Enhancing predictive maintenance in lean manufacturing for continuous process improvement using digital twin technology

Iheanacho, Chinemerem Cyril and Ozurumba, Ebubechukwu and Amajoh, Nkemdi and Igwe, Emeka (2025) Enhancing predictive maintenance in lean manufacturing for continuous process improvement using digital twin technology. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 26 (3). pp. 1533-1545. ISSN 2581-9615

The latest advancement in digital technologies has greatly revolutionized modern manufacturing processes, particularly through the adoption of Lean Manufacturing initiatives aimed at minimizing wastage and enhancing operational efficiency. Predictive Maintenance (PM) being one of the primary drivers of transformation in lean manufacturing by reducing equipment downtime and optimizing asset performance. The lack of failure data is one of the biggest obstacles to PM deployment because traditional maintenance methods are used to maintain equipment after they break down. In order to address the issue of data scarcity, this study investigates the use of Digital Twin (DT) technology, which creates a virtual duplicate of the physical item and enables real-time monitoring utilizing sensors and Internet of Things devices for predictive analysis. IoT and data analytics are well complemented by digital twin technology, giving the manufacturer access to real-time information about the state of the machines while they are operating. This connectivity allows them to predict future asset failures accurately and strategically schedule maintenance activities in advance. The findings presented in this paper demonstrate that digital twin applications can reduce maintenance costs by 35% and machine uptime by 98%. It also presents case studies of DT application across different industries, and comparative study of positive impacts achieved through DT adoption. Cumulatively, the study highlights DT's transformational capability to facilitate lean initiatives and demands further investigation into integrations of emerging technology for process improvement.