The fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0 (I4.0), makes use of wireless technologies together with other industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT) technologies, cyber−physical systems (CPS), and edge computing to enable the optimization and the faster re-configuration of industrial production processes. As I4.0 deployments are ramping up, the practical integration of 5G wireless systems with existing industrial applications is being explored in both Industry and Academia, in order to find optimized strategies and to develop guidelines oriented towards ensuring the success of the industrial wireless digitalization process. This paper explores the challenges arisen from such integration between industrial systems and 5G wireless, and presents a framework applicable to achieve a structured and successful integration. The paper aims at describing the different aspects of the framework such as the application operational flow and its associated tools, developed based on analytical and ex... [more]

The study presented in the paper is an innovative research approach. It is the result of linking the concept of supply chain management and global changes, which at present are clearly visible on a global scale, with research methodology based on the systematic literature review, knowledge visualization and an expert method that makes use of knowledge, experience and opinions of experts in a given field. This research is about a Delphi study that was conducted in the context of the development of trends of supply chain and global changes, based on the findings of a systematic literature review. The qualitative study was conducted with 30 Delphi experts in the field of the supply chain. This progressive approach to the research topic allowed us to discover key global trends and modern supply chain development directions in the context of global changes, as well as their assessment and projection of the developmental potential of these trends.

In industrial maintenance activity, very sophisticated technical and human factors are needed to achieve the great process or service that the company provides, with a large dose of knowledge based on the personal experience of maintenance technicians. However, the management and application of knowledge in this activity is often relegated to a third level (or simply forgotten). The aim of this study is to identify, classify and prioritize the different barriers and facilitators that can be found in maintenance organizations of the company in reference to knowledge management in strategic maintenance activities, and what competitive advantages could be used for their appropriate introduction in the company. For this, qualitative techniques have been used through a field study and observation, as well as semi-structured interviews between company directors and maintenance managers of first-level companies in various sectors (industrial or services), to draw conclusions on the applicatio... [more]

The paper analyzes issues related to production processes in learning organizations using innovative solutions based on the Industry 4.0 paradigm. This study was realized by surveys and observation of companies operating in the energy and food sectors. These are sectors that in recent years have started to intensively implement innovative solutions and are undergoing a transformation towards an intelligent (digital) enterprise, which uses virtual reality, supported by effectively controlling the non-player characters (NPCs). The presented examples can be inspiration for chief executive officer (CEOs), chief operating officers (COOs), and chief information officers (CIOs), the people managing companies for investment in innovative solutions. The implementation of Industry 4.0 solutions, as well as new machines design according state-of-the-art achievements of mechanical engineering rules, will allow companies to implement new products, achieve better results (e.g., more products with lo... [more]

Industry 4.0 promotes manufacturing and process industry towards digitalization and intellectualization. Edge computing can provide delay-sensitive services in industrial processes to realize intelligent production. Lightweight virtualization technology is one of the key elements of edge computing, which can implement resource management, orchestration, and isolation services without considering heterogenous hardware. It has revolutionized software development and deployment. The scope of this review paper is to present an in-depth analysis of two such technologies, Container and Unikernel, for edge computing. We discuss and compare their applicability in terms of migration, security, and orchestration for edge computing and industrial applications. We describe their performance indexes, evaluation methods and related findings. We then discuss their applications in industrial processes. To promote further research, we present some open issues and challenges to serve as a road map for b... [more]

The rise of personalised and highly complex drug product profiles necessitates significant advancements in pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution. Efforts to develop more agile, responsive, and reproducible manufacturing processes are being combined with the application of digital tools for seamless communication between process units, plants, and distribution nodes. In this paper, we discuss how novel therapeutics of high-specificity and sensitive nature are reshaping well-established paradigms in the pharmaceutical industry. We present an overview of recent research directions in pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply chain design and operations. We discuss topical challenges and opportunities related to small molecules and biologics, dividing the latter into patient- and non-specific. Lastly, we present the role of process systems engineering in generating decision-making tools to assist manufacturing and distribution strategies in the pharmaceutical sector and ultimately em... [more]

Recently, the interest around the Blockchain concept has grown faster and, as a consequence, several studies about the possibility of exploiting such technology in different application domains have been conducted. Most of these studies highlighted the benefits that the use of the blockchain could bring in those contexts where integrity and authenticity of the data are important, e.g., for reasons linked to regulations about consumers’ healthcare. In such cases, it would be important to collect data, coming in real-time through sensors, and then store them in the blockchain, so that they can become immutable and tamper-proof. In this paper, the design and development of a software framework that allows Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices to interact directly with an Ethereum-based blockchain are reported. The proposed solution represents an alternative way for integrating a wide category of IoT devices without relying on a centralized intermediary and third-party services. The main applic... [more]

The steel sector is crucial for the national economy of Poland and the global economy. In response to the challenges of the global steel market and the need to increase the sector’s competitiveness, a number of actions have been taken to increase the energy efficiency of steel production. Based on the synthesis of the literature and our own research, we describe the issues related to energy efficiency and the Industry 4.0 concept. The main aim of this paper is to identify energy efficiency trends in enterprises, especially those that focus on increasing the energy efficiency of production processes, and to make recommendations for investment policy for the Polish steel sector in the era of Industry 4.0. To achieve our goals and answer the research question, we used data from 2000−2019 for the Polish steel industry. The calculations and models in this paper were made by using Gretl software. Using direct research, an econometric model was built that verified the hypothesis regarding the... [more]

This paper will present a complete discussion in recent design strategies for harvesting vibration energy using piezoelectric cantilever transducers. The interest in this primary energy source is due to its presence in non-negligible quantities in most of the engines used in the industrial process. Previous work has shown that it is possible to harvest significant amounts of energy capable of supplying a wireless sensor (WS) node. However, in most research, only one step of the energy conversion and utilization chain is studied. Starting from the definition of the different design issues for a piezoelectric micro generator (PMG), the leading optimization solutions will be reviewed in this paper. Based on the findings, the quantification of the data transmission range of wireless sensor nodes powered by a PMG is proposed to support the objectives envisioned by Industry 4.0. The vibration characteristics taken from mining locomotives that have not yet been treated previously are used to... [more]

Growing competition in the market for energy raw materials needed for power generation has led to an increasing number of measures being undertaken in the mining sector to reduce the unit costs of mining production. One of the areas that offer considerable savings in this regard is the utilisation of the technical resources owned by mines. This article is therefore focussed on analysing the utilisation effectiveness of these machines, based on the data recorded by industrial automation systems, as well as on measurements from independent surveying and chemical analysis of the excavated material’s quality. For this purpose, a methodology was developed to use the data about the operational parameters of the machines in order to analyse the effectiveness of their utilisation. It was assumed that the reliability of this assessment would depend mainly on the quality of the data used to conduct it. It was also assumed that using independent data sources for the analysis would provide objecti... [more]

The publication presents heat and electricity management in the Polish steel industry. The paper is based on actual data on heat and electricity consumption and intensity by processes in the steel industry in Poland in Industry 4.0 conditions. Two steel production processes are used in Poland: EAF Electric Arc Furnace and BOF Basic Oxygen Furnace. The analysis is an analysis of actual data is used to characterise the electricity and heat consumption by processes in the Polish steel industry. The analysis shows that the EAF technology is always more electricity intensive and the BOF technology more heat intensive. On the basis of conducted analysis, it can be concluded that pro-environmental innovations in the steel industry should first aim to reduce the electricity consumption of EAF technology and the heat consumption of BOF. An analysis of data for Poland for the period 2004−2020 shows that both cases occurred. The study shows that the heat consumption of BOF technologies has been s... [more]

The current socio-economic and environmental context obliges companies to increase their energy efficiency to be competitive, and the development of Industry 4.0 technologies should contribute to improve it. This article analyses the influence of Industry 4.0 technologies on energy efficiency and the mediation of quality management of production process variables. After a descriptive analysis, a correlation and regression analysis is presented using information from 72 projects for the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies in industrial companies. At a global level, it is confirmed that the four technology groups (Artificial Vision and Artificial Intelligence, Additive Manufacturing and Robotics, Big Data and Advanced Analytics, and Internet of Things) contribute to improving energy efficiency by an average of 15−25% in the processes where they are integrated. In addition, the regression model determines that improved decision-making capabilities strongly mediate the achievement of... [more]

Energy firms are the beneficiaries and initiators of innovation, and energy investments are a crucial area of business activity that is specially protected in any country. This is no wonder, as energy security is the basis for the functioning of states and economies. The Internet of Things and Big Data create both new challenges and new threats. This study aimed to identify the potential threats and determine preventive measures, as well as to establish the agile principles related to energy firms’ logistics. The method of the narrative summary in combination with the literature searching method was used. Two conclusions emerged: first, research serves to develop the discipline of management science; second, the identification of risks associated with innovation serves practitioners. In addition, the study defined further research directions.

The era of Industry 4.0 is characterized by the use of new telecommunications ICT technologies and networking of the economy. This results in changes both in the way businesses operate and in customer expectations of products offered on the market. The use of modern ICT technologies has made it possible to create cyber-physical systems based on intelligent machines and devices that communicate with each other in real time and allow the integration of resources from different companies to carry out joint production projects. Today’s consumer expects products tailored to their needs and expectations. These expectations can be met by leveraging the potential of highly specialized manufacturing service companies centered around e-business platforms. The article presents the results of research using bibliometric analysis and the results of surveys conducted among small and medium-sized enterprises. The concept of e-business platforms supporting rapid prototyping of temporary networks of co... [more]

State-of-the-art Predictive Maintenance (PM) of Electrical Machines (EMs) focuses on employing Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods with well-established measurement and processing techniques while exploring new combinations, to further establish itself a profitable venture in industry. The latest trend in industrial manufacturing and monitoring is the Digital Twin (DT) which is just now being defined and explored, showing promising results in facilitating the realization of the Industry 4.0 concept. While PM efforts closely resemble suggested DT methodologies and would greatly benefit from improved data handling and availability, a lack of combination regarding the two concepts is detected in literature. In addition, the next-generation-Digital-Twin (nexDT) definition is yet ambiguous. Existing DT reviews discuss broader definitions and include citations often irrelevant to PM. This work aims to redefine the nexDT concept by reviewing latest descriptions in broader literature while es... [more]

Industry 4.0 challenges facilities entrepreneurs to be competitive in the market in terms of energy by rational decision making. The goal of the paper is aimed at introducing Prospect Theory (PT) in Industry 4.0 for making decisions in order to select an optimal energy technology. To reach this goal, an approach for decision making on energy investment has been developed. In this paper, the authors have also provided a new opportunity to apply the new decision making method for strengthening Industry 4.0 by addressing energy concerns based on which rational decisions have been made. The study uses a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process for weighting the evaluation sub-criteria of energy technologies and a modified PT for making decisions related to the selection of one of the investigated technologies. The results show that it is possible to implement PT in Industry 4.0 via a decision making model for energy sustainability. Decision probability was achieved using a behavioral approach ak... [more]

Digital transformation is a concept based on the use of digitalization and digitization. Digitalization leads to change of business models and provides a competitive advantage also in the energy sector. The process of change towards a digital business requires a specific strategy type, aimed to solve problems with uncertainty caused by Industry 4.0 implementation. This paper aims to propose a theoretical model combining different digitalization strategies and business models. Their theoretical foundations were discussed in the literature review part and related empirical research questions were attempted to be answered by the reference method analysis. The quantitative method of analysis was based on the secondary data from Eurostat for all EU member states and backed the theoretical part in terms of ICT variables. The novelty of this research is based on Hellwig’s reference method used in management sciences and the presented managerial implications. The discussed challenges of the en... [more]

Areas of experience allow for the acquisition and consolidation of both existing knowledge and skills. These are significant factors in the training of staff members for companies in the Industry 4.0 area. One of the currently available modern tools used in the teaching process is virtual reality (VR) technology. This technology, due to its high level of immersion and involvement of the different senses, and the need to focus on the performed activities, allows one to develop skills in solving various tasks and problems. The extended VR environment enables the creation of diverse teaching scenarios adapted to the needs of industry. This paper presents the possibility of building training scenarios in the field of digital techniques. The software solution, developed and presented by the authors, uses elements of computer game mechanics and is designed to familiarize students with the idea of digital circuits, their construction, logical implementation and application. This paper also pr... [more]

Last year’s developments are characterized by a dramatic drop in customer demand leading to stiff competition and more challenges that each enterprise needs to cope with in a globalized market. Production in low-mix/high-volume batches is replaced with low-volume/high-variety production, which demands excessive information flow throughout production facilities. To cope with the excessive information flow, this production paradigm requires the integration of new advanced technology within production that enables the transformation of production towards smart production, i.e., towards Industry 4.0. The procedure that helps the decision-makers to select the most appropriate I4.0 technology to integrate within the current assembly line considering the expected outcomes of KPIs are not significantly been the subject of the research in the literature. Therefore, this research proposes a conceptual procedure that focus on the current state of the individual assembly line and proposes the tech... [more]

Reducing energy consumption should be treated as crucial for contemporary information and communication technology (ICT) projects under conditions of Industry 4.0. This research proposes a wider look at the factors influencing the success of ICT industry projects, considering not only technological and procedural conditions or implementation methods but also information and competency resources, thus allowing for correct decisions to be taken during project implementation. The article analyzes the information gap in Industry 4.0 projects completed in enterprises based in Poland, following the concept of sustainable development and minimization of energy consumption. The research was completed between 2018 and 2021 in medium enterprises, and the result is a qualitative characteristic of the information gap in ICT projects from the client’s perspective. The research can help develop a complete methodology for Industry 4.0 ICT projects to limit the level of uncertainty and risk while redu... [more]

Industry 4.0 is a paradigm consisting of cyber-physical systems based on the interconnection between all sorts of machines, sensors, and actuators, generally known as things. The combination of energy technology and information and technology communication (ICT) enables measurement, control, and automation to be performed across the distributed grid with high time resolution. Through digital revolution in the energy sector, the term Energy 4.0 emerges in the future electric sector. The growth outlook for appliance usage is increasing and the appearance of renewable energy sources on the electric grid requires strategies to control demand and peak loads. Potential feedback for energy performance is the use of smart meters in conjunction with smart energy management; well-designed applications will successfully inform, engage, empower, and motivate consumers. This paper presents several hands-on tools for load forecasting, comparing previous works and verifying which show the best energy... [more]

Sustainatableble development assumes the meeting of humanity’s everyday needs and development goals while sustaining the ability of nature to provide the resources and ecosystem on which the economy and society depend. It means that an increase of economic benefit cannot be a single optimization problem anymore, instead, the multi-criteria approach is used with the accent on ecology and social welfare. However, it is not easy to harmonize these aims with machining, which is a well known industrial pollutant. On the other hand, new industrial paradigms such as Industry 4.0/5.0, are driving toward the smart concept that collects data from the manufacturing process and optimizes it in accordance with productivity and/or ecologic aims. In this research, the smart concept is used through the development of the multi-criteria decision support system for the selection of the optimal machining process in terms of sustainability. In the case of milling process selection, it has been demonstrate... [more]

In modern electrical grids, the number of nonlinear grid elements and actively controlled loads is rising. Maintaining the power quality will therefore become a challenging task. This paper presents a power quality mitigation method via smart demand-side management. The mitigation method is based on a genetic algorithm guided optimization for smart operational planning of the grid elements. The algorithm inherits the possibility to solve multiple, even competing, objectives. The objective function uses and translates the fitness functions of the genetic algorithm into a minimization or maximization problem, thus narrowing down the complexity of the addressed high cardinality optimization problem. The NSGA-II algorithm is used to obtain feasible solutions for the auto optimization of the demand-side management. A simplified industrial grid with five different machines is used as a case study to showcase the minimization of the harmonic distortion to normative limits for all time steps d... [more]

The paper presents a comparative analysis of selected algorithms for prediction and data analysis. The research was based on data taken from a computerized numerical control (CNC) milling machine. Methods of knowledge extraction from very large datasets, characteristics of classical analytical methods used in datasets and knowledge discovery in database (KDD) processes were also described. The aim of the study is a comparative analysis of selected algorithms for prediction and data analysis to determine the time and degree of tool usage in order to react early enough and avoid unwanted incidents affecting production effectiveness. The research was based on K-nearest neighbor, decision tree and linear regression algorithms. The influence of the rate of learning and testing set sizes were evaluated, which may have an important impact on the optimization of the time and quality of computation. It was shown that precision decreases with the increase of the K value of the average group, whi... [more]

The fourth industrial revolution taking place in the industrial sector is related to the increasing digitization and linkage of goods, products, value chains and business models. Industry 4.0 is based on the global connection of people, things and machines. By connecting devices and sensors to the internet, we are entering a new era of data analysis, connectivity and automation. This gives great opportunities for innovation and progress, previously unattainable in such a dimension. The term Internet of Things (IoT) has spread along with the vision of a world instrumented with intelligent inputs and outputs able to communicate with each other through internet data and technologies. IoT is being implemented in various areas of the modern economy, for example, healthcare, quality control, logistics, energy, agriculture and production. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) blazes the trail to a better understanding of the manufacturing process, thus enabling efficient and sustainable pr... [more]