Intelligent sustainable manufacturing systems, management of the linkage between sustainability and intelligence - an overview

In the electronics industry the linkage between sustainability of a manufacturing system and the use of information technologies is hardly a reality. In the design of manufacturing systems design for environment plays a minor role. From an environmental perspective a manufacturing system can be described as a balance. The balance contains all the inputs and outputs. The inputs and outputs relating to a mass of produced products are expressed by a set of indicators. This paper outlines the air emission and waste profile of 25 manufacturing systems of printed boards. When manufacturing systems use less resources and generate less waste and emissions and the environmental balances are measured and managed with information technologies the systems becomes sustainable and intelligent. The real situation of the 25 manufacturing systems shows the gap with the post mass production paradigm.