In the Industry 4.0 era, digital tools applied to production and manufacturing activities represent a challenge for companies. Digital Twin (DT) technology is based on the integration of different “traditional” tools, such as simulation modeling and sensors, and is aimed at increasing process performance. In DTs, simulation modeling allows for the building of a digital copy of real processes, which is dynamically updated through data derived from smart objects based on sensor technologies. The use of DT within manufacturing activities is constantly increasing, as DTs are being applied in different areas, from the design phase to the operational ones. This study aims to analyze existing fields of applications of DTs for supporting safety management processes in order to evaluate the current state of the art. A bibliometric review was carried out through VOSviewer to evaluate studies and applications of DTs in the engineering and computer science areas and to identify research clusters and future trends. Next, a bibliometric and systematic review was carried out to deepen the relation between the DT approach and safety issues. The findings highlight that in recent years, DT applications have been tested and developed to support operators during normal and emergency conditions and to enhance their abilities to control safety levels.

Purpose: Circular supply chains (CSC) are particularly important for the agri-food sector, which faces strict requirements generated by increased food consumption as a consequence of world population growth, changes in lifestyle, development of consumer society and increasing health awareness. Recent disruptive factors have placed the vulnerability of agri-food supply chains in the spotlight. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to identify the most manageable groups of risks in order to ensure the smooth operation of agri-food circular supply chains.Design/methodology/approach: Seven main risk groups were evaluated in relation to nine criteria. To solve this multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem, a novel MCDM model, which integrates the best-worst method (BWM) and the COmprehensive distance-Based RAnking (COBRA) method in a grey environment, was developed.Findings: Three risks were singled out, namely, product features risks, logistics risks and managerial risks. The obtained risks are those whose management would create the most positive effects for the stakeholders and help them achieve their primary goals regarding the circularity of agri-food supply chains.Originality/value: This study investigates the main characteristics of the CSC in the agri-food sector, identifies, simultaneously explores and ranks all main risk groups associated with them and expands the possibilities for solving these kinds of problems by developing a novel MCDM model. It also identifies the most significant risks, both for individual stakeholders and for all stakeholder groups together.