The Contribution of Lean Management—Industry 4.0 Technologies to Improving Energy Efficiency

Germán Arana-Landín (), Naiara Uriarte-Gallastegi, Beñat Landeta-Manzano () and Iker Laskurain-Iturbe
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Germán Arana-Landín: Faculty of Engineering from Gipuzkoa, Department of Business Management, University of the Basque Country, Europa Square 1, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain
Naiara Uriarte-Gallastegi: Faculty of Engineering from Bilbao, Department of Business Management, University of the Basque Country, Ingeniero Torres Quevedo Square 1, 48013 Bilbao, Spain
Beñat Landeta-Manzano: Faculty of Engineering from Bilbao, Department of Business Management, University of the Basque Country, Ingeniero Torres Quevedo Square 1, 48013 Bilbao, Spain
Iker Laskurain-Iturbe: Faculty of Engineering from Gipuzkoa, Department of Business Management, University of the Basque Country, Europa Square 1, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-19

Abstract: The current socio-economic and environmental context obliges companies to increase their energy efficiency to be competitive, and the development of Industry 4.0 technologies should contribute to improve it. This article analyses the influence of Industry 4.0 technologies on energy efficiency and the mediation of quality management of production process variables. After a descriptive analysis, a correlation and regression analysis is presented using information from 72 projects for the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies in industrial companies. At a global level, it is confirmed that the four technology groups (Artificial Vision and Artificial Intelligence, Additive Manufacturing and Robotics, Big Data and Advanced Analytics, and Internet of Things) contribute to improving energy efficiency by an average of 15–25% in the processes where they are integrated. In addition, the regression model determines that improved decision-making capabilities strongly mediate the achievement of higher energy efficiency.

Keywords: energy efficiency; Industry 4.0; sustainability; quality management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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