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Industry 4.0 and digitalisation are also increasingly finding their way into everyday production processes in SMEs. The focus is e. g. on assistance systems that support employees in their work. Resulting communication is significantly facilitated and at the same time the required information is available at the appropriate workplace at the right time. The ‘Mittelstand 4.0 Kompetenzzentrum Chemnitz‘ has dedicated itself to this challenge together with two SMEs.

Digitization and related technologies extend the possibility of work design. As companies face the challenge of being able to respond to changing market conditions with agility, digital technologies are creating new ways to increase work flexibility in response to the need for better employee work-life balance. It is important to consider both the needs and requirements of employees and companies and to find satisfactory solutions for both sides. The present article describes how flexible work design is currently used in companies and how the technologies of digitization can be classified and brought together. Based on a structured literature analysis on the state of the art of the potential of flexible work, the article shows the synergy effects of cyber-physical systems, cloud computing and the Internet of Things as the basis for a consensual solution of the needs of companies and their employees.

In order to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the field of large-scale plant construction, the requirements relevant for construction site logistics planning as well as the planning and controlling of logistics processes in large-scale plant construction using digital models are being investigated within the framework of the research project BIMLog. In this paper, the planning-relevant requirements and their description are presented in an ontology as the basis of a digital planning.

The ongoing digital transformation brings pressure to adapt, but also potential for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the textile and clothing industry. High investment costs for new technologies, insufficient employee qualifications and a lack of standards are examples of obstacles that explain the reluctance of many SMEs to digitalize. There is therefore a need for SME-specific information, both in terms of possible solutions and specific implementations, as well as support for the initiation and realization of implementation projects. The competence center “Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Textil vernetzt”, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), is intended to meet these needs, illustrate the potential of digitization and networking, and show SMEs how to get there.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has changed profoundly the entrepreneurial environment. In particular, smaller companies have difficulties putting 4.0 paradigms into practice. If one considers that small and medium-sized enterprises form the backbone of the European economy, then it becomes all the more obvious which leverage effect suitable implementation concepts for SMEs can have. The following article therefore presents an evaluation model for the definition and prioritization of Industry 4.0 implementation measures, which is based on the requirements for SMEs.

Digitalen Plattformen im Kontext von Industrie 4.0 werden zahlreiche Potenziale zugeschrieben. Allerdings birgt deren Implementierung und Nutzung einige Herausforderungen, insbesondere für kleine und mittlere Unternehmen. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Herausforderungen durch digitale Plattformen mithilfe von qualitativ-empirischen Interviews von 83 Experten aus mittelständischen deutschen Industrieunternehmen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass unter anderem Herausforderungen in Bezug auf Vertrauen, Konkurrenzdenken und Koordinationsaufwand existieren. Aus den Ergebnissen können strategische Handlungsempfehlungen abgeleitet werden, wie mittelständische Unternehmen den Herausforderungen begegnen können, um die Potenziale von digitalen Plattformen zu heben.

Complexity of construction projects requires continuous documentation. Within the framework of the mPRO research project, a software-supported functional model is being developed in cooperation with community4you AG for flexible project documentation. In this article, project environment factors are considered as the basis for a successful integration of mobile technology.

Process modeling represents a challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises. In most cases, the added value is not recognized and is therefore rarely used. This article shows the potential of process modeling in order picking processes. The focus is on the documentation of the processes as well as their execution. Deficits in companies are pointed out and clarified, how the process modeling can solve these. Above all in the management of different process variants adaptive process modeling can show advantages. The resulting adaptive process models form the basis for making processes executable.

The digitalisation of the working world leads to the need and at the same time to the possibility of qualifying employees in a context-oriented, individual and process-oriented way. The challenge in this context is the target-oriented and coordinated use of different learning forms and systems. The present contribution provides an approach for combining content-related and structural gamification in e-learning and the increase of motivation for e-learning as well as knowledge consolidation through mobile learning by means of a game application tailored to the sector of application. To this end, the need to adapt education to digital change is described at the beginning, the pillars of the envisaged concept (gamification, e-learning and mobile learning) are classified, an implementation of the application case of the maintenance of wind turbines is delivered and, finally, the results of the evaluation as well as the added value of this contribution are discussed.

In Germany, Big-Data is frequently associated with Industry 4.0. With regard to China, some publications focused upon the legal and ethical issues of the so-called social credit system, but offered little overview concerning the general aspects of Big-Data. This paper aims to deliver a more comprehensive outline of the Big-Data developments, which have been observed for the last seven years in China. In particular, the contribution delineates the application scenarios and governmental politics related to Big-Data and further deepens the insights by providing two concise case studies, one on mechanical engineering manufacturers and the other on Big-Data activities in the province of Guizhou. At the economic level, this article compares the recent Big-Data revenues in Germany and China.