Operations and Technology Management in Sustainable Manufacturing

Dear Colleagues,

A growing number of manufacturers are targeting sustainability as an essential objective in their strategy and operations. Improved operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, compliance with regulatory constraints, and brand reputation are among the main drivers of sustainable manufacturing. Achieving sustainability in manufacturing involves addressing various economic and socio-environmental concerns in a coordinated, integrated, and formal manner, among other requirements. Traditionally, manufacturers were required to sacrifice some degree of operational and financial efficiency in support of sustainability. Nonetheless, the ongoing digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, known as Industry 4.0, and the industrial application of innovative digital and operations technologies have changed the ways in which factories operate and goods are produced. The information processing and real-time communication capabilities of Industry 4.0 allow manufacturers to achieve the ultimate level of integration with stakeholders, without a significant compromise of operational efficiency. The use of industrial robotics, digital twin technology, artificial intelligence, intelligent optimization methods, and cyber-physical systems at the smart factory level now allow manufacturers to personalize products without sacrificing the production volume. Modern technologies such as additive manufacturing, augmented/virtual reality, and cloud computing, coupled with better customer and supplier communications under smart manufacturing, allow manufacturers to prioritize sustainable new product development economically.

The current Special Issue aims to introduce the reader to the implications that novel operations, manufacturing, and digital technologies and the underlying management practices might offer for sustainable manufacturing. The present Special Issue also aims to discuss the most relevant manufacturing digitalization and sustainability trends from an industrial point of view and to highlight the main challenges that contemporary manufacturers might face while pursuing sustainable products, operations, and processes.

Dr. Masood Fathi
Dr. Morteza Ghobakhloo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• manufacturing digitalization
• sustainable manufacturing
• sustainable production systems
• optimization
• smart production planning and control
• augmented/virtual/mixed reality
• simulation and digital twin
• Industry 4.0 technologies
• sustainable new product development