Expanding the Horizons of Manufacturing: Towards Wide Integration, Smart Systems and Tools

This research topic aims at enterprise-wide modeling and optimization (EWMO) through the development and application of integrated modeling, simulation and optimization methodologies, and computer-aided tools for reliable and sustainable improvement opportunities within the entire manufacturing network (raw materials, production plants, distribution, retailers, and customers) and its components. This integrated approach incorporates information from the local primary control and supervisory modules into the scheduling/planning formulation. That makes it possible to dynamically react to incidents that occur in the network components at the appropriate decision-making level, requiring fewer resources, emitting less waste, and allowing for better responsiveness in changing market requirements and operational variations, reducing cost, waste, energy consumption and environmental impact, and increasing the benefits. More recently, the exploitation of new technology integration, such as through semantic models in formal knowledge models, allows for the capture and utilization of domain knowledge, human knowledge, and expert knowledge toward comprehensive intelligent management. Otherwise, the development of advanced technologies and tools, such as cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, the Industrial Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Blockchain, etc., have captured the attention of manufacturing enterprises toward intelligent manufacturing systems

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through Net Zero Emissions: Innovation-Driven Strategies for Transitioning from Incremental to Radical Lean, Green and Digital Technologies

This work adopts a resource-based view for strategically managing firms’ tangible and intangible resources based on lean and green philosophies to explore the role of digital technologies in achieving NZE and the SDGs.This research outlines three contemporary issues. First, it assesses the theory-driven approaches and real-world datasets from conference of parties (COP) meetings. Second, adopting the VRIO (Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Organized) framework, 25 identified digital technology-based values are obtained by digitalization-based integrated lean-green approaches that may enable manufacturing firms to pursue SDGs via net-zero emissions. Four scenarios of digital technology adoption and integration level of lean and green manufacturing pathways are proposed, differentiated by the degree of radical/ incremental interests in innovation and sustainable advantage types. Third, the study highlights that the achievement of NZE by SDGs may be possible only by adopting digital technologies and high-level integration of lean and green

A legacy handbook for manufacturing

Legacy Handbook reviewing emda's experience of manufacturing activity. Identifies key achievements and draws out lessons learned that may be relevant to successor bodies active in this area

Modern computing: Vision and challenges

Over the past six decades, the computing systems field has experienced significant transformations, profoundly impacting society with transformational developments, such as the Internet and the commodification of computing. Underpinned by technological advancements, computer systems, far from being static, have been continuously evolving and adapting to cover multifaceted societal niches. This has led to new paradigms such as cloud, fog, edge computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT), which offer fresh economic and creative opportunities. Nevertheless, this rapid change poses complex research challenges, especially in maximizing potential and enhancing functionality. As such, to maintain an economical level of performance that meets ever-tighter requirements, one must understand the drivers of new model emergence and expansion, and how contemporary challenges differ from past ones. To that end, this article investigates and assesses the factors influencing the evolution of computing systems, covering established systems and architectures as well as newer developments, such as serverless computing, quantum computing, and on-device AI on edge devices. Trends emerge when one traces technological trajectory, which includes the rapid obsolescence of frameworks due to business and technical constraints, a move towards specialized systems and models, and varying approaches to centralized and decentralized control. This comprehensive review of modern computing systems looks ahead to the future of research in the field, highlighting key challenges and emerging trends, and underscoring their importance in cost-effectively driving technological progress

The impact of intelligent cyber-physical systems on the decarbonization of energy

Assessing the impact of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, so-called intelligent cyber-physical systems, on emission reduction in the critical sector of energy provision.</p

Improving the sustainability of coal SC in both developed and developing countries by incorporating extended exergy accounting and different carbon reduction policies

In the age of Industry 4.0 and global warming, it is inevitable for decision-makers to change the way they view the coal supply chain (SC). In nature, energy is the currency, and nature is the source of energy for humankind. Coal is one of the most important sources of energy which provides much-needed electricity, as well as steel and cement production. This manuscript-based PhD thesis examines the coal SC network as well as the four carbon reduction strategies and plans to develop a comprehensive model for sustainable design. Thus, the Extended Exergy Accounting (EEA) method is incorporated into a coal SC under economic order quantity (EOQ) and economic production quantity (EPQs) in an uncertain environment. Using a real case study in coal SC in Iran, four carbon reduction policies such as carbon tax (Chapter 5), carbon trade (Chapter 6), carbon cap (Chapter 7), and carbon offset (Chapter 8) are examined. Additionally, all carbon policies are compared for sustainable performance of coal SCs in some developed and developing countries (the USA, China, India, Germany, Canada, Australia, etc.) with the world's most significant coal consumption. The objective function of the four optimization models under each carbon policy is to minimize the total exergy (in Joules as opposed to Dollars/Euros) of the coal SC in each country. The models have been solved using three recent metaheuristic algorithms, including Ant lion optimizer (ALO), Lion optimization algorithm (LOA), and Whale optimization algorithm (WOA), as well as three popular ones, such as Genetic algorithm (GA), Ant colony optimization (ACO), and Simulated annealing (SA), are suggested to determine a near-optimal solution to an exergy fuzzy nonlinear integer-programming (EFNIP). Moreover, the proposed metaheuristic algorithms are validated by using an exact method (by GAMS software) in small-size test problems. Finally, through a sensitivity analysis, this dissertation compares the effects of applying different percentages of exergy parameters (capital, labor, and environmental remediation) to coal SC models in each country. Using this approach, we can determine the best carbon reduction policy and exergy percentage that leads to the most sustainable performance (the lowest total exergy per Joule). The findings of this study may enhance the related research of sustainability assessment of SC as well as assist coal enterprises in making logical and measurable decisions

Guidebook to Carbon Neutrality in China

This Open Access publication focuses on China’s goal of achieving peak carbon emissions in 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. The book is the first to systematically build a framework combining a top-down and bottom-up analysis of this acute topic. What does carbon neutrality mean for economics in China? Might it imply stagflation or is it an opportunity to maximize the potential of green manufacturing? The book offers a comprehensive analysis of how the pursuit of carbon neutrality may influence the development of China's economy, and the country's biggest industries, while foreseeing the likely changes in people's lifestyles. In total, the book constructs a comprehensive path for China's carbon neutrality drive from the perspective of the green premium. This effort lays the foundation for a discussion of the country's emissions reduction plan. The book goes further, calculating the investment required for different sectors to achieve carbon neutrality, and illustrating the roles of carbon pricing and green finance in this undertaking. The book’s information comes from a network of primary sources, including experts in the field and noted academics, to depict potential low-carbon roadmaps and green transitions in major industries. Emphasized is green development in sectors that will be critical to civilization, including in technology, energy, manufacturing, transportation, and urban planning, which are backed by in-depth discussions and analyses. Accessible and academically rigorous, the work is anchored in the economics of carbon neutrality, extends to potential policy implications and identifies investment opportunities. This valuable reference will attract readers interested in public policy, economics, finance, and investors who seek to better understand China's prospects in the low-carbon economy of the near future

Accelerating the Change to Smart Societies- a Strategic Knowledge-Based Framework for Smart Energy Transition of Urban Communities

Urban communities differ in their social, economic, and environmental characteristics, as well as in the approach to energy use. Dynamic energy use and available on-site resources allow interaction with the surroundings and contribute to the key performance indicators of smart cities. This study aimed at proposing systematically a strategic framework for smart cities development by gradually transforming urban communities into smart-energy systems. This framework is based on multidisciplinary practices regarding the staged planning of smart communities and develops smart transformation concepts to enhance capacities toward the preservation, revitalization, livability, and sustainability of a community. In this study, we focused on the concept of smart and zero-carbon communities by using technology and infrastructure. We also considered the premise of the “community” and the related social, technological, and economic aspects. The decision constructs are explained from the perspective of a bottom-up approach ranging from preliminary inspections to economic investment planning. The study proposed a set of decision constructs aimed at allowing planners, engineers, and investors to have different alternatives at their disposal and select a feasible set of practical solutions for smart transformations accordingly.This publication was made possible by an NPRP awards (NPRP11S-1228-170,142 and NPRP13S-0206-200272) from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are the sole responsibility of the authors. The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library

Emerging Technologies

This monograph investigates a multitude of emerging technologies including 3D printing, 5G, blockchain, and many more to assess their potential for use to further humanity’s shared goal of sustainable development. Through case studies detailing how these technologies are already being used at companies worldwide, author Sinan Küfeoğlu explores how emerging technologies can be used to enhance progress toward each of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to guarantee economic growth even in the face of challenges such as climate change. To assemble this book, the author explored the business models of 650 companies in order to demonstrate how innovations can be converted into value to support sustainable development. To ensure practical application, only technologies currently on the market and in use actual companies were investigated. This volume will be of great use to academics, policymakers, innovators at the forefront of green business, and anyone else who is interested in novel and innovative business models and how they could help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This is an open access book

Revolutionising how we think about infrastructure

We need broad-scale revolutionary, rather than evolutionary, change if all seven billionpeople on the planet now, and those who follow us, are to have the opportunity to live well