Achieving a sustainable shipbuilding supply chain under I4.0 perspective

Highlights

• This article defines shipbuilding supply chain according to the performance model established in Industry 4.0.

• Supply chain paradigms and the I4.0 technologies define a conceptual model of the shipbuilding supply chain.

• The results obtained imply the implementation of technologies improving economic, energy profitability performance.

• Second phase, satisfying functional and social requirements, achieve total visibility and connectivity required in 4.0.

Abstract

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) considers a number of changes in enterprises, including business models, to achieve the Smart Factory concept. This implies a complete communication network between different companies, factories, suppliers, resources, etc …, maximize in real time to achieve the highest efficiency of all parties involved. The goal is to improve the performance and sustainability of shipbuilding industry through the supply chain establishing a model that defines how the supply chain should be under the perspective of Industry 4.0. Thus, this article aims to connect each of the key enabling I4.0 technologies with the most significant supply chain paradigms: Lean, Agile, Resilience and Green to define what the Shipbuilding Supply Chain should be. This study shows the Green Supply Chain Paradigm connects the social aspects required at the performance I4.0 model. Likewise, Lean represents the most important paradigm, encompassing the Resilience one, besides considering Agile as an intrinsic property of the shipbuilding. At this form, identifying the key factors in the conceptual model, it is possible to conclude that the Shipbuilding Supply Chain should be Green and Lean.

Introduction

Until the first industrial revolution, production was purely artisanal and the performance model was only on increasing production based in order to generate more economic profit. After this industrial revolution, with the introduction of the steam engine, the performance model changes contemplating energy efficiency. This model of efficiency is again modified with the arrival of the second industrial revolution where mass production and electrical energy were the protagonists, leading the introduction of the environment in addition to economic and energy efficiency (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, 2019).

The use of electronics and computing gave rise to consider that a new industry revolution, the third, was established which also introduced a new parameter to the business performance model, functionality. From approximately 2015 it is considered that we can speak of the fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 (I4.0), creating new advanced production models, new technologies that allow the digitalization of processes, products, services and business models (Spanisch Asociation of Normalization, nd, Strategy&PwC, 2016). This fourth industrial revolution introduces the social aspect into the performance (European Factories of The Future Research Association, 2013, Pimenta and Rodrigues, 2020). In summary, Industry 4.0 gives rise to a new definition of the performance model of manufacturing processes that contemplates the following aspects: economic, energy, environmental, functional and social.

However, today it is very common to use distributed manufacturing systems consisting of (Rauch et al., 2017). manufacturing components in different physical locations to then task through the management of the supply chain, bringing them together for the final assembly of a complex product. This could be the case of Shipbuilding where different blocks of the ship are built that will be assembled in dock. However, shipbuilding has the peculiarity that the different physical locations in which each of the parts are made, belong to the same manufacturing center and still can be considered distributed manufacturing. It is, therefore, a complex manufacture, in order to progress, must be followed the line marked by I4.0.

In this way, the supply chain is a key factor improving the efficiency of the shipyard from the five aspects contemplated in the I4.0 performance model. Thus, the digitization -objective of the I4.0- of the Supply Chain, will allow provide it with the agility and efficiency that shipbuilding needs to be more profitable.

Therefore, the aim of this article is to establish a model that defines what the shipbuilding supply chain should look like under the 4.0 perspective, that is, that contemplates all aspects of the i4.0 performance model as well as the technologies that allow it to be achieved (Ket’s).

In order to achieve this objective, it will bn by analysing supply chain definition, studying the main supply chain paradigms and briefly describe the enabling I4.0 technologies. Once contextualized, an analysis will be made of how the enabling technologies affect supply chain, with the result; it will be able to define the conceptual model that relates them and, finally, apply it to the case study of naval construction.