In the 21st century, it is becoming increasingly clear that human activities and the activities of enterprises affect the environment. Therefore, it is important to learn about the methods in which companies minimize the negative effects of their activities. The article presents the steps taken and innovative actions carried out by enterprises in the energy sector. The article analyzes innovative activities undertaken and implemented by enterprises from the energy sector. The relationships between innovative strategies, including, inter alia, digitization, and Industry 4.0 solutions, in the development of companies and the achieved results concerning sustainable development and environmental impact. Digitization has far exceeded traditional productivity improvement ranges of 3–5% per year, with a clear cost improvement potential of well above 25%. Enterprises on a large scale make attempts to increase energy efficiency by implementing the state-of-the-art innovative technical and technological solutions, which increase reliability and durability (material and mechanical engineering). Digitization of energy companies allows them to reduce operating costs and increases efficiency. With digital advances, the useful life of an energy plant can be increased up to 30%. Advanced technologies, blockchain, and the use of intelligent networks enables the activation of prosumers in the electricity market. Reducing energy consumption in industry and at the same time increasing energy efficiency for which the European Union is fighting in the clean air package for all Europeans have a positive impact on environmental protection, sustainable development, and the implementation of the decarbonization program.

Digitization, Digital Twins, Blockchain, and Industry 4.0 as Elements of Management Process in Enterprises in the Energy Sector

Transition and decarbonization of the energy sector require the utilisation of new technologies and energy sources. Higher penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources implies the installation of energy storage, to store electricity excess and enhanced system efficiency. These electricity surpluses that will occur more often in the future energy system could be effectively utilized for the production of alternative fuels. Most of the alternative fuels that are considered for future applications are already known chemicals or products, nowadays used for other purposes. Another great advantage of some alternative fuels lies in their possibilities to act as an energy carrier. This feature might be crucial while discussing their utilisation potential and further development. Fuels which can simultaneously be used for power generation and as an energy carrier will have a more important role in the future and are likely to be utilized on a greater scale. Renewable energy source like biomass, on the other hand, is already widely used, and their role in the future system is not questionable. Even though significant increment in biomass consumption raises serious concerns about its sustainability, and seeks for new approaches. In this work, the authors tried to review alternative fuel characteristics, alongside their utilisation and production opportunities. To come up with the optimal solutions, the authors compared various proposed alternative fuels, alongside their advantages and drawbacks with an aim to find the most appropriate role for each fuel.

A Review on Alternative Fuels in Future Energy System

Industry 4.0 is a new paradigm in the manufacturing world and it has deeply changed the Human–machine interaction. This paper focus is on the nature of this interaction, which is made possible than...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/21693277.2020.1737592

The evolution of man–machine interaction: the role of human in Industry 4.0 paradigm

The dynamic development of the fourth industrial revolution, focused on the implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies, sparked fears of governments and society regarding the dehumanization of the industry in the future. Currently, there is a need to consider sustainable development and the crucial role of man in the assumptions of industry’s future development. Concerns about the implementation of the fourth industrial revolution’s technology became the basis for building the assumptions of Industry 5.0. The article aims to identify the social and economic expectations of the development of the fourth industrial revolution in the context of the development of the sustainability, humanization, and resilience of Industry 4.0. The article presents the results of research obtained based on a critical analysis of the literature and surveys conducted among representatives of Polish society. As a result of the research, key social expectations as to the directions of development of the Industry 4.0 concept were identified. Recommendations for industry development focused on three areas of development—human-centric, sustainable, and resilient—were established. The presented research results will allow the development of an investment strategy and a government policy to support the development of industry based on the human-centric digitization of the economy.

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Identification of Social and Economic Expectations: Contextual Reasons for the Transformation Process of Industry 4.0 into the Industry 5.0 Concept

The paper analyzes issues related to production processes in learning organizations using innovative solutions based on the Industry 4.0 paradigm. This study was realized by surveys and observation of companies operating in the energy and food sectors. These are sectors that in recent years have started to intensively implement innovative solutions and are undergoing a transformation towards an intelligent (digital) enterprise, which uses virtual reality, supported by effectively controlling the non-player characters (NPCs). The presented examples can be inspiration for chief executive officer (CEOs), chief operating officers (COOs), and chief information officers (CIOs), the people managing companies for investment in innovative solutions. The implementation of Industry 4.0 solutions, as well as new machines design according state-of-the-art achievements of mechanical engineering rules, will allow companies to implement new products, achieve better results (e.g., more products with lower production cost), increase operational efficiency (e.g., lower energy and water consumption), and meet environmental requirements (e.g., reduce CO2 emission, introduce zero-emission energy production).

Innovative Processes in Managing an Enterprise from the Energy and Food Sector in the Era of Industry 4.0

This paper proposes a stock dynamic sizing optimization under the Logistic 4.0 environment. The safety stock is conceived to fill up the demand variability, providing continuous stock availability. Logistic 4.0 and the smart factory topics are considered. It focuses on vertical integration to implement flexible and reconfigurable smart production systems using the information system integration in order to optimize material flow in a 4.0 full-service approach. The proposed methodology aims to reduce the occurring stock-out events through a link among the wear-out items rate and the downstream logistic demand. The failure rate items trend is obtained through life-cycle state detection by a curve fitting technique. Therefore, the optimal safety stock size is calculated and then validated by an auto-tuning iterative modified algorithm. In this study, the reorder time has been optimized. The case study refers to the material management of a very high-speed train.

An Economic Order Quantity Stochastic Dynamic Optimization Model in a Logistic 4.0 Environment

While a significant number of companies around the world are still trying to adapt to Industry 4 [...]

Special Issue “Industry 5.0: The Prelude to the Sixth Industrial Revolution”

Towards Zero Defect Manufacturing paradigm: A review of the state-of-the-art methods and open challenges

In a safety management system (SMS), risk management plays a key role for the prevention of accidents. This study aims to propose a safety management model by using a system dynamics approach applied to the Bhopal incident. The model proposed in this paper discusses the relationships among the main causes that have contributed to the occurrence of the incident studied, such as broken safety devices, inadequate personnel experience, operator decisions, manager production strategy, policy decision, as deduced from the relevant literature about the Bhopal incident dynamics. The simulation and the results clarify how to manage the key factors to make the plant safe. Moreover, we want to underline how these key modern aspects of safety could be enhanced by using the enabling technologies of industry 4.0.

Mario Di Nardo

Papers

An Economic Order Quantity Stochastic Dynamic Optimization Model in a Logistic 4.0 Environment

Special Issue “Industry 5.0: The Prelude to the Sixth Industrial Revolution”

Towards Zero Defect Manufacturing paradigm: A review of the state-of-the-art methods and open challenges

Modelling a Safety Management System Using System Dynamics at the Bhopal Incident

A new hybrid MCDM approach for RPN evaluation for a medical device prototype