Dear Colleagues,

Industry 4.0 is a strategy for being competitive in global markets. This strategy provides the integration of lean production systems with autonomous and dynamic solutions, enhancing the digitalization of data, flows, and machinery. Digital tools support the management and control of lean production. Therefore, the Internet of Things, Cyber-Physical Systems, Big Data, and other technologies are widely applied in Industry 4.0. In this production environment, the role of the operator significantly changes, and new helpers and assistance systems are currently under development. Humans can focus on value-adding activities, while non-adding operations are analyzed and reduced. Moreover, the digitalization of manufacturing systems allows the production flows to be optimized in terms of time and energy. The improvement of energy efficiency is another critical topic in Industry 4.0. 

This Special Issue invites papers presenting methodologies, strategies, tools, and best practices for the optimization of lean manufacturing and energy management in Industry 4.0. Physical, sensorial and cognitive aids for reducing non-ergonomic tasks, while supporting the Operator 4.0 to handle and manage increasingly complex cognitive tasks, are also encouraged. We also welcome papers presenting frameworks and approaches for supporting data management and elaboration in this context. To foster the life cycle design of products and systems, new methods and tools for assessing the economic and environmental impacts of Industry 4.0 factories are encouraged.

Dr. Paolo Cicconi
Prof. Dr. Yingjie Yang
Dr. Alessandra Papetti
Dr. Marco Mandolini
Dr. Beata Mrugalska
Dr. Marta Rossi
Prof. Dr. Paolo Salini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Lean manufacturing
• Lean management
• Energy Value Stream Mapping
• Industry 4.0
• Design methods and strategies for lean manufacturing
• Human-Centered Manufacturing
• Product-service strategies
• Flexible logistics
• Life Cycle Analysis
• Life Cycle Cost
• Cyber-Physical systems
• Big Data analysis
• Digital processes
• Cloud computing