A Roadmap to Integrate the Sustainable Impact of Industry 4.0 Technologies in Maintenance Policies

Maintenance decision-making has traditionally focused on economic criteria, yet the growing demand for carbon neutrality highlights the need to address all three dimensions of sustainability (economic, environmental, and social) within manufacturing industries. Although Industry 4.0 (I4.0) enabling technologies are widely recognized for their potential benefits, their full sustainability impacts remain poorly understood. Existing studies often emphasize their positive contributions but lack precise quantification of both their positive and negative effects. Moreover, these analyses tend to focus exclusively on the use phase, neglecting impacts during manufacturing and end-of-life stages. This article proposes a structured roadmap for evaluating the lifecycle impact of I4.0 technologies on maintenance policies. By considering multiple scenarios, this approach quantifies their effects across all dimensions of sustainability, ensuring that the benefits realized during use outweigh the negative impacts from manufacturing and disposal. To illustrate its applicability, a preliminary use case is presented using a vibration test bench equipped with IoT sensors. Looking ahead, these sensors are set to generate fault data under varying conditions, which will be used to test maintenance scenarios. Additionally, as outlined in the roadmap, a life cycle assessment (LCA) is planned for the sensor to provide a comprehensive assessment of its sustainability impact. This case study serves to demonstrate the roadmap's relevance and its potential to support sustainable maintenance decision-making, laying the foundation for integrating I4.0 enabling technologies into maintenance strategies while avoiding undesirable rebound effects that could compromise sustainability goals.

Keywords: Maintenance policies, Industry 4.0, Sustainability, Economic-environmental and social impacts.