Manufacturing Network 4.0 : oppsummering – aktiviteter – publisering og formidling

Prosjektet Manufacturing Network 4.0 ble gjennomført i perioden juni 2015 – desember 2019. Deltakere i prosjektet var fire FoU-partnere og seks bedriftspartnere. Ca 20 forskere var tilknyttet prosjektet, men som notatet viser var det i alt over 150 personer som i større eller mindre grad har vært bidragsytere til prosjektet gjennom denne perioden. Prosjektet var finansiert av Norges forskningsråd (80 %) og deltakende industripartnere (20 %). Hensikten med dette notatet er å gi en kortfattet beskrivelse av prosjektet inklusive deltakere og aktiviteter, samt å gi en samlet oversikt over all publisering og formidling. Målgruppen er først og fremst alle som har deltatt i prosjektet, både fra fou-institusjonene og fra industrien. Språket i denne oppsummeringen er dels engelsk, dels norsk. Dette fordi tekstene er hentet fra litt ulike kilder. Vi regner med at det ikke skaper noe problem for den aktuelle målgruppen

Assessing the synergies between lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0

El llamado lean manufacturing (también “producción ajustada”, en España) ha sido durante años el modelo de éxito que ha llevado muchas empresas a la excelencia operacional. Sin embargo, los cambios en el mercado que requieren producción personalizada en masa barata parecen estar fuera del alcance de la metodología lean, más pensada para una producción más estable. La Industria 4.0 nace como un sistema prometedor para hacer frente a futuros desafíos en entornos productivos por medio de la automatización y el intercambio de datos gracias a los sistemas ciber-físicos y al Internet de las Cosas. La relación entre lean e industria 4.0 atrae a muchos investigadores en gestión y el número de publicaciones y referencias no para de aumentar con rapidez. No obstante, la falta de aplicaciones reales lleva a trabajos teóricos sobre posibles resultados en multitud de aspectos. El objetivo de este artículo es explorar y evaluar, por medio de una revisión sistemática que llega a setiembre de 2019, el trabajo previo sobre la relación entre lean manufacturing e industria 4.0, para poder entender si ambos enfoques se pueden integrar y si entre los elementos de ambas corrientes existen sinergias. Además, se realiza un estudio bibliométrico. Aunque distintos escenarios son posibles, muchos se refieren a una mejora de las herramientas lean gracias a la información en tiempo real. La mayoría muestra una evolución, no una revolución. El lean ofrece procesos estables que pueden ser automatizados y digitalizados con éxito. De otro modo las nuevas tecnologías no podrán aprovechar los procesos mal gestionados. El papel del personal se ha estudiado poco en los trabajos revisados.This work has been funded by el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Government of Spain) though the OPTHEUS project (ref. PGC2018-095080-B-I00), including European Regional Development Funds (ERDF).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Deriving of Sequencing Strategies for Multi-Stage Productions Supported by Logistic Models and Software Tools

Sequencing as a core task of production control has a significant influence on the logistical performance and efficiency of a single work system. Particularly in the presence of sequence dependent setup times, systematic sequencing can increase the productivity of a work system by saving them. This, however, leads to a decreasing schedule reliability of the work system, which creates an area of conflict. In recent years, mathematical models have been developed at the Institute of Production Systems and Logistics (IFA) that describe the influence of different sequencing rules on the schedule reliability and productivity of a work system. In a further step, these single so-called partial models can be linked with each other. This allows a calculation of the lateness behaviour of a multi-stage production in dependency of the sequencing rules assigned to the individual work system and thus of the overall sequencing strategy. This paper presents the possibilities of linking different logistic models in order to quantify the influence of sequencing on logistic target values as well as two software tools by which the impact and combination of various sequencing rules can be examined based on production feedback data or by means of a generic supply chain. As a result, it is possible to assess different sequence configurations of a multi-stage production and thus strategically align the production in the area of conflict between productivity and schedule reliability

Digitization of the work environment for sustainable production

Global pandemics, devastating wars and natural disasters with increasing frequency and impact are disrupting previously carefully balanced manufacturing networks. All industrial companies are required to examine their operations and adjust accordingly. The increasing cost of resources require enterprises to re-design their value creation processes to be more sustainable, to optimize the supplier network to become more resilient and to accelerate digitizing of operations to enhance operational effectiveness. This year's WGAB research seminar is themed around Digitization of the work environment for sustainable production and seeks to contribute solutions to the current challenges. The scientific discourse aims to advance the sustainable and data-based organization of value creation processes. Exemplary efforts for the sustainable production of 3D printed footwear and the circular supply chain of energy production will be discussed. With advances in sensory data collection in cyber-physical production systems (CPPS), there are new opportunities for sensing the status of manufacturing systems, which enable advanced data analytics to contribute to a sustainable production. Intelligent processes enable sustainable value creation and bi-directional knowledge exchange between humans and machines. With people at the centre of the CPPS, production systems shall be both adaptive and personalized for every worker. People need to be involved in the technological and organizational changes. Simulating the migration from a linear economy to a circular economy supports the trend of regionalized production networks. Digital assistance systems are tested to back up resilient manufacturing. We would like to thank all authors for their efforts in preparing the contributions, which are valuable inputs to the discourse to solve the current challenges

Food Insecurity: Is Leagility a Potential Remedy?

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Ukraine–Russian conflict, both significant geo-political and socio-economic shocks to the global food system and food insecurity has risen across the world. One potential remedy to reduce the level of food insecurity is to move from a lean just-in-time food system to one where there is more resilience through greater agility both in routine supply operations and also in the event of an emergency situation. The aim of this critical perspectives paper was to firstly reflect on the concepts of lean, agility, and ‘leagility’. Then, this study considered the ability of individual organisations and the whole food system to be resilient, adaptive, enable the elimination of waste, reduce inefficiency, and assure the consistent delivery to market requirements in terms of both volume, safety, and quality. Promoting the concept of leagility together with advocating resilient, sustainable practices that embed buffer and adaptive capacity, this paper positions that increasing digitalisation and improving business continuity planning can ensure effective operationalisation of supply chains under both normal and crisis situations, ultimately reducing the risk of food insecurity at personal, household, and community levels

Architect, catalyst, advocate, and prophet:A Four-lens view of companies to support ecodesign integration

Companies are increasingly expected to develop products with better environmental performance throughout their life cycle. Academic literature on ecodesign integration, which investigates firms’ practices of dealing with environmental concerns associated with their products, indicates a need for more focus on formal and informal organizational aspects. From the general management literature, the four-lens view of organizations provides a rich understanding of organizations by embracing their formal (structural lens) and informal (human, political and symbolic lenses) functioning. This article aims to explore the extent to which the four-lens view may support ecodesign integration in companies. This exploratory study builds on fifteen interviews about ecodesign integration at seven manufacturing companies in Denmark and Norway. The main results are threefold: (i) the different lenses of organizations could be found in measures mentioned at the case companies; (ii) measures from the architect’s perspective seemed necessary to provide an official scene for ecodesign and help prioritizing it in organizations; and (iii) the catalyst’s, advocate’s, and prophet’s perspectives seemed necessary to facilitate or complement the architect’s perspective. In the light of these findings, the four-lens view seems relevant to strengthen ecodesign integration, and its potential use as a reflective tool is an avenue for future work

Smart Service Innovation: Organization, Design, and Assessment

Background: The emergence of technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, and wireless communication drives the digital transformation of the entire society. Organizations can exploit these potentials by offering new data-driven services with innovative value propositions, such as carsharing, remote equipment maintenance, and energy management services. These services result from value co-creation enabled by smart service systems, which are configurations of people, processes, and digital technologies. However, developing such systems was found to be challenging in practice. This is mainly due to the difficulties of managing complexity and uncertainty in the innovation process, as contributions of various actors from multiple disciplines must be coordinated. Previous research in service innovation and service systems engineering (SSE) has not shed sufficient light on the specifics of smart services, while research on smart service systems lacks empirical grounding. Purpose: This thesis aims to advance the understanding of the systematic development of smart services in multi-actor settings by investigating how smart service innovation (SSI) is conducted in practice, particularly regarding the participating actors, roles they assume, and methods they apply for designing smart service systems. Furthermore, the existing set of methods is extended by new methods for the design-integrated assessment of smart services and service business models. Approach: Empirical and design science methods were combined to address the research questions. To explore how SSI is conducted in practice, 25 interviews with experts from 13 organizations were conducted in two rounds. Building on service-dominant logic (SDL) as a theoretical foundation and a multi-level framework for SSI, the involvement of actors, their activities, employed means, and experienced challenges were collected. Additionally, a case study was used to evaluate the suitability of the Lifecycle Modelling Language to describe smart service systems. Design science methods were applied to determine a useful combination of service design methods and to build meta-models and tools for assessing smart services. They were evaluated using experiments and the talk aloud method. Results: On the macro-level, service ecosystems consist of various actors that conduct service innovation through the reconfiguration of resources. Collaboration of these actors is facilitated on the meso-level within a project. The structure and dynamics of project configurations can be described through a set of roles, innovation patterns, and ecosystem states. Four main activities have been identified, which actors perform to reduce uncertainty in the project. To guide their work, actors apply a variety of means from different disciplines to develop and document work products. The approach of design-integrated business model assessment is enabled through a meta-model that links qualitative aspects of service architectures and business models with quantitative assessment information. The evaluation of two tool prototypes showed the feasibility and benefit of this approach. Originality / Value: The results reported in this thesis advance the understanding of smart service innovation. They contribute to evidence-based knowledge on service systems engineering and its embedding in service ecosystems. Specifically, the consideration of actors, roles, activities, and methods can enhance existing reference process models. Furthermore, the support of activities in such processes through suitable methods can stimulate discussions on how methods from different disciplines can be applied and combined for developing the various aspects of smart service systems. The underlying results help practitioners to better organize and conduct SSI projects. As potential roles in a service ecosystem depend on organizational capabilities, the presented results can support the analysis of ex¬ternal dependencies and develop strategies for building up internal competencies.:Abstract iii Content Overview iv List of Abbreviations viii List of Tables x List of Figures xii PART A - SYNOPSIS 1 1 Introduction 2 1.1 Motivation 2 1.2 Research Objectives and Research Questions 4 1.3 Thesis Structure 6 2 Research Background 7 2.1 Smart Service Systems 7 2.2 Service-Dominant Logic 8 2.3 Service Innovation in Ecosystems 11 2.4 Systematic Development of Smart Service Systems 13 3 Research Approach 21 3.1 Research Strategy 21 3.2 Applied Research Methods 22 4 Summary of Findings 26 4.1 Overview of Research Results 26 4.2 Organizational Setup of Multi-Actor Smart Service Innovation 27 4.3 Conducting Smart Service Innovation Projects 32 4.4 Approaches for the Design-integrated Assessment of Smart Services 39 5 Discussion 44 5.1 Contributions 44 5.2 Limitations 46 5.3 Managerial Implications 47 5.4 Directions for Future Research 48 6 Conclusion 54 References 55 PART B - PUBLICATIONS 68 7 It Takes More than Two to Tango: Identifying Roles and Patterns in Multi-Actor Smart Service Innovation 69 7.1 Introduction 69 7.2 Research Background 72 7.3 Methodology 76 7.4 Results 79 7.5 Discussion 90 7.6 Conclusions and Outlook 96 7.7 References 97 8 Iterative Uncertainty Reduction in Multi-Actor Smart Service Innovation 100 8.1 Introduction 100 8.2 Research Background 103 8.3 Research Approach 109 8.4 Findings 113 8.5 Discussion 127 8.6 Conclusions and Outlook 131 8.7 References 133 9 How to Tame the Tiger – Exploring the Means, Ends, and Challenges in Smart Service Systems Engineering 139 9.1 Introduction 139 9.2 Research Background 140 9.3 Methodology 143 9.4 Results 145 9.5 Discussion and Conclusions 151 9.6 References 153 10 Combining Methods for the Design of Digital Services in Practice: Experiences from a Predictive Costing Service 156 10.1 Introduction 156 10.2 Conceptual Foundation 157 10.3 Preparing the Action Design Research Project 158 10.4 Application and Evaluation of Methods 160 10.5 Discussion and Formalization of Learning 167 10.6 Conclusion 169 10.7 References 170 11 Modelling of a Smart Service for Consumables Replenishment: A Life Cycle Perspective 171 11.1 Introduction 171 11.2 Life Cycles of Smart Services 173 11.3 Case Study 178 11.4 Discussion of the Modelling Approach 185 11.5 Conclusion and Outlook 187 11.6 References 188 12 Design-integrated Financial Assessment of Smart Services 192 12.1 Introduction 192 12.2 Problem Analysis 195 12.3 Meta-Model Design 200 12.4 Application of the Meta-Model in a Tool Prototype 204 12.5 Evaluation 206 12.6 Discussion 208 12.7 Conclusions 209 12.8 References 211 13 Towards a Cost-Benefit-Analysis of Data-Driven Business Models 215 13.1 Introduction 215 13.2 Conceptual Foundation 216 13.3 Methodology 218 13.4 Case Analysis 220 13.5 A Cost-Benefit-Analysis Model for DDBM 222 13.6 Conclusion and Outlook 225 13.7 References 226 14 Enabling Design-integrated Assessment of Service Business Models Through Factor Refinement 228 14.1 Introduction 228 14.2 Related Work 229 14.3 Research Goal and Method 230 14.4 Solution Design 231 14.5 Demonstration 234 14.6 Discussion 235 14.7 Conclusion 236 14.8 References 23

EG-ICE 2021 Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering

The 28th EG-ICE International Workshop 2021 brings together international experts working at the interface between advanced computing and modern engineering challenges. Many engineering tasks require open-world resolutions to support multi-actor collaboration, coping with approximate models, providing effective engineer-computer interaction, search in multi-dimensional solution spaces, accommodating uncertainty, including specialist domain knowledge, performing sensor-data interpretation and dealing with incomplete knowledge. While results from computer science provide much initial support for resolution, adaptation is unavoidable and most importantly, feedback from addressing engineering challenges drives fundamental computer-science research. Competence and knowledge transfer goes both ways