Impact of Industry 4.0 and Lean Manufacturing on the Sustainability Performance of Plastic and Petrochemical Organizations in Saudi Arabia

Ahmed Ghaithan,Awsan Mohammed,Laith Hadidi,Mohammed Khan

doi:10.3390/su132011252

Ahmed Ghaithan, Awsan Mohammed + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011252

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Oct 13, 2021
Citations: 20	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

Abstract

Plastic and petrochemical industries are lagging behind in terms of environmental sustainability performance because of the nature of these industries. Although plastic and petrochemical industries have adopted lean manufacturing and/or Industry 4.0 technologies, more efforts are needed to enhance sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to explore the integrated impact of Industry 4.0 technologies and lean manufacturing on the sustainability performance of plastic and petrochemical industries in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, it investigates the casual relationship between Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainability performance as well as the direct linkage between Industry 4.0 and lean manufacturing. A questionnaire is used as the primary instrument for collecting data from 112 plastic and petrochemical organizations. A hypothesized relationship is formulated and then analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The outcome of the analysis shows that Industry 4.0 and lean manufacturing have a positive impact on sustainability performance. The study also presents a list of valid constructs for Industry 4.0 technologies, lean manufacturing, and sustainability performance. Furthermore, the study shows that the plastic and petrochemical industries in Saudi Arabia acknowledge and recognize the contribution of Industry 4.0 technologies and lean manufacturing principles to the protection of the environment as a dimension of sustainability performance.

Highlights

Sustainability is defined as “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [1]
This indicates that the data were not largely affected by common method bias as the variance was lower than 50%, which is the accepted margin
The study values the role of Industry 4.0 technologies and lean manufacturing as powerful tools for advancement in achieving sustainably in the plastic and petrochemical sectors

Summary

Introduction

Sustainability is defined as “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [1]. Social sustainability means a commitment to providing everyone access to healthcare, education, food, water, and shelter It means maintaining a stable and peaceful global community of nations. Environmental sustainability is about climate change, global warming, human coexistence, ocean acidification, ecosystem collapse, air pollution, and ozone depletion. Solutions in this dimension include renewable energy, protecting endangered species, reducing emissions, and recycling. The primary focus of lean manufacturing is to make the manufacturing process more reliable, efficient, and capable It looks to develop a well-defined process that enhances the productivity of the organization by meeting customer needs with minimum wastage [8,37,38].

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