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Evaluation of the Relation between Lean Manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and Sustainability

Author

Listed:
  • Leonilde Varela

    (Department of Production and Systems, School of Engineering, University of Minho; 4804-533 Guimarães, Portugal)

  • Adriana Araújo

    (Department of Production and Systems, School of Engineering, University of Minho; 4804-533 Guimarães, Portugal)

  • Paulo Ávila

    (School of Engineering and CIDEM Research Center, Polytechnic of Porto, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal)

  • Hélio Castro

    (School of Engineering and CIDEM Research Center, Polytechnic of Porto, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal)

  • Goran Putnik

    (Department of Production and Systems, School of Engineering, University of Minho; 4804-533 Guimarães, Portugal)

Abstract

Nowadays, Lean Manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and Sustainability are important concerns for the companies and in a general way for the society, principally, the influence of the two production philosophies, Lean Manufacturing and Industry 4.0, in the three main pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental, and social. According to the literature review done in this work, these relations are not well known and are dispersed by different sustainability’s criteria. To address this gap, this research proposes a structural equation model, with six hypotheses, to quantitatively measure the effects of Lean Manufacturing and Industry 4.0, in Sustainability. To statistically validate such hypotheses, we collected 252 valid questionnaires from industrial companies of Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain). Results show that: (1) it is not conclusive that Lean Manufacturing is correlated with any of the sustainability pillars; and (2) Industry 4.0 shows a strong correlation with the three sustainability pillars. These results can contribute as an important decision support for the industrial companies and its stakeholders, even because not all the results are in line with other opinions and studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonilde Varela & Adriana Araújo & Paulo Ávila & Hélio Castro & Goran Putnik, 2019. "Evaluation of the Relation between Lean Manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-19, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:5:p:1439-:d:212147
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