The vision behind industry 4.0 is to create even smarter manufacturing facilities. Industry 4.0 includes both hardware and software components, which are expected to seamlessly interact in a secure manner. Thus, machinery and software components from different manufacturers should be able to communicate in a common language. Such a challenge is typically met by introducing a “middleware” to serve ...

The concept of learning factory is taking more and more hold as teaching method, especially after the advent of Industry 4.0 (I4.0). Learning factories have in fact proved to be effective in developing knowledge and skills necessary for students to master the potentialities of adopting new I4.0 technologies in several aspects of production and logistics systems. Driven by these potentialities and ...

Metal additive manufacturing (MAM) is a rapidly advancing manufacturing process with the potential to replace or supplement existing conventional manufacturing processes. MAM is currently associated with a high investment cost and is mostly seen in centralized manufacturing configurations with low-volume and high-value products. This paper evaluates the cost competitiveness of MAM by investigating ...

System-wide optimization of distributed manufacturing operations enables process improvement beyond the standalone and individual optimality norms. This study addresses the production planning of a distributed manufacturing system consisting of three stages: production of parts (subcomponents), assembly of components in Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) factories, and final assembly of products ...

This article focuses on studying the current literature about railway operations in icing conditions, identifying icing effects on railway infrastructure, rolling stock, and operations, and summarizing the existing solutions for addressing these issues. Even though various studies have been conducted in the past on the impact of winter, climate change, and low temperatures on railway operations, not ...

Additive manufacturing (AM) is replacing traditional manufacturing approaches – such as subtractive and molding – in some industries. The product and supply chain impacts of AM continue to extend its industrial reach, improve engineer-to-order manufacturing, and pave the way to mass customization. This study explores the supply chain changes that may arise from a full or partial transition to AM-based ...

Innovation plays a key role in improving the sustainability performance of corporations. Limited studies have investigated the economic aspect of sustainable innovation. This article puts forward a decision framework for evaluating economic sustainable innovative suppliers. A new methodology based on fuzzy Full Consistency Method (FFUCOM) and Improved Combinative Distance-based Assessment (ICODAS) ...

Global competition and increased variety in products have created challenges for manufacturing companies. One solution to handle the variety in production is to use reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS). These are modular systems where machines can be rearranged depending on what is being manufactured. However, implementing a rearrangeable system drastically increases complexity, among which ...

Global energy consumption is projected to grow by nearly 50% as of 2018, reaching a peak of 910.7 quadrillion BTU in 2050. The industrial sector accounts for the largest share of the energy consumed, making energy awareness on the shop foors imperative for promoting industrial sustainable development. Considering a growing awareness of the importance of sustainability, production planning and ...

Legislative pressures and public awareness are urging companies to foster sustainability innovations that improve business operations. Limited studies explored the underpinnings of the economic dimension of sustainability innovations; studying economic innovation criteria in the manufacturing sector of emerging economies can inform other industries while recession fears loom the financial prospects. ...