Developing A sustainability framework for Industry 4.0

Abstract

With the development in industrialization, sustainability has emerged as a major issue in the global market. Ignorance of sustainability issues in any organization leads to huge financial losses and market reputation. With the development of new technologies developed economies have achieved sustainability in their industry sectors due to strong infrastructure. However, the adoption levels of sustainability practices in emerging economies are still limited. The current manufacturing trend in Industry 4.0 offers new key technologies e.g. cyber-physical systems, IoT (Internet of Things), additive manufacturing and big data analytics which are under the umbrella of Industry 4.0 known as key technologies for 4th industrial revolution. These new technologies are contributing to sustainability in a direct or indirect way. Identification of different enablers is necessary as it facilitates the adoption of sustainability practices in Industry 4.0. The present study aimed at the development of sustainability practices framework for Industry 4.0 for MSMEs (Micro Small Medium enterprises) sector. Initially, enablers to sustainability in Industry 4.0 were identified from the available literature on Sustainability and Industry 4.0. Further, a case study is done in one of MSMEs of India which is working on the adoption of Industry 4.0 practices. A hybrid MCDM (multi-criteria decision making) approach based on F-AHP (Fuzzy-Analytical hierarchy process) and DEMATEL (Decision making trial and evaluation laboratory) is utilized for the framework development. The results revealed that supply chain and environment related enablers are the main cause of barriers to sustainability in Industry 4.0. It is expected that the findings of this study will be beneficial for the researchers, policymakers and managers to improve the sustainability with the use of Industry 4.0 technologies within the emerging economies in MSMEs.