internet of Things, among other pillars of I4.0. This industrial revolution (I4.0)offers opportunities for the development of competitive advantages, new market positions within a supply chain, new product design and processes, and manufacturing sustainability. Regardless of such benefits, for small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) it represents a challenge, because they lack specific capabilities, qualified human resources, and technological and/or financial support. The challenges for SMEs from industrial sectors can be dealt with by means of strategic joint ventures, known as horizontal collaboration. Seen as the new vertical collaboration, horizontal collaboration offers a way for enterprises to combine their strengths in order to gain competitive advantages and develop new market opportunities. This paper presents the Resources and Value Horizontal Collaboration Model, “COHRV”, for its acronym in Spanish, structured as a guide to merge enterprises’ strengths such as knowledge transfer, qualified human resources, technology, and more. The COHRV model was designed as a disruptive business model, presenting a new perspective for horizontal collaboration projects between SMEs. To show the effective applicability of the COHRV model, data obtained from nine SMEs in a previous case study were used. The objective was to observe how the COHRV model works as a framework to create new strategies for SMEs, to work on a sustainable manufacturing venture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Advances in Industry 4.0 Technologies and Theories for Manufacturing Sustainability)

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13 pages, 315 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Internal Communication in R&D: Decision-Making Methods Based on Expert Approaches

by Vaida Zemlickienė, Indrė Lapinskaitė and Zenonas Turskis

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 11839; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141911839 - 20 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1984

Abstract

Relatively recently, internal communication received little attention from theorists, since they focused on external communication. The importance of internal communication is seen as the taker of responsibility for all internal exchanges of information between internal stakeholders at all levels. However, interdisciplinary cooperation in terms of internal communication is a significant issue for any organization running the R&D process. Different studies have already revealed strong links between communication and R&D success, but a lack of research continuity is visible, especially one relevant in practice. This article examines communication in the R&D process through the prism of decision making. It aims to take experience from R&D experts to supplement a list of decision-making methods used in the R&D process, which is compiled based on literature analysis. In the next stage of the investigation, the list of decision-making methods is used to determine the weights of the methods, which reflect the suitability of the decision-making methods in the R&D process. In the final stage of the investigation, differences in the evaluations of the US and German experts are presented, reflecting different experiences and differences in the conditions of the business environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Advances in Industry 4.0 Technologies and Theories for Manufacturing Sustainability)

19 pages, 4746 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Application of Stochastic Mine Production Scheduling in the Presence of Geological Uncertainty

by Devendra Joshi, Hamed Gholami, Hitesh Mohapatra, Anis Ali, Dalia Streimikiene, Susanta Kumar Satpathy and Arvind Yadav

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 9819; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14169819 - 9 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2005

Abstract

The scheduling of open-pit mine production is a large-scale, mixed-integer linear programming problem that is computationally expensive. The purpose of this study is to create a computationally efficient algorithm for solving open-pit production scheduling problems with uncertain geological parameters. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed research, a case study of an Indian iron ore mine is presented. Multiple realizations of the resource models were developed and integrated within the stochastic production scheduling framework to capture uncertainty and incorporate it into the mine plan. In this case study, two hybrid methods were developed to evaluate their performance. Model 1 is a combined branch and cut with the longest path, whereas Model 2 is a sequential parametric maximum flow and branch and cut. The results show that both methods produce similar materials, ore, metal, and risk profiles; however, Model 2 generates slightly more (4 percent) discounted cash flow from this study mine than Model 1. The results also show that Model 2’s computational time is 46.64 percent less than that of Model 1. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Advances in Industry 4.0 Technologies and Theories for Manufacturing Sustainability)

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25 pages, 1561 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Agility and Industry 4.0 Implementation Strategy in a Quebec Manufacturing SME

by Stéphanie Bouchard, Georges Abdulnour and Sébastien Gamache

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 7884; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137884 - 28 Jun 2022

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3008

Abstract

The emergence of new information technologies, market globalization, climate change, labor shortages, and changing consumer habits have led to dynamic demand and the need for customized mass production systems. This has forced companies, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), to rethink their product design, production, and marketing models to remain competitive by increasing their agility in the face of growing and changing demand. It becomes relevant to investigate how to move efficiently towards customized mass production in an Industry 4.0 (I4.0) environment. The objective of this research is to develop a strategy for implementing I4.0 in manufacturing SME, based on lean, agility, and intelligent modular product design. A literature review made it possible to target the following performance measures: reducing inventory, minimizing makespan, and reducing time to consumer (reaction time). A case study was conducted in an SME in the agri-food sector to validate the proposed strategy. Inventory levels were reduced by more than 70% and time was cut by almost 65%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Advances in Industry 4.0 Technologies and Theories for Manufacturing Sustainability)

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22 pages, 5839 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Technology Development Decision-Making Points and Differences in Identifying Commercial Opportunities for Mechatronics, Laser, and Nanoelectronic Technologies

by Vaida Zemlickienė and Zenonas Turskis

Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7385; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127385 - 16 Jun 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1880

Abstract

There is a popular idea that technology-development success depends on some creative magic, but leaders contradict the assertion that innovation is a process that can be perfected. Turning technology into reality requires an excellent understanding of the development process from idea to market. The technology commercialization process is broken down into phases in which vital decision-making points exist. In the scientific literature, which examines and analyzes the process of technology development and its problems, there is a variety of views and opinions related to the concepts used to define this process and its content. These motives led to the formulation of the first objective of this article: to analyze technology-development models studied by different researchers and used by different reliable organizations. The second objective is to determine the content of the technology-development process and processes that are alternative or related to the content of the technology-development process, in this way elucidate the differences and interfaces between these models and the vital decision-making points. There are many vital decision-making points in the early stage of technology development. However, only one point—identification of commercial opportunities, determines whether technology will reach other vital decision points. Based on the results of this identification, large-scale investments are made. The decision made at this stage determines whether or not a project will have a successful return on investment. However, the specifics of the different technology industries are apparent, and these differences may affect the identification of commercial opportunities. The article also sought to reveal the specifics of commercialization for different technology industries. The research uses the integrated fuzzy Delphic-Eckenrode Likert-type scale-based rating technique for grey numbers to gather expert opinions and determine the weights of factors. The research results show the differences in identifying commercial opportunities for mechatronics, laser, and nanoelectronic technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Advances in Industry 4.0 Technologies and Theories for Manufacturing Sustainability)

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20 pages, 2582 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implementation of Industry 4.0 Principles and Tools: Simulation and Case Study in a Manufacturing SME

by Samir Abdulnour, Chantal Baril, Georges Abdulnour and Sébastien Gamache

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6336; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106336 - 23 May 2022

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4404

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises (SME) face various challenges in order to remain competitive in a global market. Industry 4.0 (I4.0) is increasingly presented as the new paradigm for improving productivity, ensuring economic growth, and guaranteeing the sustainability of manufacturing companies. However, SMEs are ill equipped and lack resources to undertake this digital shift. This paper presents the digital shift process of an SME in a personalized mass production context. Our work provides a better understanding of the interaction between Lean and I4.0. It contributes to the development of Lean 4.0 implementation strategies that are better adapted to manufacturing SMEs in a personalized mass production context. We also demonstrate the usefulness of simulation as a decision-making assistance tool when implementing I4.0. A practical case is documented to fill a gap in the scientific literature identified by several researchers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Advances in Industry 4.0 Technologies and Theories for Manufacturing Sustainability)

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19 pages, 2578 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Exploring a Pathway to Sustainable Performance in Manufacturing Firms: The Interplay between Innovation Capabilities, Green Process, Product Innovations and Digital Leadership

by Muddassar Sarfraz, Larisa Ivascu, Muhammad Ibrahim Abdullah, Ilknur Ozturk and Jasim Tariq

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 5945; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14105945 - 13 May 2022

Cited by 53 | Viewed by 6633

Abstract

In recent years, advancing industrialization and rapid climate change have considerably influenced the global consumption pattern of natural assets. Undoubtedly, this massive utilization of natural resources and hazardous environmental emissions have profoundly curbed the worldwide socio-economic context, substantially causing this ecological burden to amplify the harmful effects on countries’ prosperity. This study aims to improve the sustainable performance of manufacturing firms in Pakistan through innovation capabilities and green process innovation. The study has adopted a quantitative approach, and data has been accumulated through a structured questionnaire distributed among 299 employees working in manufacturing firms. A structural equation model using Smart PLS software was used to analyze the collected data from the respondents. The results have identified a significant correlation between innovation capabilities, green process innovation, and sustainable performance. The buffering role of digital leadership enhances the employees’ creative skills and sustainable performance. Additionally, the extent that green product innovation plays a mediating role between innovation capabilities, green process innovation, and sustainable performance has been contemplated. Henceforth, the current study also analyzes the moderating role of digital leadership in sustainable performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Advances in Industry 4.0 Technologies and Theories for Manufacturing Sustainability)

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20 pages, 986 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Integration of Industry 4.0 and Internal Organizational Forces on Sustaining Competitive Advantages and Achieving Strategic Objectives

by Muawia Ramadan, Tariq Amer, Bashir Salah and Mohammed Ruzayqat

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 5841; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14105841 - 11 May 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3534

Abstract

Adopting and implementing the Industry 4.0 strategy to increase the overall performance of the organization became one of the main aims of organizations. However, ignoring the linkages between implementing strategic decisions and organizational internal factors/forces can endanger and shrink its performance, competitive advantages, and thus its strategic success. In this context, many companies failed to achieve the expected benefits of adopting the Industry 4.0 strategy. Therefore, the gained advantages of adopting the Industry 4.0 strategy should be sustained through perfect and comprehensive integration between Industry 4.0 concepts and the accompanying upgrades and changes in the organizational internal factors/forces. This will capitalize on organizations’ internal strengths and avoid weaknesses or turn them into strengths. In this paper, a conceptual model is proposed to investigate the relation between Industry 4.0 and internal organizational forces and examine their impacts on the sustainable competitive advantages of the organization. In the hypothesized model, three innovation capabilities (i.e., technological, economic, and commercial innovation) have been used to mediate the relation between the internal forces and the sustainable competitive advantages in parallel with Industry 4.0 adoption. The model and the proposed hypotheses have been simulated and tested using partial least squares structural equations modeling software called SmartPLS. The sample size used is 125 responses from different manufacturing fields. The results demonstrate the significant role that the internal organizational forces play in maintaining and sustaining the organization’s competitive advantages in combination with Industry 4.0. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Advances in Industry 4.0 Technologies and Theories for Manufacturing Sustainability)

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15 pages, 1636 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analyzing the Factors Enabling Green Lean Six Sigma Implementation in the Industry 4.0 Era

by L. Thiruvarasu Letchumanan, Hamed Gholami, Noordin Mohd Yusof, Nor Hasrul Akhmal Bin Ngadiman, Anas A. Salameh, Dalia Štreimikienė and Fausto Cavallaro

Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3450; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063450 - 15 Mar 2022

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 5052

Abstract

Green Lean Six Sigma has emerged in the Industry 4.0 era as a business strategy contributing to the circular economy by adopting the 3R concept, i.e., reduce, reuse, and recycle. Despite its broadly acknowledged capabilities in the manufacturing industry, practitioners continue to be cautious about its implementation, owing to insufficient knowledge and culture. Hence, there is a need to systematize the existing knowledge regarding this green initiative and also to recognize the key factors enabling its implementation. In the Malaysian manufacturing context, the enabling factors have yet to be identified and evaluated. This current study is the first of its kind to identify and examine these factors and to create a structural model to conceptualize and operationalize this business strategy. The implemented methodological approach includes two steps. Firstly, it performs a systematic review of leading studies on the topic, which are rather scarce in the current context. The second step entails a principal component factor analysis using varimax rotation to finalize the findings. The theoretical and empirical results revealed a structural model with five interconnected key factors, including twenty-seven enablers, that can be used to narrow the existing knowledge gap in the understudied context. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Advances in Industry 4.0 Technologies and Theories for Manufacturing Sustainability)

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Other

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21 pages, 4163 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Operationalizing Mass Customization in Manufacturing SMEs—A Systematic Literature Review

by Stéphanie Bouchard, Sébastien Gamache and Georges Abdulnour

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3028; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043028 - 7 Feb 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3737

Abstract

With the emergence of the fourth industrial revolution, market globalization, and growing customer demands, companies are being forced to rethink their ways of doing business to remain competitive. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector must also adapt to personalized customer demands. This context forces companies to migrate towards mass customization. The literature proposes several strategies for adapting to this new paradigm but does not offer an implementation sequence for successfully operationalizing mass customization within an SME. Based on a systematic review of the themes surrounding Industry 4.0 and mass customization in the literature, this article aims to highlight the different strategies and factors to be put in place to successfully implement mass customization. This research reveals the lack of a prioritization of factors that favour the operationalization of mass customization. Lastly, the literature does not detail the tools and their levels of maturity resulting from the factors to be implemented. This article highlights the gaps in the literature related to mass customization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Advances in Industry 4.0 Technologies and Theories for Manufacturing Sustainability)

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