Boosting the adoption of industrial energy efficiency measures through Industry 4.0 technologies to improve operational performance

Abstract

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies and energy efficiency measures (EEMs) could enhance the performance of manufacturing industries, but research on the role of I4.0 on EEMs adoption with respect to production resources and operational performance is lacking. The academic contribution of this research in terms of novelty is twofold: first, this study has represented an innovative attempt to explicitly consider EEMs impact on production resources operational performances. Second, the study qualitatively highlights the contribution of specific I4.0 technologies to boost performance of industrial EEMs. To achieve the research objectives, a framework is developed to assess EEMs based on the impact over various production resources and operational performance, further integrating how Industry 4.0 technologies may affect such impacts. The application of the framework in selected companies allowed several interesting insights compared to extant literature. The synergic use and management of machine data and hardware allows to reap unexploited benefits beyond energy efficiency, such as Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), labour effectiveness, reliability, reduced operational costs. The study reveals the contribution of specific I4.0 technologies with respect to specific EEMs: whilst implementing Artificial Intelligence is deemed important for boosting the benefits of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and closed cycle process in water management (improving OEE, productivity and reducing operational costs), Internet of Things seems to beneficially affect the adoption of motor systems by improving OEE and reliability. The study concludes with limitations, major recommendations for industrial decision-makers and future research avenues.