Exploring the relationship between Project Cost Deployment and Industry 4.0 through an industrial application in an Engineer-to-Order environment

he literature on Lean Manufacturing has predominantly emphasized mass production and batch systems, leaving a considerable knowledge gap regarding the challenges and considerations specific to implementing Lean principles in Engineer-to-Order (ETO) manufacturing contexts. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the interaction between Project Cost Deployment (PCD), a tailored method for ETO environments, and the digital technologies of Industry 4.0. The research aims to identify the synergies between Lean Manufacturing and Industry 4.0, investigating how their integration can enhance productivity, quality, and competitiveness in the manufacturing industry. While Lean Manufacturing is adept at addressing loss reduction and elimination across various industrial contexts, Industry 4.0 leverages digital technologies to revolutionize manufacturing operations and enable more efficient and intelligent production systems. The paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the PCD method through an industrial application involving an international company specializing in customized paper converting machinery and lines. By utilizing PCD in conjunction with Industry 4.0 technologies, analysts were able to uncover hidden losses and quantify them from an economic perspective, while also evaluating the potential impacts of improvement activities. The results highlight the significance of synergizing Lean Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 for ETO environments, offering valuable insights into how digital technologies can be effectively integrated into Lean principles.