Using wastes as driver to integrate digital and engineering practices maturity in the product development process: an application case

The increasing competition in manufacturing industry has pushed many SMEs to adapt their processes in order to embrace Industry 4.0 and Lean Management practices. The paper aims at presenting an integrated implementation of four analytical and diagnostic methods to facilitate a supported digital transformation by taking into account both the review of processes in a more effective and efficient way and the reduction of manufacturer’s wastes. The research has been developed by applying the DREAMY, CLIMB and MyWaste suite to an Italia manufacturing SME specialized in the design and production of highly customized machineries for the processing and packaging of tubes. The analysis encompassed three main steps: an assessment of digital maturity and of the product development process, an analysis of the main wastes and a mapping of the overall process from the RfQ to the production of the good. The main criticalities were related to the lack of formal procedures and coordination protocols, a misuse of digital tool for budgeting, project management (PM) and designs storage and a related increase of the time devoted to non-adding-value activities.