Fostering cleaner production through the adoption of sustainable maintenance: An umbrella review with a questionnaire-based survey analysis

Abstract

The global industrial sector accounts for about 26%, while manufacturing and construction accounts for about 13% of global CO₂ emissions, highlighting the need for sustainable operational strategies. Regulatory frameworks (e.g., GreenDeal, RePowerEU), have placed increasing pressure on manufacturing industries to align their economic productivity practices with sustainable business models. In this context, Sustainable Maintenance (SM) emerged as a strategic approach to reduce resource inefficiencies and minimise environmental waste. Hence, the research on SM is important for two reasons. Firstly, the impact of maintenance activities in reducing energy consumption can be considered one of the main determinants for enhancing the sustainability of manufacturing processes. Secondly, integrating SM practices within the context of Industry 4.0 offers a strategic move in achieving cleaner production and availability of manufacturing processes. However, the lack of research on investigating factors hindering the adoption of these practices within manufacturing entities has been reported. Leveraging Umbrella Review, contemporary research on SM prospects has been examined. Instead of focusing solely on the barriers and enablers, the study uses these factors to describe the existing body of SM research by performing network analysis. Secondly, given that digitalization is a barrier and an enabler, a questionnaire-based survey instrument has been developed. The data obtained from the survey is subjected to statistical testing using Bayes inferential statistics and Multiple Correspondence Analysis. The findings suggest strong to extreme evidence (BF₁₀ > 100) in favour of the existence of a correlation between digitalization (and technology) and maintenance sustainability aspects.