Approach for the Development of a Sustainability-oriented Implementation Strategy of Smart Automation Technologies

With respect to the increased demands on sustainability, Smart Automation is a promising solution to realize an improvement of the environmental impact of production systems. However, the majority of companies are limited in their ability and resources to simultaneously install several technologies. Consequently, the selection and prioritization of technologies in terms of implementation strategies with a particular focus on the environmental impact is a major challenge for manufacturing companies. It is therefore the objective to introduce a framework for decision support for implementation strategies for Smart Automation technologies with special emphasis on environmental impact of the measures taken. An integral part of the approach is the identification of appropriate indicators for environmental performance measurement as well as location factors that may influence environmental impacts. In addition, a conceptual framework and an analysis of the net of bilateral interdependencies of the three pillars environmental location factors, Smart Automation technologies, and performance indicators are developed. Subsequently, these interdependencies are transferred to an assembly system using the methodology of hybrid modeling and simulation. Finally, the developed approach is validated in cooperation with a manufacturing company.