MS Research Proposal
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1. Title
Key resources for industry 4.0 adoption and its effect on sustainable production and circular
economy: A systematic review
2. Research Question of the study
To provide a comprehensive study of Industry 4.0 through literature in different industries and its
impact on clean manufacturing and circular economy.
3. Aims and Objectives :
•
Determine the requirements needed for the implementation of Industry 4.0 in various industries.
•
Analyze the influence of the implementation of Industry 4.0 on sustainable production and the
circular economy.
•
Examine the connection between the adoption of Industry 4.0 and sustainability in terms of
economic, environmental, and social concerns.
•
Assess the obstacles and opportunities that arise in industry 4.0, and its impact on manufacturing
which is sustainable and the effect on circular economy.
•
Provide recommendations for industries to adopt Industry 4.0 efficiently and contribute to the aims
of sustainable production and circular economy.
4. Research Questions
1. What are the primary assets needed for the Industry 4.0 in various industries?
2. What is the effect of Industry 4.0 on clean manufacturing and the circular economy?
3.
Identify and define the relationship between Industry 4.0 and sustainability in terms of societal,
environment, and economic issues?
4. What opportunities and challenges are associated with the introduction of Industry 4.0 and its
effects on circular economy and clean production?
5. What are the recommendations for industries to adopt Industry 4.0 efficiently and contribute to the
aims of sustainable production and circular economy?
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5. Review of the literature
The implementation of Industry 4.0 technology has the power to significantly advance sustainable
production and the circular economy (Cagnazzo et al,2020). However, the implementation of these
technologies raises obstacles, such as the requirement for substantial infrastructure investments and worker
upskilling. Industry 4.0's integration of sophisticated technologies can assist in maximising resource
utilisation, decreasing waste, and enabling closed-loop systems.
Marofin et al (2018) suggest that the use of Industry 4.0 technology can result in lower carbon emissions,
enhanced environmental performance, and cost savings. Using Industry 4.0 technology successfully
necessitates a holistic strategy that considers the social, economic, and environmental components of
sustainability. This strategy must incorporate a dedication to continual improvement, resource efficiency,
waste reduction, and circular economy principles.
Industry 4.0 adoption may have substantial effects on clean manufacturing and the circular economy.
Industry 4.0 can enable more efficient resource use and waste reduction by combining cutting-edge
technologies (Fleisch et al., 2014). Predictive maintenance, for instance, can reduce downtime and
maintenance costs, while data analytics can enhance production processes and reduce energy use (Daim et
al., 2015). Moreover, Industry 4.0 can facilitate the development of closed-loop systems in which trash is
recycled and repurposed, thus decreasing environmental impact (Ivanov, 2018). Yet, the adoption of
Industry 4.0 poses several obstacles to sustainable production and the circular economy.
When implementing the technology, one of the most prominent issues that arise is the possibility of
increased energy consumption and environmental damage. The only potential solution that exists is to train
and upskill the employees within an organization or the low-skilled employees will get displaced (Lee and
Kim, 2018).
The main technologies that make up Industry 4.0 in the manufacturing industry are AI and IoT
. This transformation has the potential to significantly impact sustainable production and the circular
economy but requires key resources for successful adoption. This literature review aims to explore the
available evidence present on the selected topic.
5.1 initial requirements for Industry 4.0 implementation
As per the study conducted by Kagermann et al. (2013), there are mainly three resources for implementation
of industry magnificently which includes organizational culture, skilled labour and the technological
infrastructure within an organization. Organizational culture involves a willingness to embrace change and
a commitment to continuous improvement, which are necessary for successful Industry 4.0 adoption.
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Skilled labour is employees who are experts in AI, software development, and data analysis and can
profoundly implement Industry 4.0 technologies. Lastly, the technological infrastructure includes the realtime monitoring and optimization of the production processes through automation systems, data analytics
and advanced sensors.
5.2 Effect on Sustainable Production:
Waste reduction and optimization of resource usage are the essential factors for sustainable production
within Industry 4.0. According to the study conducted by Baines et al. (2017), the technologies associated
with the Industry 4.0 such as AI and IoT can enable real-time monitoring of energy and material usage, aid
in identifying the loopholes within the environment and provide efficiency improvements. Ultimately, it
will reduce resource wastage and usage and will profoundly increase productivity. On the other side, it does
have negative implications such as the production of energy consumption and e-waste.
5.3 Effect on Circular Economy
With the effective and efficient use of resources, the literature suggests that there is a significant impact on
the circular economy. As per the study conducted by Guo et al. (2020), the implementation of the blockchain
and digital twins can provide a traceable and transparent supply chain, which can proficiently implement
circular business models such as recycling and product-as-a-service.
This can lead to reductions in waste and increased resource efficiency. Nevertheless, if Industry 4.0 is not
implemented with circular economy concepts in mind, it could potentially result in waste production &
increased consumption. (Rizos et al., 2019).
Overall, the available evidence suggests that successful Industry 4.0 adoption requires key resources such
as technological infrastructure, skilled labour, and organizational culture. The implementation of Industry
4.0 has the potential to significantly impact sustainable production and the circular economy, but may also
have potentially negative environmental and social impacts if not implemented with sustainability
principles in mind. Further research is needed to better understand the complex and multifaceted
implications.
6. Methodology
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The methodology will consist of several steps which will help to attain the objectives of this study. The
essential steps are discussed as follows.
Research question: The research question for this study is "What are the key resources required for the
adoption of Industry 4.0, and identify the impact of Industry 4.0 on sustainable production and the circular
economy?"
Search strategy: The second step will be to develop a comprehensive search strategy to identify relevant
studies for this systematic review. The search strategy will involve searching multiple databases, including
Google Scholar, using keywords related to this study, such as cyber-physical systems, green manufacturing,
material circularity, and smart factory.
Study selection: In this step, the results will be screened for identifying relevant studies for inclusion in
the systematic review. The screening process will include reviewing the titles, abstracts, and full texts of
different studies to determine their applicability to the research question. For this research, Inclusion criteria
for the systematic review included studies that focused on Industry 4.0 and its implementation,
manufacturing which is sustainable, and the circular economy.
Data extraction: The fourth step is crucial as the task will be to extract data from the included studies with
the aid of data extraction form. This form will show insightful data on the different factors such as
limitation, key findings, sample size and study design.
Quality Assurance: Validated tools such as Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools and Cochrane
Risk of Bias tool will be used for assessment of quality. Two reviewers will conduct the quality assessment
and if any disagreement occurs, it should be solved through discussion.
Data synthesis: Now the final step is to synthesize the data from the included studies to provide evidence
for the research question. To synthesize information, an examination will be conducted on the necessary
resources needed to adopt Industry 4.0, in addition to assessing how it affects the concerned variables. The
synthesis will be conducted using a narrative approach, which involves summarizing the findings of the
included studies and identifying common themes and patterns.
The systematic review will utilize a strict methodology to locate and amalgamate the existing evidence
regarding the vital resources necessary for concerned study.
7. Analysis Activity planning
Following is the analysis for the activity Plan which will be implemented within this term
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Phase
Tasks
Time Allocated
Planning phase
Define the research question and objectives
3 Days
Develop inclusion and exclusion criteria
2 Days
Conduct a literature search and identify relevant databases
4 Days
Screen and select relevant studies
1 week
Develop a data extraction form and quality assessment tool
1 week
Conduct a comprehensive literature search
1.5 weeks
Screen search results and select relevant studies
1 week
Data collection phase
Data extraction and Extract data from selected studies through a vcform
quality
1 week
assessment
phase
To Assess the quality of studies using a standardized tool 1.5 weeks
or checklist
Data synthesis phase
Synthesize findings of selected studies
1 week
Interpret findings in the context of the research question 5 Days
and available evidence
Reporting phase
Write and revise the systematic review report
1 week
Submit the systematic review report to relevant publication 1 week
outlets
Total time
3 months
It is important to note that the above-given timeline is only a tentative plan and the actual time frame and
tasks may vary depending on certain circumstances such as delays due to the unavailability of any
information. Additionally, Few tasks have been allocated sufficient time for unexpected delays or
challenges that may arise during the project.
8. Conclusions and Recommendations
Industry 4.0 has the potential to significantly impact sustainable production and the circular economy
through two main factors which are optimizing resource usage and through the help of reducing waste
however this study will further explore how these resources have an impact on SP and CE. The key
resources are technological infrastructure, skilled labour and organizational culture. The influence of
Industry 4.0 on sustainable production is indeed quite complex and complicated, it does have its positive
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and negative implications. However, the research aims to enhance comprehension of the societal, financial,
and ecological consequences resulting from the adoption of Industry 4.0.
This research is limited to examining the effect on sustainable production and the circular economy.
However, researchers can expand the scope of the study by exploring various facets such as the effects of
Industry 4.0 on the social and economic dimensions of sustainable production and the circular economy.
This includes assessing the possible displacement of workers and the impact on employment and income
inequality. There is a potential to even include the policies within the research which can aid other
researchers in their work such as assessing the role of government policies and regulations in promoting
sustainable Industry 4.0 adoption and addressing potential negative impacts. And lastly, SDGs developed
by the UN can play a significant part in the research such as assessing the potential for Industry 4.0 to
contribute to sustainability goals, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
9. References
1. Baines, T., Ziaee Bigdeli, A., & Bustinza, O. F. (2017). Industry 4.0 and the circular economy: A
proposed research agenda and original roadmap for sustainable operations. Production Planning &
Control, 28(8), 699-714.
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2.
Cagnazzo, L., Taisch, M., & Terzi, S. (2020). Industry 4.0 and the circular economy: a proposed
research agenda and its implementation in the construction sector. Journal of Cleaner Production,
258, 120854.
3.
Chen, K., Chen, T., & Huang, J. (2018). The impact of Industry 4.0 on the supply chain: A
conceptual framework and empirical study. International Journal of Production Economics, 210,
15-28. Heiskanen, E., Johnson, M., Robinson, S., Vadovics, E., & Saastamoinen, M. (2018).
Industry 4.0–An Opportunity to Reduce Resource Use in Manufacturing? Sustainability, 10(10),
3478.
4. Guo, P., Xie, Y., & Sun, L. (2020). Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy: Opportunities and
Challenges. In Industry 4.0: Challenges and Opportunities (pp. 129-148). Springer, Singapore.
5. Ivanov, D. (2018). A framework for industry 4.0 and circular economy nexus: The case of
remanufacturing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 171, 289-297.
6. Kagermann, H., Wahlster, W., & Helbig, J. (2013). Recommendations for implementing the
strategic initiative INDUSTRIE 4.0. Forschungsunion, Berlin, Germany.
7. Lee, J. H., Kao, H. A., & Yang, S.
8.
Marodin, G. A., & Sampaio, P. H. (2018). A systematic review of Industry 4.0 and its drivers:
Contributions, challenges, and implications for management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 197,
1497-1519.
9. Pisello, A. L., & Ferrari, A. M. (2019). Industry 4.0 for sustainable development: a review.
Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 151, 112394.
10. Teece, D. J. (2018). Profiting from innovation in the digital economy: Enabling technologies,
standards, and licensing models in the wireless world. Research Policy, 47(8), 1367-1387.
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