Industrie 4.0 – An empirical and literature-based study how product development is influenced by the digital transformation

The fourth industrial revolution, referred to as Industrie 4.0 in the German high-tech strategy, is in most cases associated with the industrialization of production, but the term is increasingly broadly understood. Industrie 4.0 means the networking of all areas involved in the value creation process. In areas such as production and politics, visions are already being driven forward, but in the development of products and product-related services it is often unclear how engineering needs to change to realize the potentials of Industrie 4.0. Several research projects are already dealing with the development of new processes, methods and tools to enable these potentials. However, studies show that companies do not have the resources or strategies to implement such solutions. In many ways, the influence of Industrie 4.0 and its impact on product development is still insufficiently known. Therefore, a literature-based study was conducted to systematically identify context factors that characterize Industrie 4.0. In order to analyze the impact on product development, a second step involved an impact analysis with the context factors of Industrie 4.0 onto the context factors of product development known from the literature. In a third step, strongly influenced fields of product development were identified and their relevance for the realization of the potentials of Industrie 4.0 for product development was evaluated in an online survey. In addition, the current status in these fields was analyzed in interviews with experts from industry. With methods of foresight a portfolio was created, which couples the influence of Industrie 4.0 on the context factors of product development with their future robustness. Comparing the current state of development with the findings from the portfolio, recommendations for future research were formulated

System architectures for Industrie 4.0 applications

Industrie 4.0 principles demand increasing flexibility and modularity for automated production systems. Current system architectures provide an isolated view of specific applications and use cases, but lack a global, more generic approach. Based on the specific architectures of two EU projects and one German Industrie 4.0 project, a generic system architecture is proposed. This system architecture features the strengths of the three isolated proposals, such as cross-enterprise data sharing, service orchestration, and real-time capabilities, and can be applied to a wide field of applications. Future research should be directed towards considering the applicability of the architecture to other equal applications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Industrie 4.0 implementations in the automotive industry

To address the challenges imposed by the adoption of new technology to realise the Industrial Internet also known as Industrie 4.0, manufacturing companies are recognising the need to set up and manage “intelligent test factories”. The result is networks of cyber-physical systems (CPS) where software interfaces and services are developed to support interoperability between physical and control structures. A test factory using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as a first generation enabler of CPS in industrial production systems is presented in this paper. The research outlined in this paper describes the first generation of CPS that uses identification technologies such as RFID tags embedded into engine components and their carries, which allow unique identification. Data storage, processing and analytics are also provided to support real-time algorithmic intelligent services that may be used in manufacturing operations including supply chain logistics, quality audits and manufacturing strategies

A Competency Model for Industrie 4.0 Employees

This paper analyzes employee competencies for employees with higher education in Industry 4.0. An Industry 4.0 competency model based on a behavioral oriented approach concerning three variants, namely Information Systems, Information Technology and Engineering is developed by extending the SHL Universal Competency Framework through a structured literature review and focus groups with academic staff. The presented study contributes to research by providing a starting-point for further research regarding employee competencies for Industry 4.0. It contributes to practice as the provided competency model can be applied to Industry 4.0 job descriptions

From lean production to Industrie 4.0: More autonomy for employees?

The article examines the relationship between lean production and Industrie 4.0 focusing on the question of autonomy in the work process. In contrast to the claim made by official Industrie 4.0 concepts that the autonomy of the employees would increase, we see in the current implementation projects a tendency towards greater standardization and control of work. This is in continuity with concepts of lean production, but neglects the participation-oriented elements of lean production such as teamwork and shop-floor-based improvement activities. Our argument is developed by analyzing practical examples from three relevant fields (digital assistance systems, data-based process management, modular assembly). The conclusions of this article also discuss the extent to which the concept of individual autonomy is suitable for the assessment of Industrie 4.0 concepts, given the high levels of interdependence already achieved in production processes

Industrie 4.0 Framework, Challenges and Perspectives

The world is increasingly in a global community. The rapid technological development of communication and information technologies allows the transmission of knowledge in real-time. In this context, it is imperative that the most developed countries are able to develop their own strategies to stimulate the industrial sector to keep up-to-date and being competitive in a dynamic and volatile global market so as to maintain its competitive capacities and by consequence, permits the maintenance of a pacific social state to meet the human and social needs of the nation. The path traced of competitiveness through technological differentiation in industrialization allows a wider and innovative field of research. Already we are facing a new phase of organization and industrial technology that begins to change the way we relate with the industry, society and the human interaction in the world of work in current standards. This Thesis, develop an analysis of Industrie 4.0 Framework, Challenges and Perspectives. Also, an analysis of German reality in facing to approach the future challenge in this theme, the competition expected to win in future global markets, points of domestic concerns felt in its industrial fabric household face this challenge and proposes recommendations for a more effective implementation of its own strategy. The methods of research consisted of a comprehensive review and strategically analysis of existing global literature on the topic, either directly or indirectly, in parallel with the analysis of questionnaires and data analysis performed by entities representing the industry at national and world global placement. The results found by this multilevel analysis, allowed concluding that this is a theme that is only in the beginning for construction the platform to engage the future Internet of Things in the industrial environment Industrie 4.0. This dissertation allows stimulate the need of achievements of more strategically and operational approach within the society itself as a whole to clarify the existing weaknesses in this area, so that the National Strategy can be implemented with effective approaches and planned actions for a direct training plan in a more efficiently path in education for the theme

Evaluation of Cognitive Architectures for Cyber-Physical Production Systems

Cyber-physical production systems (CPPS) integrate physical and computational resources due to increasingly available sensors and processing power. This enables the usage of data, to create additional benefit, such as condition monitoring or optimization. These capabilities can lead to cognition, such that the system is able to adapt independently to changing circumstances by learning from additional sensors information. Developing a reference architecture for the design of CPPS and standardization of machines and software interfaces is crucial to enable compatibility of data usage between different machine models and vendors. This paper analysis existing reference architecture regarding their cognitive abilities, based on requirements that are derived from three different use cases. The results from the evaluation of the reference architectures, which include two instances that stem from the field of cognitive science, reveal a gap in the applicability of the architectures regarding the generalizability and the level of abstraction. While reference architectures from the field of automation are suitable to address use case specific requirements, and do not address the general requirements, especially w.r.t. adaptability, the examples from the field of cognitive science are well usable to reach a high level of adaption and cognition. It is desirable to merge advantages of both classes of architectures to address challenges in the field of CPPS in Industrie 4.0

Agents enabling cyber-physical production systems

In order to be prepared for future challenges facing the industrial production domain, Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS) consisting of intelligent entities which collaborate and exchange information globally are being proclaimed recently as part of Industrie 4.0. In this article the requirements of CPPS and abilities of agents as enabling technology are discussed. The applicability of agents for realizing CPPS is exemplarily shown based on three selected use cases with different requirements regarding real-time and dependability. The paper finally concludes with opportunities and open research issues that need to be faced in order to achieve agent-based CPPSs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Train-the-Trainer Concept for the “Industrie 4.0-CheckUp”

The digitalization of society is causing companies’ environmental conditions to change. New customer demands, a change in employee thinking and a market situation altered by new competitors are making the digital transformation of companies a necessity. Identifying capabilities in a company, recommending actions and then implementing actions necessitates ascertaining the company’s level of development in terms of digital transformation. A multitude of capability maturity models and different approaches to use exist to meet the needs of SMEs and large companies. Since the dimensions of Industrie 4.0 are understood slightly differently all over the world, this paper formulates a train-the-trainer approach that ensures a global baseline understanding based on a dedicated capability maturity model. The paper concludes with a discussion of future applications for this method

Active learning based laboratory towards engineering education 4.0

Universities have a relevant and essential key role to ensure knowledge and development of competencies in the current fourth industrial revolution called Industry 4.0. The Industry 4.0 promotes a set of digital technologies to allow the convergence between the information technology and the operation technology towards smarter factories. Under such new framework, multiple initiatives are being carried out worldwide as response of such evolution, particularly, from the engineering education point of view. In this regard, this paper introduces the initiative that is being carried out at the Technical University of Catalonia, Spain, called Industry 4.0 Technologies Laboratory, I4Tech Lab. The I4Tech laboratory represents a technological environment for the academic, research and industrial promotion of related technologies. First, in this work, some of the main aspects considered in the definition of the so called engineering education 4.0 are discussed. Next, the proposed laboratory architecture, objectives as well as considered technologies are explained. Finally, the basis of the proposed academic method supported by an active learning approach is presented.Postprint (published version