Information modeling to incorporate sustainability into production plans

We investigate the real-world production of a product from five different manufacturers, each with a distinct production plan for its manufacture. We demonstrate the use of information modeling techniques to analyze and understand floor-level interactions and decision-making core to the manufacturing design for this product. Based on the insights gained herein, we propose a framework to incorporate sustainability into generalized process selection strategies. Lastly, we discuss the implications of these information modeling techniques for identifying the material information artifacts that are needed to support sustainable process design.