Digital twin implementation for performance improvement in process industries- A case study of food processing company

Abstract

In recent years, the emerging Digital Twin (DT) paradigm under Industry 4.0 has been attracting more attention from both practitioners and academia due to its dynamic capabilities. Most DT studies are theoretical and deal with hypothetical analysis, whereas fewer studies are available on real-life empirical cases. Due to dynamic problem-solving capabilities, DT technologies are widely used in performance improvement analysis in food processing companies (FPC) despite limited implication’s for business strategies. Our study incorporates the DT technologies with an implementation case study on FPC and accomplishes the real-life problem of the food processing company (FPC). Moreover, the proposed DT research framework demonstrates the various DT implementation stages, such as strategic mapping and physical-virtual space replica, with rigorous analysis. The results show that DT enhances the existing system’s machine availability, allocation efficiency, technical efficiency, worker efficiency, utilization rate, effectiveness, step ratio, and throughput rate. The proposed physical-virtual interface model is executed using AnyLogic software with JAVA-enabled programming.

Keywords:

• Digital twin
• digital transformation
• Industrial internet of things
• data-driven design
• simulation
• physical-virtual interface

Data Availability Statement

All the authors hereby state that, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, due to the nature of this research so supporting data is not available.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pratik Maheshwari

Pratik Maheshwari is a research scholar at the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) in Mumbai, India. He earned his BTech in Mechanical Engineering and MTech in Industrial Engineering from Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya Bhopal. Before joining NITIE Mumbai, he worked as an Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Engineering, Management & Research Indore from 2016 to 2018. He has published papers in reputed journals and Scopus indexed conferences. His area of research includes supply chain digital twin, inventory management, and optimization techniques.

Sachin Kamble

Sachin Kamble is a Professor of Strategy at EDHEC Business School, France. He has over 20 years of academic experience and is associated with leading manufacturing organizations in India, as a consultant and trainer. His research interest is inclined towards understanding the impact of emerging technologies such as Blockchain, Industry 4.0, and Big Data Analytics on sustainable supply chain performance. His work has been published in high-impact journals such as the International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Production Research, Computers in Industry, and Production Planning and Control.

Amine Belhadi

Amine Belhadi is an expert in Industrial Engineering and a research associate at Cadi Ayyad University, Morocco. Amine is an Industrial Engineer. He works currently as an associate consultant in the chemical sector. His expertise area is Industrial Engineering particularly Lean Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, Industry 4.0, and Sustainability. His publications have appeared in international peer-reviewed journals including many prestigious journals like International Journal of Production Economics, Supply Chain Management: an International Journal, International Journal of Production Research, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of Small Business Management, Computers and Industrial Engineering, Production Planning and Control and Journal of Cleaner Production.

Venkatesh Mani

Dr Mani Venkatesh, Associate Professor, and head of MSc in bigdata and AI program, Montpellier Business School, France. He possesses over 22 years of academic and industrial experience, of which over a decade he had served in fortune 500 companies in various senior management roles. Prior to MBS, he worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at FEP, University of Porto, through prestigious Erasmus Fellowship (European Union). He is a visiting professor of digital transformation in TAPMI, ISCTE Business School, Lisbon and University of Porto. He holds his PhD from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). He has contributed several research articles in referred journals: Harvard Business Review, Journal of Business Research, Business Strategy and the Environment, International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Production Research, Transportation Research Part A, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Annals of Operations Research, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, & Production Planning and Control, among others.

Ashok Pundir

Ashok K Pundir worked as a Professor (Operations Management) at the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) Mumbai for more than 22 years. He has 39 years of Industrial and Academic experience. He has worked for more than 16 years at The Premier Automobiles Ltd, Mumbai, and was Assistant General Manager(Projects) and also the head of the Industrial Engineering Department. He was actively involved in the restructuring of manufacturing operations. Prof. Pundir’s interest areas include Industrial Engineering, Project Management, Manufacturing Systems, Service Operations, and Supply Chain Management.