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The yard assignment in automobile terminals plays an essential role for the entire planning process. Due to short planning cycles and volatile planning information, the yard assignment determines the planning performance. This article analyses the effects and interdependencies of yard assignment planning. On this basis, this paper presents an approach for deriving and evaluating autonomous control methods for a dynamic the yard assignment planning to improve the terminal’s overall performance.

Short product lifecycles, customer-specific products and high flexibility: Producing companies are facing the challenge that their production systems must meet constantly increasing requirements. Traditional, static interlinked production systems are increasingly reaching their limits. There is a need for a new form of assembly organization, the so-called dynamically interconnected assembly.

Space robotics is characterized by its complexity. However validation on real prototype is costly and under real environmental conditions also limited. Thus the continuous virtual commission is crucial. This article describes a new approach for an integrated system- and test specification that fulfils the current ECSS standards and enables an early verification and validation of the system under development. This approach was validated on several space robotics applications but is not limited to this field and can be applied to other areas such as autonomous driving or automation.

Designing and simulating complex mechatronic and distributed intelligent systems requires a unified system modeling and programming language. This paper presents JavaScript as a unified modeling and programming language by extending JavaScript with a semantic type system JST to bridge the gap between models and implementations. The result is the JS+ Superset language, which combines typing, modeling and programming. Different model domains and their relation to the JS+ programming model including some generic transformation rules are shown using the example of a sensory material. Finally, the multidomain simulation tool SEJAM is introduced, which combines physical and data processing simulation with agents.

In terms of Industrie 4.0, especially SMEs are facing the challenge of integrating data both vertically and horizontally. To achieve this task, common solutions such as ERP are increasingly replaced by manufacturing executions systems (MES). Due to the direct connection in production, MES allow a production control and serve as bridge between planning and manufacturing level. Data integration is furthermore the basis for an automated risk management in production. The research project quadrika develops an MES module that predictively recognizes risks and thus prevents faults.

A powerful cross-organizational collaboration within the global value chain will continue to be a major competitive advantage in the future. The way supply chains are managed today will no longer be sufficient tomorrow. Blockchain technology makes it possible to technologically map intermediary functions without manifesting the market power of just one central platform (intermediary). On the basis of Blockchain-technology, trusting (data-) networks are created across company boundaries. The technology will not solve all operational problems; however, it may help to secure processes and simplify communication.

The present paper develops a process model that enables the user to derive companyspecific implementation sequences for Industry 4.0-Methods. The model is based on input parameters. They ensure a realistic simulation and relate the resulting implementation sequence of the Industry 4.0-Methods specifically to the applying company. By applying the developed process model, the uncertainty for companies regarding Industry 4.0 is reduced and a possibility to successfully implement Industry 4.0-Methods is created.

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) combined with a dynamically interconnected assembly system promise high flexibility and transformability to cope with an increasingly dynamic and complex business environment. Existing approaches for planning AGVs operate on a high level of aggregation so that they do not address the transformability of the transport system itself. Therefore, this article introduces a planning approach that explicitly addresses the transformability of the system by planning on component level. The application is demonstrated within a Greenfield project of the worldwide active pump manufacturer WILO SE.

Companies are increasingly acquiring new technologies that enable higher quality and efficiency. Every technology adoption is also a change process which affects the employees and their work and thus needs to be managed in an optimal way. This article is focused on the importance of goal definition during a change process. To facilitate this process, a checklist with 81 goals is presented. The checklist was developed based on scientific literature and practice-oriented tools and can be used by project teams to focus their activities on a holistic change process and track the goal progress.

German sea and inland ports are of outstanding importance for Germany as a base for manufacturing and logistics. In the last decades, the port sector underwent several structural changes. Currently, the expected autonomation and digitalization of the entire supply chain create entirely new challenges for the port industry. In this context, the present article describes a planning approach for the development of an automated straddle carrier in northern German seaports. To evaluate both the reliability and the profitability of such an automated system, a planning approach, consisting of two fundamental steps, was chosen: (1) At first, in order to perform prototypical experiments, a pilot installation will be established in the area of the container terminal in Wilhelmshaven (CTW). (2) Based on this, the system’s suitability for the operative conditions in a mega container terminal is evaluated using a simulation and emulationbased planning approach.