August 18, 2025 Anaheim, CA

BiSSL Ph.D. candidate Hadear Hassan led the publication of an IDETC-CIE conference paper titled “Potential for Digital Technologies & Additive Manufacturing to Support Lean Manufacturing + Circular Economy Synergies” in collaboration with Aarhus University Ph.D. student (and former BiSSL MS student) Amira Bushagour and Dr. Abheek Chatterjee, who is a post doc at NIST and is a former BiSSL PhD student. The paper was presented in the SEIKM track on “Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain Systems Design and Analysis” co-chaired by Dr. Chatterjee.

ABSTRACT: Lean manufacturing and circular economy are two production paradigms aimed at addressing the challenges faced by traditional production models, such as resource constraints, environmental impacts, and waste generation. Lean manufacturing focuses on improving production efficiency by eliminating non-value-adding activities. Circular economy aims to reduce waste and resource consumption and support production demands by retaining valuable materials in the economy as long as possible. Recent research has indicated that the convergence of these paradigms is a promising strategy to support sustainable production and consumption. However, challenges remain in fully integrating these approaches, as lean manufacturing emphasizes efficiency without directly considering environmental concerns, a key goal of the circular economy. This research investigates if additive manufacturing and digital technologies (such as digital twins and product passports) offer potential approaches to support the synergies between lean manufacturing and circular economy initiatives. To this end, this article surveys how additive manufacturing and digital technologies support the core aspects of circular economy and lean manufacturing. Thereafter, the synergies between the core aspects of the two paradigms are analyzed with a focus on the application of digital technologies and additive manufacturing in supporting these synergies. Specifically, it is found that the integration of digital technologies with additive manufacturing enables real-time monitoring and predictive analytics. This integrated approach addresses the scalability and flexibility challenges of additive manufacturing implemented alone while enhancing waste reduction, resource optimization, and material life cycle transparency in lean manufacturing and circular economy applications. These findings provide stakeholders with valuable insights regarding simultaneously implementing lean manufacturing and circular economy principles – supporting financial benefits, reduced environmental impacts, and sustainable production growth. -Hassan, Chatterjee, Bushagour, Layton. (2025) “Potential for Digital Technologies and Additive Manufacturing to Support Lean Manufacturing and Circular Economy Synergies.” ASME 2025 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers & Information in Engineering Conference (IDETC-CIE). Anaheim, CA, USA.