Assessment of Sustainable Development Goals through Industry 4.0 and reconfigurable manufacturing system practices

PurposeThe United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), introduced in 2015, connect several manufacturing strategies and promote sustainable practices in an organization. Manufacturing companies are struggling to meet changing market demands while also addressing social and biological issues. The current study aims to develop a framework that can assist practitioners and managers contribute to the attainment of the SDGs through the adoption of reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) practices and Industry 4.0 technologies.Design/methodology/approachAn extensive literature review was carried out to identify RMS-Industry 4.0 practices and their interconnection, as well as their contribution to achieving the SDGs. The stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) method was then used to compute the weights of the selected RMS-Industry 4.0 practices, whereas the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) method was used to prioritize performance metrics. The developed framework's robustness was tested using a sensitivity analysis across five different organizations.FindingsThe findings show that advanced technologies practices have the most importance, followed by customization and rapid adjustment of capacity and functionality practices. The sensitivity analysis revealed the robustness of the developed framework as well as its adaptability among the chosen organizations.Practical implicationsThis research will assist in the adoption of RMS and includes recent technologies that can help in the attainment of industrial SDGs. Managers will also be able to evaluate RMS in the context of industrial SDGs. Researchers and practitioners can now address the various RMS-Industry 4.0 practices while keeping the social and environmental aspects in mind.Originality/valueNo previous research has investigated the SDGs through the nexus effect of Industry 4.0 and RMS practices.

Automated summary

This study aims to demonstrate how practitioners and managers can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the adoption of reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) practices and Industry 4.0 technologies. The findings indicate that advanced technologies practices are the most important, followed by customization and rapid adjustment of capacity and functionality practices. This research has practical implications in terms of promoting the adoption of RMS and incorporating recent technologies to help achieve industrial SDGs.