The impact of intelligent manufacturing elements on product design towards reducing production waste

Abstract

With ever-increasing market competition and advances in technology, more and more countries are prioritizing for advanced and intelligent manufacturing technology as a top priority for improving product design and reducing production waste towards promoting economic growth. Consequently, this study empirically tests the set of intelligent manufacturing elements (IMEs) that affect product design towards minimizing production waste at mineral water factories in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The results of this study were based on the data obtained from the mixed methods represented in a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews in the framework of the case study. The questionnaire survey already has been tested. The sample of the study was 269 respondents selected based on a stratified sampling technique. The criteria for choosing the respondents to be part of the study were based on the status of full-time employee of the organization. The findings showed that among the IMEs addressed in this study, each intelligent device and intelligent process had had a strong impact on improving product design, and hence the efficient use of manufacturing resources towards reducing manufacturing waste in the industrial organizations.