A Fuzzy Logic-Based Selection Approach to Select Suitable Industry 4.0 Tools for Ergonomic Risk Mitigation: Application to the Portuguese Wine Sector

Abstract

AbstractIndustry 4.0 (I4.0) reveals a special relevance for the Portuguese industry as it represents a major opportunity to overcome the main competitive barriers. On the other hand, organizational expansion frequently leads to an increase in work-related accidents, resulting in needless increases in financial expenses. For this reason, the integration of I4.0 tools is a recommended way to gain benefits, including improvements both in productivity and occupational risk mitigation. This work proposes a fuzzy logic approach in a decision-making method for the selection of suitable I4.0 tools for minimizing ergonomic risks. The method is based on the results of an ergonomic risk assessment performed from the point of view of energy expenditure during task execution, which has already been characterized and studied by several authors. As a result, ergonomic risk assessment allows the estimation of ergonomic load related to productive process activities. The results obtained from the I4.0 tool selection method provided viable solutions both operationally and in terms of minimizing ergonomic risks, strongly suggesting the implementation of autonomous systems, namely automated integrated systems, and autonomous robots, and also suggesting the incorporation of other I4.0 tools in tasks that require specific human intervention, such as cobots, exoskeletons, and lifting systems.KeywordsRisk assessmentSelection methodDecision supportMetabolic energyManufacturing processes