Francesco Facchini | Politecnico di Bari (original) (raw)

Conference Presentations by Francesco Facchini

IFAC-PapersOnLine, 2024

Industry 5.0 addresses the human challenges of Industry 4.0 as a human-centric solution, placing ... more Industry 5.0 addresses the human challenges of Industry 4.0 as a human-centric solution, placing the worker's well-being at the centre of the production process. If, on the one hand, the last technologies support operator 5.0 to embrace the collaborative potential of human-machine cooperation, on the other hand, the complexity, as well as the rapid evolution of new technologies, could have the potential to produce immediate stress reaction leading to reduce the workers' well-being. Recent studies have proved that the maintenance area is experiencing many innovations in terms of approaches and technologies. In this field, the rapid progress of technological equipment is leading to an increase in the human operators' mental workload. This paper presents preliminary concepts and objectives of a Decision Support System (DSS) for the Diagnosis and Evaluation of Maintenance Operations. The DSS intends to assist industrial professionals and stakeholders in maintenance tasks characterised by significant cognitive demands. Considering variables such as task complexity and the mental and physical condition of operators involved in a maintenance task, the DSS will provide real-time recommendations for selecting the most suitable operators by promoting a gradual technology introduction, increasing industrial performance, and ensuring the well-being of the workers.

Advances in Production Management Systems, 2024

Industry 4.0 and 5.0 paradigms have been crucial for companies in employing digital technologies ... more Industry 4.0 and 5.0 paradigms have been crucial for companies in employing digital technologies as an ally for men to free them from dangerous and routine tasks in favour of higher value tasks, putting humans at the centre of the organization as the decision maker. However, on the one hand, the new industrial systems shift to new tasks requiring more 'cognitive' than 'physical' efforts; on the other hand, the approaches to assess the cognitive workload and ensure the physical well-being of the operators are far to be considered easily applicable. For this reason, this research reveals current research trajectories and explores the cognitive workload using subjective and objective indicators. The discussion highlights cognitive ergonomics and advocates for a harmonious balance between human and machine capabilities. It identifies factors contributing to cognitive overload in manufacturing and maps their interconnections. The analysis of recent research trends reveals a growing adoption of new approaches requiring the adoption of physiological measurements (e.g., electrocardiogram (ECG), electroencephalography (EEG), Electromyography (EMG), etc.). Finally, this investigation offers insights into future research directions, urging a nuanced exploration of industrial activities and addressing cognitive workload across organisational layers in the context of Industry 5.0.

Proceedings of the 28th Summer School "Francesco Turco", 2023

To meet the 1.5°C global warming limit, net-zero emissions targets have been set all over the wor... more To meet the 1.5°C global warming limit, net-zero emissions targets have been set all over the world. In this context, two green gases, i.e., biomethane and hydrogen, are of utmost relevance. Biomethane is generally obtained through the upgrading of biogas produced by anaerobic digestion. It represents a renewable alternative to natural gas and has several applications in sectors such as transport and energy. Similarly, hydrogen is a key element for decarbonising the global economy. It has applications in sectors such as energy, transport, and construction. Most hydrogen is produced from non-renewable sources generating significant emissions. Therefore, finding alternatives to produce low-carbon hydrogen is an urgent challenge. Although the "green hydrogen" route (i.e., electrolysis fuelled by electricity from renewable sources) is very promising from an environmental perspective, its high electricity consumption represents a barrier to its large-scale implementation. In this regard, the so-called "steam biogas reforming" route represents a viable alternative. It consists of producing hydrogen from biogas obtained from anaerobic digestion. Hydrogen production from biogas replaces the production of biomethane. To this concern, this paper aims to identify the best green gas production route among biogas-tobiomethane and biogas-to-hydrogen from an environmental point of view. Consistent with this purpose, an analytical model was developed to assess each alternative based on the direct, indirect, and avoided emissions. The results showed that the decarbonisation of the green gas production routes and the environmental convenience of either alternative is strongly affected by multiple aspects related to the energetic assets of the country considered.

Procedia Computer Science, 2024

In the present context of global decarbonization, the steelmaking sector plays a key role. It is ... more In the present context of global decarbonization, the steelmaking sector plays a key role. It is indeed one of the so-called hard-toabate sectors. The high emissions from steelmaking depend on the use of the Blast Furnace-Basic Oxygen Furnace (BF-BOF) route, which generates 1.8 tCO2eq per ton of Liquid Steel (LS). The production of direct reduced iron (DRI) to power an electric arc furnace is currently the most adopted solution to achieve the decarbonization goals. This alternative, based on the use of natural gas, offers a decarbonization potential of about 34% compared to the BF-BOF route. The most promising alternative, however, consists of using electrolysis-based hydrogen (H2) to produce DRI. This solution would drastically reduce direct and indirect process emissions but requires a radical energy transition. In the current transition phase, waste-based H2 production routes could be attractive, but their potential need to be evaluated with respect to the steelmaking process. To this concern, the objective of the present work is to assess the decarbonization potential of three waste-based H2 production routes (i.e., gasification, incineration and anaerobic digestion-based) with respect to the electrolysis-based steelmaking route. An environmental analytical model was therefore developed to evaluate the total (i.e., direct, indirect, and avoided) greenhouse gases emissions associated with the production of 1 ton of LS by employing the different routes. A sensitivity analysis was also carried out to understand the benefit provided by each waste-based H2 alternative in the current energy transition phase. The results obtained confirmed the need for radical emission reductions from electricity generation to make electrolysis-based H2 production environmentally favorable and revealed a high decarbonization potential for waste-based routes in the current energy transition phase.

The hydrogen production route currently identified as most promising from an environmental point ... more The hydrogen production route currently identified as most promising from an environmental point of view is water electrolysis. This process does not produce direct emissions and is potentially zero-emission if fuelled by electricity from renewable sources. An electrolyser, however, has a high energy consumption (on average of 5 kWh/Nm 3 H2). This is a barrier to the implementation of electrolysis on an industrial scale. In this regard, the so-called Waste-to-Hydrogen routes represent a valuable alternative. They consist of treating waste to obtain hydrogen as a primary product. This paper aims to evaluate the decarbonisation potential of two MSW-based hydrogen production routes: a WtE plant coupled with an electrolyser (WtE+El) and a gasification plant with a syngas treatment unit to produce H2 (WtH2). Consistent with this end, the potentials of two hydrogen production routes were compared with the two most discussed hydrogen production routes. The first is the SMR process, considered the most widely used alternative for hydrogen production. The second is water electrolysis, considered the most promising from an environmental point of view. To this concern, an environmental analytical model was developed to evaluate each alternative based on its associated emissions. The results obtained from the application of the model showed that the best hydrogen production route from an environmental point of view is the WtH2 route. It shows a total emission amount of 1.18 kgCO2eq/Nm3H2, which is 8.5% lower than the SMR route, 31% lower than the El route and 63.2% lower than the WtE+El route.

Procedia Computer Science, 2023

Investigating the dynamics of human-machine interaction and its impacts on production performance... more Investigating the dynamics of human-machine interaction and its impacts on production performance is a key issue in the context of Industry 4.0 because the concept of the "operator 4.0", i.e., an operator integrated into a cyber-physical system, implies the need to manage complex human-machine systems. One of the most concerned fields on this topic is human reliability analysis, as the Human Error Probability (HEP) estimation by considering different work environment aspects. To this concern, the present work's purpose consists of assessing human error's impact on a manufacturing system by considering the different Performance Shaping Factors (PSFs) that affect the HEP. To this end, an analytical model has been developed to evaluate the human error in an inspection task to be accomplished in a full-real industrial case study. The HEP was estimated as a function of PSFs, including three different dimensions (i.e., task error proneness, operator's capabilities and characteristics of the work environment in the production system). It was found that the most impactful PSF affecting HEP depends on the working environment conditions in the production system. In this regard, the model shows that assuming an equal variation in the attributes related to all dimensions, the changes in working environment conditions from a physical and psychological point of view generate the most significant reduction in HEP. Consistently with these results, the average costs for reducing HEP by improving the working environment conditions are significantly higher than the average costs incurred to reduce the HEP considering the task error proneness and operator's capabilities.

Transportation Research Procedia, 2022

Food operations management is the most impactful driver of global environmental challenges, inclu... more Food operations management is the most impactful driver of global environmental challenges, including global warming, climate change, water pollution and loss of biodiversity. According to recent studies, food production systems efficiency and food loss are leading causes of environmental degradation. Although many methodologies to assess the environmental impact of food production have already been investigated, there is an urgent need to provide environmental evaluations in the fruit sector focusing on the most widespread industrial production processes and their corresponding impact. In this context, the operations management in jam production represents one of the most critical issues. Generally, in the most common jam production systems, energy-intensive treatments, including chemical substances, are adopted to extend the shelf-life of the raw materials or finished products, allowing to increase the process performance in terms of production levelling, inventory management, and market policies. In many cases, this approach compromises the sustainability of treatments, reducing the corresponding environmental performance. This paper aims to analyze the most common processes for jam production, comparing their environmental performances and the effects of the related centralized/decentralized strategies to be adopted. The potential impact categories of each process phase have been assessed. Results led to identifying the jam production from fresh fruit by adopting a decentralized production strategy, the best option considering the environmental performance under production capacity constraints

Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, 2023

In the world, a large amount of food is lost or becomes waste along the agri-food supply chain. C... more In the world, a large amount of food is lost or becomes waste along the agri-food supply chain. Circular Economy models in the agri-food systems can reduce the amount of food loss and waste generated in the agri-food supply chain by using them as a new resource. In the case of fruits and vegetables, loss and waste account for 45% in the whole supply chain, being processing stage responsible of up to 18% of losses. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) has been carried out to investigate the most effective sustainable strategies aiming to reuse the food losses in the fruits and vegetables industry. Four main research areas emerged from the SLR: reuse for human consumption, animal feeding, recovery for matter-energy use, and integration into new business models. A sustainable assessment framework is proposed to compare the different strategies. Among these, the human consumption area includes more sustainable strategies, classified according to four classes (i.e., environment, business, ICT, and consumer behavior). They have been analysed to identify the existing knowledge gaps and open issues. The results show new scientific perspectives and open research opportunities.

Proceedings of the Summer School Francesco Turco, 2022

Sewage sludge is considered one of the most critical resources to be managed in the urban context... more Sewage sludge is considered one of the most critical resources to be managed in the urban context for the transition toward a circular economy. If the one hand, the sewage sludge includes potentially dangerous components to human health and ecosystems; on the other hand, it is rich in nutrients and valuable materials (e.g., phosphorus, nitrogen, etc.), allowing to ensure an energetic production comparable with traditional fuels. Therefore, it is recommended to adopt treatments to reduce the hazardous contaminants recovering energy and matter from sewage sludge. For this scope, the anaerobic digestion treatment is one of the most adopted processes. It allows the biological stabilisation of the treated sludge mass and, at the same time, the recovery of matter (i.e., digestate production) and energy (i.e., biogas production), in total compliance with a circular economy perspective. The biogas produced can be used for various purposes (e.g., electricity production, grid connection, refilling of vehicles, etc.). To identify the best environmental alternative, it is necessary to analyse the chemical and physical characteristics of the biogas, strictly related to features of the sewage sludge adopted as input on anaerobic digestion treatment. To this concern, the objective of the present work was to develop an analytical model that, starting from the physic-chemical characteristics of the sewage sludge to be treated, allows to predict the composition of the biogas and then identify the most effective utilisation under an environmental perspective. The model developed was applied to the case of sewage sludge produced in the metropolitan city of Bari, southern Italy. The results show the model's effectiveness to suggest the most eco-friendly utilisation of the biogas produced starting from the physic-chemical characteristics of the sewage sludge.

ndustrial Engineering and Operations Management. IJCIEOM 2022. Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics, 2022

In the fourth industrial revolution, the digital network is the basis of smart manufacturing syst... more In the fourth industrial revolution, the digital network is the basis of smart manufacturing systems. In work environments 4.0, the operators’ role is drastically changed. There is increasing utilisation of innovative devices, and new technologies have changed work activities into more cognitive than physical tasks. According to scientific studies in the new industrial era, the operators’ skill to process the information related to a single task plays a crucial role in improving the manufacturing systems’ effectiveness. The methods available in scientific literature to assess the operator’s performance are mainly focused on the cognitive and physical efforts required by the task. In other words, they depend on tasks complexity and neglect human behaviour over time and the workers’ abilities. Therefore, an evaluation including the skills and properness of a specific operator to perform an assigned task needs more investigation. Consistent with this research gap, the paper aims to develop an information-based theoretical model allowing to estimate an operator’s performance index to accomplish an assembly job by evaluating both the tasks’ complexity and the operator’s skill.
The model is applied to an automotive company to test and evaluate the potential applications of the methodology that go beyond the case study developed. The results proved the effectiveness of the model in estimating the operators’ performance, providing a job schedule based on task complexity and workers’ abilities.

IFAC-PapersOnLine, 2022

The fourth industrial transformation can create value for companies. It can bring significant imp... more The fourth industrial transformation can create value for companies. It can bring significant improvements: those who want to be competitive in the market must implement new methods and tools to make plants efficient and productive. Industry 4.0 introduces new paradigms promoting the adoption of innovative technologies. In this context, the material handling system plays a crucial role in increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the manufacturing systems. This paper proposes a model based on the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows. The model aims to plan a dynamic routing strategy for milk-run to deliver the materials to different working stations, ensuring a materials' distribution consistent with the time slot and minimizing the tugger trains path. A real industrial full case of a worldwide automotive company validates the model. The results of the study show benefits under economic (cost saving of 18%), environmental (allowed to reduce the distance travelled by tugger trains by around 23% for each work shift) and social (organizational development) perspectives.

Proceedings of the 8th International Food Operations & Processing Simulation Workshop (FoodOPS), 2022

Food loss and waste (FLW) are significant opportunities for the agri-food sector. The FLW managem... more Food loss and waste (FLW) are significant opportunities for the agri-food sector. The FLW management includes all activities allowing to prevent, reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover the discarded food from the market during the postharvest supply chain. Although many strategies allow pursuing these actions, in most cases the availability of FLW generated in Primary Processing Centers does not meet the demand of stakeholders able to manage it. To increase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of FLW reuse, suitable strategies have to be adopted. Consistent with this aim, a conceptual model to be implemented in a business-to-business web platform is proposed to support the decision-maker in identifying the best FLW management strategy under a sustainable perspective, adopting a multicriteria decision method. The numerical simulation results proved the model's effectiveness in identifying the most appropriate FLW management strategy within a set of alternatives.

IFAC Papers online, 2015

Sustainable Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS) is one of the big challenges of modern soci... more Sustainable Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS) is one of the big challenges of modern society. The topic is nowadays a priority since it contributes to the goals set by “EU 2020 Strategy”. New web-based technologies are now available to monitor, manage and elaborate information concerning spatially decentralized systems interacting each other by cloud computing. A growing interest is paid to potential applications of these technologies to manufacturing systems and to municipal services ensuring both flexibility and efficiency. The authors propose a Decision Support Systems (DSS) for a Social - Cyber - Physical framework suitable for the strategic planning and operational phases, by supporting public administrators at municipal level in design and plan an IWMS. The main goal of the DSS is minimize the net carbon emissions of the IWMS. The model has been applied to a middle size city located in Southern Italy. A comparative analysis is carried out investigating the optimization of the stand-alone collecting phase and of the overall IWMS. Results in both cases suggest the adoption of multi stream grouping systems for dry recycled fraction and of single stream grouping system for organic and glass fraction. At the same time a different mix of waste collection modalities is found in the two reference cases.

IFAC- PapersOnLine, 2016

Despite increasing automation in modern manufacturing industry, human labor still represents an i... more Despite increasing automation in modern manufacturing industry, human labor still represents an irreplaceable element in many operations which require variety and flexibility, particularly in the case of assembly operations. Concurrently, the majority of developed countries, both European and Asian, has to face the problem of workforce aging. Ergonomic issues are therefore gaining an ever increasing attention by plant managers, given the strict link among productivity, healthy status of aged workers and lost working hours or working days due to ergonomic-related injuries. Technological constraints and productivity requirements often represent the main drivers at the design stage of production systems. Even when ergonomic constraints have been considered, in the production phase different problems, requiring immediate interventions, could emerge, for example in reference to age differences among workers. In these situations, organizational changes can be very effective and job rotation of operators is largely utilized. In the present paper, the OCRA (OCcupational Repetitive Action)-score method is adopted for the ergonomic assessment in case of infrequent job rotations. An algorithm which, implementing different ergonomic criteria, identifies, among all the feasible job rotations, the best solutions in presence of a subgroup of operators requiring lower risk exposure is illustrated. A case study from the automotive industry shows an example of its application.

INTED2022 Proceedings, 2022

The ongoing fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0 (I4.0), permeates the worldw... more The ongoing fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0 (I4.0), permeates the worldwide economies of most industrialized areas. From the shop floor to the research & innovation level, a critical mass of knowledge workers is required to benefit from the great, mostly unexplored, potentialities of I4.0 technologies. Educating a critical mass of thousands of knowledge / talented workers is the most extensive higher education challenge Europe is facing. An increasing qualitative and quantitative gap between demand and supply of knowledge workers is threatening the chance of success of the re-industrialization of Europe. The main objective of the IE3 project is to design and test innovative courses in Industrial Engineering and Management (IE&M). By introducing cutting-edge learning techniques and tools, the project will support the future generation of knowledge workers. Testing and sharing pilot solutions by the IE3 project will systematically support the development, updating, or redesign of university courses/programs in IE&M throughout Europe. The Body of Knowledge (BoK) for Higher Education in Industrial Engineering and Management is the reference document to support conceptual and implementation processes of designing, updating, or redesigning university master-level programs or course modules in IE&M. The BoK defines Guidelines supporting the renewal processes of IE&M master-level education in Europe and disseminates IE3 project outcomes, giving value to practical experience carried out by project partners during the project development. The BoK is not only a methodology, but it represents the foundation upon which Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can develop their strategies, policies, procedures, and tools to renew courses and programs in an evolving environment. The Bok refers to contents and knowledge constantly evolving according to a rolling redesign approach.

Proceedings on 18th International Conference on Industrial Systems – IS’20, 2022

The evolution of production environments towards Industry 4.0 paradigm led to a workload shift fr... more The evolution of production environments towards Industry 4.0 paradigm led to a workload shift from physical to more cognitive activities, leading operators to perform tasks more cognitive-oriented. According to recent scientific studies, the typology of tasks as well as their complexity in smart factories will significantly change with the increased role of automation and artificial intelligence. Consistently to this trend, in the future work environments, operators will frequently interact with ever-smart machines. Under this perspective, the operators of smart factories, so-called "smart-operators", will manage an increasing amount of information and data during the decision-making processes. In scientific literature many studies are available on the evaluation of the operators' effort for the accomplishment of a physical-oriented task, but clear gaps are present for the evaluation of the operators' capacities and effort involved in cognitiveoriented tasks. In this paper, an analytical model allowing to evaluate, based on the operator's experience and on the complexity of the cognitive-oriented task to be performed, the Information Processing Rate (IPR) of a specific operator is presented. The results of the numerical experiment carried out proved the effectiveness of the model to provide the IPR of the operators by varying their experience and to evaluate if an operator is eligible for the accomplishment of a cognitiveoriented task. A potential application of the model is in the design phase of a cognitive-oriented task to predict the feasibility of its accomplishment by focusing on the capacities of operators.

Procedia Computer Science 200, 2022

According to Industry 4.0 (I4.0) paradigms, the smart factory can be considered as a factory 'con... more According to Industry 4.0 (I4.0) paradigms, the smart factory can be considered as a factory 'connected' adopting digital technologies to share information between people, machines, and sensors. Therefore, digital transformation represents one of the key strategies to integrate digital technology into all business areas, favouring the increase of profit, productivity, and agility of the company. This is not only a technological change but a cultural change requiring organizational, process and economic improvement. Scientific research proved that 84% of digital transformations fail or achieve targets below expectations. Consistent with this issue, companies should address the need to implement a digital process, self-evaluating the readiness level for digital transformation. In this regard, the paper aims to develop a model that evaluates the organisations' readiness to implement digital transformation according to I4.0 targets. For this purpose, the model adopts an online survey of 38 questions to identify the readiness degree according to a fivelevel scale. The survey was submitted to a sample of companies operating in different sectors. The works' results show the model's reliability to provide the readiness level for digital transformation and allows a preliminary evaluation of the companies' aspects most impactful on digital transformation implementation.

Proceedings of the Summer School Francesco Turco, 2022

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that one-third of edible fo... more The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that one-third of edible food, equivalent to 1.3 billion tons per year, is lost or wasted. The reduction of food losses and waste (FLW) presents opportunities under economic (e.g., wasting money), environmental (e.g., greenhouse gas (GHG) generation), and social (e.g., food security) perspective. There are appropriate responses to manage, according to a circular economy approach, the surplus food: prevention (i.e., reducing at the source; optimizing processes; adapting production to needs), recovery (i.e., redistributing food to people who need and/or want it), and finally recycling (i.e., feeding animals; using scraps for industrial production, energy, or compost). In the scientific literature, there are several proposals for reusing or valorizing agri-food industrial waste. This paper aims to compile and assess the existing sustainable strategies in the agri-food management adopted to minimize the FLW. For this scope, the scientific studies in this research area have been collected. The effects pursued from the various solutions have been evaluated, considering the long-term environmental and social impacts. Consistently to the research aim, a systematic literature review by implementing a manual search of the manuscript published in the last ten years has been conducted. The results provide a clear picture of the existing sustainable strategies in agri-food management to identify the benefits, limitations, and research gap of the current scientific research.

IFAC-PapersOnLine

Recent studies show that an increasing amount of information, in terms of cognitive and motor dem... more Recent studies show that an increasing amount of information, in terms of cognitive and motor demand, is required from tasks to be performed in work environments where Industry 4.0 technologies are implemented. In this paper, an objective parameters-based theoretical model is proposed to estimate the information-based processing time of a motor and cognitive task. The evaluation of the information-based processing time is based on two physiological parameters: Oxygen Consumption and Heart Rate. The effectiveness of the model on both cognitive and motor case study is tested. The results achieved shown that the individual respiratory capacity significantly affects the evaluation of the information-based processing time. More generally, a higher respiratory capacity allows to minimize the information-based processing time, improving the individual's performance.

29th Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation (MED), 2021

In most countries, Municipal solid waste (MSW) collection and disposal are among the major proble... more In most countries, Municipal solid waste (MSW) collection and disposal are among the major problems of the urban environment. To this concern, the Key Enabling Technologies of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) play a crucial role. The I4.0 brings the new industrial paradigm in the smart cities, with strong cooperation of the digital and physical worlds through the cyber-physical systems. In particular, the intelligent bins (socalled smart bins) allow monitoring and provide real-time information on their capacity use. If, on the one hand, the MSW collection process is a topic widely investigated in the scientific literature, on the other hand, the studies on the adoption of the smart bins in MSW collection aren't that widespread. A technical-economic assessment of the implementation of the MSW collection based on the dynamic vehicle routing led by smart bins for a southern Italian town is proposed in the present work. The study evaluates the impact on the MSW collection considering the changes in terms of frequency of bins collected and dynamic vehicle routing, given by the residual capacity data provided from smart bins. To this concern, the costs and the emission due to MSW collection are minimized conducting a scenario analysis finalized to identify the proper service level to the citizenship, under municipal regulations, forecasting the residual capacity of each smart bin. Results of the case study showed that the adoption of the smart bins leads to significant benefits in both economic and environmental terms, providing proper service level for citizens.

IFAC-PapersOnLine, 2024

Advances in Production Management Systems, 2024

Proceedings of the 28th Summer School "Francesco Turco", 2023

Procedia Computer Science, 2024

Procedia Computer Science, 2023

Transportation Research Procedia, 2022

Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, 2023

Proceedings of the Summer School Francesco Turco, 2022

ndustrial Engineering and Operations Management. IJCIEOM 2022. Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics, 2022

IFAC-PapersOnLine, 2022

Proceedings of the 8th International Food Operations & Processing Simulation Workshop (FoodOPS), 2022

IFAC Papers online, 2015

IFAC- PapersOnLine, 2016

INTED2022 Proceedings, 2022

Proceedings on 18th International Conference on Industrial Systems – IS’20, 2022

Procedia Computer Science 200, 2022

Proceedings of the Summer School Francesco Turco, 2022

IFAC-PapersOnLine

29th Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation (MED), 2021

IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 2024

In response to the dynamic and ever-changing landscape of supply chains, which are continually ch... more In response to the dynamic and ever-changing landscape of supply chains, which are continually challenged by internal and external factors, there is a critical need for continuous adaptation, learning, and improvement. Historically, scholars have argued that traditional information systems lack the capacity to effectively support resilience strategies within supply chains. However, advancements in Industry 4.0 technologies may have shifted this paradigm. This paper explores how enabling technologies can support the development of resilient operations at the supply chain level. To that end, a systematic literature review is combined with a multiple case study to understand how these technologies can support the development of elements of resilience. Three distinct sectors from different geographical locations were chosen for this study: an agri-food company in Brazil, a manufacturing firm in the food industry in Canada, and a logistics service provider in Italy. Integrating both theoretical insights and empirical findings leads to the formulation of a research framework, the primary contribution of this study, which serves as a resource for scholars and practitioners aiming to leverage enabling technologies to increase supply chain resilience. The paper concludes with key findings and suggests avenues for future research.

International Journal of Food Engineering, 2024

Agri-food processing industries generate a significant amount of food waste during different stag... more Agri-food processing industries generate a significant amount of food waste during different stages of processing. Sustainable food loss and waste (FLW) management aims to reduce, reuse, and recover the waste generated. To successfully implement strategies capable of pursuing these goals there is the need to connect agri-food processing industries with possible stakeholders in the use of waste generated. Primary processing centres are an example of industries that generate waste from the processing of fruits and vegetables. A model able to increase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of FLW reuse with appropriate strategies is proposed in this study. It is based on a multicriteria decision-making approach and a business-to-business web platform to support decision makers in identifying the best FLW management strategies from a quantity reduction and/or sustainability maximization perspective. Numerical simulations highlight the effectiveness of the model in identifying the best FLW management strategies within a panel of alternatives.

Production & manufacturing research, May 7, 2024

The link between digital evolution and environmental sustainability is reshaping how companies en... more The link between digital evolution and environmental sustainability is reshaping how companies enhance their processes, contributing to address circular manufacturing (CM). The extant literature does not explain how to improve the tire production process to limit environmental negative impacts, which are its most critical phases, which Industry 4.0 technologies could be exploited and how they could intervene in the process to facilitate effective data management. This research proposes a framework indicating how digital technologies could support tire producers in reducing the ecological footprint of their operations. The proposed framework addresses ISO 14,046 and 14,067 International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications. Digital twin (DT) was chosen as the most suitable technology. The related framework was further detailed according to data-driven CM principles, providing the set of sensors to be embedded on the production process and defining the data and information to be gathered through them to address the requested ISO certifications.

Journal of cleaner production, Apr 1, 2024

Circular economy (CE) strategies are largely adopted in the manufacturing sector. Nevertheless, t... more Circular economy (CE) strategies are largely adopted in the manufacturing sector. Nevertheless, the benefits of circular strategies could be reduced by the occurrence of the rebound effect (RE), defined as resource overuse due to improved efficiency in a system. Understanding the causes, mechanisms, and characteristics of CE's REs is therefore crucial for the effective implementation of CE strategies in the manufacturing sector. The main gap concerns the limited understanding of the occurrence of RE within CE in manufacturing. To this concern, five domains (i.e., business models, drivers, product lifecycle management (PLM), circular manufacturing ecosystem, and socioeconomic aspects) have been initially identified in the twofold CE-RE domain. Starting from these, the paper aims to investigate and map the relations among these dimensions and unveil the related type of RE for each of them. To address this objective, a conceptual map, grounded on a systematic literature review (SLR), has been obtained to explore the five dimensions. The conceptual map showed the relations between the five dimensions and the possible occurrence of RE types (i.e., direct, indirect, economy-wide, and transformational). It turned out that the five dimensions are closely related. For example, socioeconomic aspects were influenced by the adoption of circular business models and have a role in PLM strategies. Instead, from a RE perspective, socioeconomic aspects dimension, linked to business model and PLM ones, could generate direct and indirect RE. The driver dimensions related to circular manufacturing and business models could cause economy-wide and transformational RE. The map of the relations obtained offers an initial framework to be exploited to prevent and mitigate possible CE's REs occurring in manufacturing.

Journal of cleaner production, Apr 1, 2024

Hydrogen (H2) plays a crucial role in current climate change and energy crisis challenges due to ... more Hydrogen (H2) plays a crucial role in current climate change and energy crisis challenges due to its versatility and low environmental impact, leading to a projected growth in its demand. However, meeting this demand while reducing environmental impact requires innovative solutions, which can support the current energy transition phase and the subsequent large-scale implementation of the electrolysis (El) process. Waste-to-H2 (WtH2) routes, which use waste as a feedstock for H2 production, seem to be valuable for this purpose. To this concern, an environmental analytical model was developed in this work to evaluate the decarbonisation potential offered by three WtH2 routes in the context of the European energy transition. The environmental performance of a Waste-to-Energy plant coupled with an electrolyser, an MSW gasification plant with a syngas treatment unit (Gas-H2) and a Steam Biogas Reforming (SBR) process were therefore compared to that of the most widespread fossil-based H2 production route and the most environmentally promising one, i.e., Steam Methane Reforming and El, respectively. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess their environmental performance depending on the state of progress of the energy transition, and the results obtained were then applied in two scenarios, corresponding to the early (i.e., 2020 scenario) and advanced (i.e., 2030 scenario) stages of the European energy transition. The obtained results showed that the SBR offers negative total emissions in many contexts, that the Gas-H2 route is a valuable alternative to fossil-based H2 production, and that the El route is very favourable in contexts where energy is mainly produced from renewable sources. Moreover, it was observed that, especially at an early stage of the energy transition (i.e., 2020 scenario), the use of WtH2 routes could have significantly supported the production of low-carbon H2 and savings in terms of carbon emissions right acquisition. Although, as expected, H2 production from El will become the better alternative from an environmental perspective at an advanced stage of the energy transition process (i.e., 2030 scenario), WtH2 technologies will continue to be able to support the decarbonisation of H2 production.

International journal of manufacturing technology and management, 2024

The Industry 4.0 (I4.0) revolution has led to new concepts and transformations toward technologic... more The Industry 4.0 (I4.0) revolution has led to new concepts and transformations toward technological innovations. In the manufacturing sector, the use of collaborative robots (cobots) has significantly increased in the last few years, enabling them to work safely alongside humans in a shared workspace. Within this perspective, small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been facing several challenges compared to large organisations regarding the adoption of cobots. Based on the literature, this paper aims to introduce a techno-economic feasibility model to evaluate the viability of using cobots in a shared workplace, with a focus on SMEs. Consistent with the paper's aim, a conceptual model was developed, supported by experts' opinions using the Delphi method. The results of this work incorporate contributions to both the academic and industrial communities.

Sustainability, Apr 3, 2024

Procedia computer science, 2024

Springer proceedings in mathematics & statistics, Dec 31, 2022

Springer eBooks, 2022

International Journal of Production Research

The Internet of Things (IoT) provides new opportunities to improve manufacturing lines' p... more The Internet of Things (IoT) provides new opportunities to improve manufacturing lines' performance and in-plant logistic processes. The digital milk-run system represents the new frontier to optimize material handling strategies but is still not fully exploited to address material distribution depending on the time slots required by the manufacturing lines. Therefore, to fill this gap, this paper investigates the actual integration of the milk-run system with an IoT system. An analytical model for planning a dynamic routing strategy for tugger trains to deliver the materials to different workstations of a production line has been developed. The proposed model provides a materials distribution consistent with the time slot required by the manufacturing line, ensuring the minimisation of the total distance of the routes. An algorithm developed in Python is proposed to solve the NP-hard problem (nondeterministic polynomial time problem). The model has been applied to a real case of a worldwide automotive company to validate and prove its efficacy and efficiency. Indeed, compared to the current in-plant logistic strategy, (i) the inventory stock of each workstation was ensured, (ii) the average utilization rate of the tugger trains' fleet was improved, and (iii) the daily path was minimized.

Journal of Cleaner Production

In the current scenario of transition to a Europe-wide circular economy (CE), the Waste-to-Energy... more In the current scenario of transition to a Europe-wide circular economy (CE), the Waste-to-Energy (WtE) treatments represent a smart solution to generate renewable energy, reduce landfills and ensure sustainable waste management. The costs and environmental impacts of existing WtE treatments are very different for each available technology. In many cases, their identification is affected by a set of variable boundary conditions strongly dependent on local municipal requirements. In light of these considerations, the paper aims to compare the investment in three different WtE treatments (i.e., incineration, gasification, and flameless oxy-combustion) to identify the best solution to support the current transitional phase towards a CE condition. An overall yearly cost analysis was developed by varying local municipal requirements, including investment, operating, and carbon emissions costs. The overall yearly cost and the revenues, due to energy sales and tipping fees, allowed to evaluate the profitability of the investment in the plant lifetime to identify the best WtE treatment. The investment profitability was evaluated by adopting the Net Present Value (NPV) method by estimating the cash flow statement over the entire plant lifetime. The performance of the three WtE treatments, classified as “conventional” (i.e., gasification and incineration) and “innovative” (i.e., flameless oxy-combustion), were compared in a case study concerning Southern Italy's Metropolitan City of Bari. The applied methodology showed, in this case, that gasification, at the moment, has to be deemed as the most sustainable treatment for MSW management. Moreover, the study proved a high dependence between the carbon price and the profitability of the investment and, thus, in the next future the innovative oxy-combustion technology will gain an advantage over all the other technologies, when carbon price will be higher than 44 €/tonnesCO2.

Transportation Research Procedia

INTED2022 Proceedings

Procedia Computer Science, 2023

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling, 2022

In Industry 4.0 (I4.0) context, procedure-guided tasks are characterized by a greater complexity ... more In Industry 4.0 (I4.0) context, procedure-guided tasks are characterized by a greater complexity due to the higher cognitive nature. On one side, increasing information processing demand and more articulated decision-making processes are required in new factories. On the other side, different I4.0 technologies are available to support workers in work environments. In this regard, the entropy measures were adopted to evaluate how the cognitive complexity required by general procedure-guided tasks changes when the I4.0 technologies are implemented. Results show that the implementation of I4.0 technologies decreases the information processing demand of the task (estimated in bit/s), reducing the cognitive effort of operators. Furthermore, the numerical simulation shows that adopting I4.0 technologies, an operator is able to perform a task 20% more complex (estimated in bit). Consequently, the study conducted allowed to predict how the information processing demand of procedure-guided tasks can be affected by implementing I4.0 technologies.

Springer proceedings in mathematics & statistics, 2022

In the fourth industrial revolution, the digital network is the basis of smart manufacturing syst... more In the fourth industrial revolution, the digital network is the basis of smart manufacturing systems. In work environments 4.0, the operators’ role is drastically changed. There is increasing utilisation of innovative devices, and new technologies have changed work activities into more cognitive than physical tasks. According to scientific studies in the new industrial era, the operators’ skill to process the information related to a single task plays a crucial role in improving the manufacturing systems’ effectiveness. The methods available in scientific literature to assess the operator’s performance are mainly focused on the cognitive and physical efforts required by the task. In other words, they depend on tasks complexity and neglect human behaviour over time and the workers’ abilities. Therefore, an evaluation including the skills and properness of a specific operator to perform an assigned task needs more investigation. Consistent with this research gap, the paper aims to develop an information-based theoretical model allowing to estimate an operator’s performance index to accomplish an assembly job by evaluating both the tasks’ complexity and the operator’s skill. The model is applied to an automotive company to test and evaluate the potential applications of the methodology that go beyond the case study developed. The results proved the effectiveness of the model in estimating the operators’ performance, providing a job schedule based on task complexity and workers’ abilities.

Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies

No part of this digital document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted i... more No part of this digital document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means. The publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this digital document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained herein. This digital document is sold with the clear understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, medical or any other professional services.

Smart and Sustainable Supply Chain and Logistics – Trends, Challenges, Methods and Best Practices. EcoProduction, 2020

The topic of green mobility is very interesting and indispensable to consider due to European pol... more The topic of green mobility is very interesting and indispensable to consider due to European policy and climate changes. Cities are now actively starting to address these issues by implementing a range of different strategies, such as bringing in congestion charges and parking fees to internalise the negative impacts of transport (E. Commission in How can cities address future mobility challenges? 2019), improving and promoting the use of public transport (PT), encouraging nonmotorised transport with dedicated pedestrian-bike paths, and restricting the access of certain vehicles to the city centre. The main objective of hereby chapter is to evaluate actual state in terms of green mobility in selected European countries such as Poland, Ukraine, Italy and Norway. Authors endeavor to assess the availability, comfort, technical condition, safety, environmental friendliness, amenities in the cities from the point of view of existing public transport such as trams, buses, urban scooters, city bikes, electric kick scooters, carsharing.

Advanced Applications for Artificial Neural Networks, 2018

Neural network (NN) model is an efficient and accurate tool for simulating manufacturing processe... more Neural network (NN) model is an efficient and accurate tool for simulating manufacturing processes. Various authors adopted artificial neural networks (ANNs) to optimize multiresponse parameters in manufacturing processes. In most cases the adoption of ANN allows to predict the mechanical proprieties of processed products on the basis of given technological parameters. Therefore the implementation of ANN is hugely beneficial in industrial applications in order to save cost and material resources. In this chapter, following an introduction on the application of the ANN to the manufacturing process, it will be described an important study that has been published on international journals and that has investigated the use of the ANNs for the monitoring, controlling and optimization of the process. Experimental observations were collected in order to train the network and establish numerical relationships between process-related factors and mechanical features of the welded joints. Finally, an evaluation of time-costs parameters of the process, using the control of the ANN model, is conducted in order to identify the costs and the benefits of the prediction model adopted.

In Springer Lecture Notes in Management and Industrial Engineering, 2016

The warehouse management problem is a critical issue in Operation Management. In modern competiti... more The warehouse management problem is a critical issue in Operation Management. In modern competitive market, many firms are automating their basic warehouse activities in order to be cost effective. However, traditional mechanized warehousing systems (MWS) still represent the 75% of the overall installations. In MWS, forklifts are adopted for the load handling. The adoption of efficient "internal logistic strategies" could help in reducing time required and costs of warehousing activities. In recent years, many firms adopted green supply chain practices (GSCP) in order to improve their environmental performances while also achieving economic goals (Wu et al., 2015). Furthermore, in planning Smart City logistics, warehousing in port or railway station storage areas is being receiving wide attention since they contribute effectively to a sustainable development of modern cities. Under this perspective, an optimal "internal logistic strategy" allowing to jointly minimizing jointly costs and environmental impacts of warehousing activities has to be adopted. The aim of this study is to develop a Nonlinear Integer Programming Model to solve a storage location assignment problem (SLAP) for optimizing the environmental performance of the internal logistic activities in a warehouse. Suitable storage strategies are identified on the basis of the type of the forklifts adopted (internal combustion or electric engine equipped) as well as the sizes and the weight of the loads to be handled.