Sustainable Simulation-Based Digital Twin: An Application Portfolio Management Tool to Minimize Digital Waste and Maximize Useful Life

The use of software in industry has become increasingly relevant, although its impact from an environmental perspective is often underestimated because of its intangible nature. Therefore, the need to make technology more sustainable is becoming urgent. This paper investigates this question from a sustainable digital twin technology perspective and points out the importance of analyzing every source of digital waste of a simulation-based digital twin (SBDT). To this end, we adopt Application Portfolio Management (APM) principles, including control charts and TIME analysis, to ensure that the digital twin is always aligned with the real system. We discuss the importance of tracking over time the performance of each Digital Twin component that estimates the Remaining Useful Life in terms of value through an APM dashboard. A proof of concept of a Digital Twin Portfolio Management tool dashboard is developed for monitoring the value as well as the cost-benefit of every component of a SBDT of a smart brewing system.