Aspects of resilience for smart manufacturing systems

Abstract

An external disruptor to a manufacturing process (e.g., a supply chain failure, or a cyber-attack) can affect more than a factory's output; it can have wider societal concerns, raising the issue of industrial resilience at different levels. In this work, manufacturing resilience is revisited, reviewing the applicability of the resilience concept to the industrial domain, particularly the smart factories enabled by newer digital technologies. The meaning of resilience within manufacturing is shown to be composed of several factors that operate at three levels (macro, meso, and micro). The factors have been united from a variety of sources to unify the traits within manufacturing resilience. Furthermore, a summary of the advanced digital technologies that can aid (or detract) from resilience is discussed, along with some of their challenges around digital complexity, legacy equipment support, high-performance wireless communications, and cybersecurity. Although it is seen that digital manufacturing systems can aid resilience within the industrial sector and contribute to wider societal goals, the biggest impact is likely to be at the lowest (micro) level. Opportunities exist to quantify resilience factors and their use within manufacturing systems support software, and how to influence the resilience requirements of the wider stakeholders.