Development Trends of Production Systems through the Integration of Lean Management and Industry 4.0

Abstract

The integration of efficient production and management systems with the new Industry 4.0 concept represents a challenge for any company wishing to adapt its processes in order to increase performance, both at the operational and the organizational levels, through digitization and connectivity. This research proposes an analysis of Lean tools and Industry 4.0 technologies for compatibility in order to provide a framework model for development and integration in industrial applications. Through a systematic review of the literature, this paper contributes to the development of the current vision regarding the implementation and integration of the two “paradigms” of production. An analysis of the current key production strategies was performed through a new conceptual approach from the perspective of correlating the Lean management system, a system that has been stable in recent decades, with the innovative technologies of Industry 4.0. The applicative character of the research consisted of the optimization by simulation of a flexible production system in which the two concepts were integrated. The results showed that the implementation of Lean in the field of flexible manufacturing, correlated with the integration of Industry 4.0 techniques, such as digital twin and simulation, led to improved production processes by fast and flexible reconfiguration, with the two concepts being interdependent.