Digital lean cyber-physical production systems: The emergence of digital lean manufacturing and the significance of digital waste

Abstract

This paper explores the emergence of the next cyber/digital frontier for lean manufacturing practices. It focuses on (a) the new capabilities of information and operational technologies (ITs/OTs) for proactively detecting and eliminating potential ‘physical waste’ in production processes, preventing its manifestation in the real world through powerful virtual models and simulations as well as real-time performance monitoring systems based on advanced data analytics, and (b) on identifying and eliminating ‘digital waste’ that may come into existence in the cyber world due to the non-use (e.g. lost digital opportunities) and/or over-use (e.g. abused digital capabilities) of new digital/smart manufacturing technologies.