Development of a new framework for implementing industry 4.0 in companies

Abstract

Globalization introduces incertitude for the future of companies. They could disappear more quickly for economic reasons or increase exponentially their position on the market (profit, turnover). Indeed, Logistics and task force costs are important for implementing a new factory in a country. Then, the concurrence is unequal for European and developed countries. Industry of the future appears in this context as a new method based on new technologies deployment (and organization) for improving company performance.Many concepts are being developed in the frame of “factory of the future”. Most of them, insist only on new technology integration everywhere in manufacturing processes or on company supply chains. Thus, industrial problems could be solved very quickly by using machines, robots, cobots, RFID, but also internet of thing (IoT), decision aided tools, etc. Some of them integrate social aspects in their framework. But, none of them are based on sustainability in future changes. The main objective of this new framework is to put this sustainability as the kernel of future company evolutions in the frame of ‘Industry 4.0’.This paper will focus on concepts of this new factory framework for defining changes and steps in the frame of factory of the future. Based on sustainability (social, societal and environmental dimensions), and in addition to new technologies and organization, flexibility in company position would be added as one of main development factors.After presenting concepts and formalisms of this new framework and how they could be used on a company, a detailed illustration example will be shown for validating concepts elaborated. In this paper, artificial intelligence (machine learning, expert systems, multi-agent systems) will also be used for defining the structure of a decision aided tool in order to optimize company dispatching flows.