Energy and labor intensity of manufacturing processes progressing toward sustainable development: A systematic literature review and SWOT analysis for a steel manufacturing company

Manufacturing, as one of the main pillars of a civilized lifestyle, will be strongly affected by sustainability issues, and it will play an important role in establishing a sustainable future. Within the area of sustainability issues, some specific issues are pointed out, such as the energy and labor intensity of manufacturing processes. The main aims of this paper are a systematic literature review and the evaluation of the energy and labor intensity of manufacturing processes in an industrial enterprise while proposing changes toward sustainable development. In the research, 163 scientific publications (77 related to China) were taken from the Web of Science (WoS) database based on selected keywords describing the studied phenomenon. The analyzed publications were divided into five areas (clusters). In terms of evaluating the energy and labor intensity of manufacturing processes, twelve production processes were selected, which were then grouped according to their most important areas of similarity (automation, ergonomics, and discomfort). The systematic literature review was carried out using the VOSviewer software, version 1.6.14. This article also uses the methodology of a case study with a simplified SWOT analysis based on interviews with employees and expert panels. The subject of the research is an industrial enterprise representing the steel manufacturing sector in Poland.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MEiN, umowa nr SONP/SP/546092/2022 w ramach programu „Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki” - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2022-2023).