Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.8
3.3
Journals
Sustainability
Special Issues
Resilience Engineering for Sustainability: Methodological Approaches and Practical Experience
sustainability-logo
Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Resilience Engineering for Sustainability: Methodological Approaches and Practical Experience

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 41450

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Giulio Di Gravio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Interests: supply chain management; industrial operations and management; compliance and risk management; resilience engineering; performance variability in complex systems; product-service system (PSS)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Riccardo Patriarca

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Interests: resilience management; resilience engineering; safety and risk management; socio-technical systems modelling; operations management; aviation; supply chain management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Francesco Costantino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering “Antonio Ruberti”, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Ariosto 25, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: safety; resilience; smart factory; supply chain; digitalization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

The concept of resilience is becoming increasingly recurrent among scholars and practitioners, but depending on the domain being investigated, its definition can be very different. In the domain of safety, Hollnagel has stated that “[…] The essence of resilience is therefore the intrinsic ability of an organisation (system) to maintain or regain a dynamically stable state, which allows it to continue operations after a major mishap and/or in the presence of a continuous stress” (Hollnagel, 2006). Since this definition is somehow compatible with the ones used in research on sustainability and ecology, this Special Issue aims to explicitly address the theoretical and operational connections (as well as differences) between the two concepts (i.e., sustainability and resilience). It is also suggested that techniques, methods, and models developed in the context of resilience engineering can constitute the basis for supporting sustainable development in a variety of domains (e.g., economy, construction, transportation systems, industrial plants, urban environment, etc.).

The purpose of this Special Issue is to gather state-of-the-art knowledge on resilience and sustainability, and to discuss innovative and long-term research paths. Such perspectives are expected to be of interest for both researchers and practitioners, in order to delve into the complexity of current and future socio-technical environments.

Conceptual and theoretical discourses exploring the concepts of resilience and sustainability for the analysis of socio-technical systems are welcome. Furthermore, relevant contributions may explore the usage of systemic methods and models typical of resilience engineering (e.g., functional resonance analysis method, resilience analysis grid, resilience early warning indicators) in socio-technical work environments, and in urban management, disaster response, and crisis management.

Prof. Giulio Di Gravio
Dr. Riccardo Patriarca
Prof. Francesco Costantino
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.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • resilience management
  • resilience engineering
  • safety management
  • sustainability
  • environmental governance
  • management of ecological systems
  • complexity management
  • socio-technical systems
  • adaptive capacities
  • crisis management
  • transportation
  • industrial plants
  • urban resilience
  • ecological resilience
  • multi-disciplinary resilience
  • quantitative and qualitative methods

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (7 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review, Other

21 pages, 2347 KiB  
Article
A Mixed Rough Sets/Fuzzy Logic Approach for Modelling Systemic Performance Variability with FRAM
by Hussein Slim and Sylvie Nadeau
Sustainability 2020, 12(5), 1918; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051918 - 3 Mar 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4672
Abstract
The task to understand systemic functioning and predict the behavior of today’s sociotechnical systems is a major challenge facing researchers due to the nonlinearity, dynamicity, and uncertainty of such systems. Many variables can only be evaluated in terms of qualitative terms due to [...] Read more.
The task to understand systemic functioning and predict the behavior of today’s sociotechnical systems is a major challenge facing researchers due to the nonlinearity, dynamicity, and uncertainty of such systems. Many variables can only be evaluated in terms of qualitative terms due to their vague nature and uncertainty. In the first stage of our project, we proposed the application of the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM), a recently emerging technique, to evaluate aircraft deicing operations from a systemic perspective. In the second stage, we proposed the integration of fuzzy logic into FRAM to construct a predictive assessment model capable of providing quantified outcomes to present more intersubjective and comprehensible results. The integration process of fuzzy logic was thorough and required significant effort due to the high number of input variables and the consequent large number of rules. In this paper, we aim to further improve the proposed prototype in the second stage by integrating rough sets as a data-mining tool to generate and reduce the size of the rule base and classify outcomes. Rough sets provide a mathematical framework suitable for deriving rules and decisions from uncertain and incomplete data. The mixed rough sets/fuzzy logic model was applied again here to the context of aircraft deicing operations, keeping the same settings as in the second stage to better compare both results. The obtained results were identical to the results of the second stage despite the significant reduction in size of the rule base. However, the presented model here is a simulated one constructed with ideal data sets accounting for all possible combinations of input variables, which resulted in maximum accuracy. The same should be further optimized and examined using real-world data to validate the results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilience Engineering for Sustainability: Methodological Approaches and Practical Experience)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 3038 KiB  
Article
Empirical Evaluation of the Impact of Resilience and Sustainability on Firms’ Performance
by Elia Balugani, Maria Angela Butturi, Delroy Chevers, David Parker and Bianca Rimini
Sustainability 2020, 12(5), 1742; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051742 - 26 Feb 2020
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5414
Abstract
The concepts of resilience and sustainability appear multi-dimensional and correlated, depending on the context. Operational sustainability practices can enhance the resilience of a firm, and support its growth. This study aims at analyzing the impact of a sustainability strategy, measured by means of [...] Read more.
The concepts of resilience and sustainability appear multi-dimensional and correlated, depending on the context. Operational sustainability practices can enhance the resilience of a firm, and support its growth. This study aims at analyzing the impact of a sustainability strategy, measured by means of a sustainability maturity index (SMI), on the financial performance of a company. Since the SMI is strictly correlated to resilience capabilities, the performed analysis represents a first level integration of the sustainability and resilience indicators in a common framework. A data sample from 53 organizations was collected through structured interviews and analyzed to identify possible relationships between the SMI and the financial performance indexes. The analysis does not support commonly reported arguments: we show that profitability does not show a significant relationship with sustainable strategic intent. Interestingly, firm country of origin, size of the organization, and market focus, likewise, do not have a significant relationship with SMI. Arguably, multi-dimensional company performance, including both financial and non-financial measures, should be considered to assess the impact of sustainability practices. Moreover, further investigations are needed to capture firms’ nonfinancial indicators of performance that are related to sustainability and resilience, for building up a unified framework enabling trade-off analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilience Engineering for Sustainability: Methodological Approaches and Practical Experience)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

27 pages, 1040 KiB  
Article
A Conceptual Reference Framework for Enterprise Resilience Enhancement
by Raquel Sanchis, Luca Canetta and Raúl Poler
Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1464; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041464 - 16 Feb 2020
Cited by 41 | Viewed by 6800
Abstract
Enterprise resilience is a key capacity to guarantee enterprises’ long-term continuity. This paper proposes the enterprise resilience Conceptual Reference Framework to characterize enterprise resilience capacity. The framework is composed of 71 disruptive events that enterprises consider as endangerments to their continuity. The framework [...] Read more.
Enterprise resilience is a key capacity to guarantee enterprises’ long-term continuity. This paper proposes the enterprise resilience Conceptual Reference Framework to characterize enterprise resilience capacity. The framework is composed of 71 disruptive events that enterprises consider as endangerments to their continuity. The framework also comprises constituent capabilities of enterprise resilience in terms of preparedness and recovery capabilities and elements that support the transition from the AS IS situation to the TO BE one, which are preventive actions (for preparedness capability) and knowledge registration actions (for recovery capability). From the preparedness perspective, 403 preventive actions are currently defined. Each preventive action is specific for every disruptive event. However, it is worth noting that a preventive action can also be applied to different disruptive events. From the recovery perspective, the proposed framework indicates knowledge registration related to (i) the occurrence of disruptive events; (ii) the recovery actions performed to re-establish the normal enterprise operation level. Further research lines are addressed to develop quantitative methods and tools to assess the extent of enterprises’ resilience following the foundations of the proposed conceptual framework. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilience Engineering for Sustainability: Methodological Approaches and Practical Experience)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 588 KiB  
Article
A Framework to Evaluate the Effects of Organizational Resilience on Service Quality
by Alessandro Annarelli, Cinzia Battistella and Fabio Nonino
Sustainability 2020, 12(3), 958; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030958 - 28 Jan 2020
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 7325
Abstract
Disruptions and unexpected turbulences characterize the contemporary service industry and pose greater criticalities to organizations that have concerns about both their survival and their business sustainability. The answer to this challenge is to design an organizational system aimed at enhancing so-called organizational resilience. [...] Read more.
Disruptions and unexpected turbulences characterize the contemporary service industry and pose greater criticalities to organizations that have concerns about both their survival and their business sustainability. The answer to this challenge is to design an organizational system aimed at enhancing so-called organizational resilience. The aim of this work is to present and test an assessment methodology based on a framework that links key static and dynamic characteristics of firms as resilient systems and relates these characteristics with service quality preservation after disruptions. The framework adopts a set of indicators, namely resilience dimensions, to comprehend the real effects of resilience characteristics with service quality dimensions. Through the analysis of a real case, we provided evidence of how the model can be applied in a backward perspective to understand fault modes of specific events. Results show how inadequacies in terms of resilience characteristics determine losses of service quality, and also how the model can be used as a predictive tool to determine in which area companies should intervene in order to improve resilience and service quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilience Engineering for Sustainability: Methodological Approaches and Practical Experience)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 2617 KiB  
Article
Towards Resilient Civil Infrastructure Asset Management: An Information Elicitation and Analytical Framework
by Yifan Yang, S. Thomas Ng, Frank J. Xu, Martin Skitmore and Shenghua Zhou
Sustainability 2019, 11(16), 4439; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11164439 - 16 Aug 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4822
Abstract
It is rather difficult for the stakeholders to understand and implement the resilience concept and principles in the infrastructure asset management paradigm, as it demands quality data, holistic information integration and competent data analytics capabilities to identify infrastructure vulnerabilities, evaluate and predict infrastructure [...] Read more.
It is rather difficult for the stakeholders to understand and implement the resilience concept and principles in the infrastructure asset management paradigm, as it demands quality data, holistic information integration and competent data analytics capabilities to identify infrastructure vulnerabilities, evaluate and predict infrastructure adaptabilities to different hazards, as well as to make damage restoration and resilience improvement strategies and plans. To meet the stakeholder’s urgent needs, this paper proposes an information elicitation and analytical framework for resilient infrastructure asset management. The framework is devised by leveraging the best practices and processes of integrated infrastructure asset management and resilience management in the literature, synergizing the common elements and critical concepts of the two paradigms, ingesting the state-of-the-art interconnected infrastructure systems resilience analytical approaches, and eliciting expert judgments to iteratively improve the derived framework. To facilitate the stakeholders in implementing the framework, two use case studies are given in this paper, depicting the detailed workflow for information integration and resilience analytics in infrastructure asset management. The derived framework is expected to provide an operational basis to the quantitative resilience management of civil infrastructure assets, which could also be used to enhance community resilience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilience Engineering for Sustainability: Methodological Approaches and Practical Experience)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research, Other

22 pages, 1354 KiB  
Review
A Literature Review of the Concepts of Resilience and Sustainability in Group Decision-Making
by Ali Aghazadeh Ardebili and Elio Padoano
Sustainability 2020, 12(7), 2602; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072602 - 25 Mar 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6262
Abstract
The most critical decisions usually involve several decision makers with different roles and opportunities to commit key resources. Several group decision-making (GDM) approaches can support the identification of a joint or compromise decision in less conflicting settings, where there is a group of [...] Read more.
The most critical decisions usually involve several decision makers with different roles and opportunities to commit key resources. Several group decision-making (GDM) approaches can support the identification of a joint or compromise decision in less conflicting settings, where there is a group of subjects (e.g’, partners) who pursue a common overall objective. However, considering the uncertainty in future events and complexity of modern-day systems, decision processes do not always produce beneficial results or give the participants a positive perception of their role in the process. Group decision-making should then take into consideration some aspects that might insure future resilience and sustainability, particularly the achievement of the objectives in view of future risks and the transparency and participation that are needed to limit problems in the implementation phase of the decision. The literature survey presented in this study identified a research gap regarding GDM. Differently from traditional GDM, which was first discussed in the early 1980s and whose body of knowledge is pretty defined, resilient and sustainable GDM (R&S GDM) is fairly new. The main objective of this study is then identifying the main attributes for supporting sustainable and resilient group decisions. To this aim, a preliminary focused systematic review was conducted to study the existing group decision-making methods in the literature and how the concepts of sustainability and resilience have been employed. After defining the search keywords and exclusion criteria for the individuation of the articles, the first screening process was carried out and the most relevant articles were selected. The last steps of the systematic review were the classification of the articles and the full paper examination to extract the main factors of R&S GDM. Seven attributes were listed as the key factors of R&S GDM. In light of those factors, a group decision process concerning an injection moulding line in Tajikistan was investigated. The case study highlighted that over self-confidence, information flow and transparency were the main reasons for faulty decisions, thus suggesting that information system and information fluidity play an important role in R&S GDM. Finally, the most important managerial implications of R&S GDM are reported. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilience Engineering for Sustainability: Methodological Approaches and Practical Experience)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research, Review

21 pages, 1025 KiB  
Commentary
A Resilient and Sustainable Water Sector: Barriers to the Operationalisation of Resilience
by Elizabeth Lawson, Raziyeh Farmani, Ewan Woodley and David Butler
Sustainability 2020, 12(5), 1797; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051797 - 27 Feb 2020
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 5108
Abstract
Global threats such as climate change, increasing urbanisation, and rapid population growth will continue to pose major challenges for the water sector over the coming decades. Questions over supply, delivery and demand, all form a central part of this argument with the themes [...] Read more.
Global threats such as climate change, increasing urbanisation, and rapid population growth will continue to pose major challenges for the water sector over the coming decades. Questions over supply, delivery and demand, all form a central part of this argument with the themes of sustainability and resilience often included in the response. Recent events, along with reactive changes to national legislation and policy, have resulted in a need for the notion of resilience to develop from a theoretical concept to a tangible operational method. This commentary discusses barriers to the operationalisation of resilience in the water sector of England and Wales. The current privatised governance structure of the water sector is first discussed before the three main barriers to operationalisation—lack of agreed definition, metrics and the measuring of resilience—and the need to further acknowledge the ‘socio’ in socio-technical systems, are further explored. A deeper understanding of the notion of resilience in the context of the water sector, and how it can be successfully and effectively applied and implemented at an operational level, are crucial if the sector is to manage and respond to the aforementioned global challenges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilience Engineering for Sustainability: Methodological Approaches and Practical Experience)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-7
Back to TopTop