Autor: Niklas Kreggenfeld

The increase of complexity in the field of production due to “Industrie 4.0” causes also a rapid increase of the complexity of tasks on the shopfloor level. Thus, efficient methods for the systematic identification of the competence deficits of the employees as well as new forms of knowledge management for an adequate administration of knowledge have to be established.

As a result of continuously increasing economic constraints for the producing sector in Germany due to competitors from low-wage countries, production paradigms are changing substantially. This paradigm shift is characterized by rapidly advancing automation processes. Hence, highly complex Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS) are developed and put into practice. In combination with decreasing numbers of staff and the resulting loss of knowledge, this leads to a deficit of competence required to handle the increasing complexity of CPPS. As a result, a need for innovative assistance systems arises for the support of the remaining employees. The given article describes the challenges and problems and drafts a potential technical solution as well as challenges concerning organization and staff.

The steadily alternating requirements for industrial companies implicate the challenge to enhance production systems. In such a turbulent as well as dynamic environment, companies must be enabled to act and react quickly. Therefore they have to be equipped with appropriate technologically and organizationally realizable as well as economically rentable options. Within this paper, a methodical approach for a systematic and individual configuration of production systems is presented in order to solve the depicted problems.