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The supply of production processes and buildings with thermal energy represents a significant share of the total energy demand of an industrial site. The use of industrial waste heat offers a way to reduce the external purchase of final energy. Due to the lack of transparency and the complexity of such measures, their potential often remains untapped. In the research project ETA im Bestand a user-oriented software solution was prototypically implemented. The software solution enables the development and evaluation of industrial energy concepts. Approaches from the research area of operations research and dynamic simulation are applied.

SME often encounter risks and obstacles when implementing IIoT solutions, but these challenges can be mitigated with the use of an IIoT platform. To select the appropriate platform, a decision- making approach has been developed. By choosing the right use cases, companies can directly benefit from IIoT implementation and gain a competitive edge in the market. Our research indicates that at least three applications have a favorable balance between benefits and effort. Once successfully implemented, these applications can be expanded and scaled as the company becomes more digitally proficient.

Whether it is the availability and costs of raw materials, energy and personnel or simply market and sales options, disruptions are increasingly influencing the business of manufacturing companies. In recent years, it has become clear that robustness, particularly in the face of a wide range of disruptions, cannot be countered by managing critical resources alone. From the authors' point of view, the design of robust corporate processes is part of the comprehensive approach. In this article, the importance of robust processes in the context of critically changing resources and infrastructures is demonstrated. (Only in German)

As a result of disruptions in the supply chain, enhancing resilience has become imperative. Upon reevaluating risks associated with the supply side, it is necessary to shift our perspective on inventory management. Drawing from proven and practical solutions, we should focus on implementing swift measures to bolster stock levels and transition from single sourcing to multiple sourcing. Furthermore, embracing digitization will significantly enhance the efficiency of the supply chain as well as the identification of faults. (Only in German)

Corona crisis, supply chain problems and global crises lead to growing uncertainties in the business environment of machine manufacturers and their customers. Usage-based business models offer flexible solutions to make business models more resilient and able to cope with future challenges. (Only in German)

The supply of CRM to domestic companies is threatened by disruptions (e. g. trade conflicts or shortages). Relocating production to stable regions is often not possible in the context of CRM due to geological reasons. One way out is CE. From a network perspective, the resilience must be improved and expanded to include viability. In CE for resilience improvement, a distinction must be made between ex-post and ex-ante CE. Ex-post CE is used as a reaction to a disruption and ex-ante CE reduces the probability of a disruption occurring.

Manufacturing companies of all sizes have been a popular target for hackers and cyber criminals for years - and the trend is rising. In addition to security gaps in the IT systems, OT systems, i.e. operational technology, are increasingly being targeted by attackers in the course of digitalisation and networking. The consequence: companies should secure themselves as quickly as possible. Hans-Peter Bauer, Senior Vice President Cyber EMEA at BlackBerry, explains how this is possible. (Only in German)

Digital Trust is an important prerequisite to conduct business in the digital age. However, digital trust has to be earned and cannot be taken for granted. This article discusses different aspects of digital trust and proposes a management-oriented approach to improve an organization’s trustworthiness as well as its systematic trust in others.

The aviation industry faces significant challenges in reducing the environmental impact of global air traffic. This results in the goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Innovations and new technologies must be implemented along the entire value chain to achieve this goal. In this context, investments and decisions have to be evaluated based on their potential to reduce environmental impacts. One method for operationalizing these issues is the life cycle assessment framework. This paper presents an analytical decision model for the potential assessment of LCA at aircraft manufacturers. The basis of the model is the derivation of criteria for the assessment and the identification of use cases along the value creation process. Based on the decision model, first concrete application scenarios are identified. (Only in German)

The increasing industrialization of the construction industry enables the implementation of a standardized process performance management, which can be used to analyze and control operational processes on construction sites [1]. This requires appropriate process data. The subject of this paper is the presentation of a structured procedure for process data collection based on Bluetooth Low Energy. The experiences gained in the course of field studies are used to derive opportunities and challenges and thus provide practical information on the use of BLE for process data collection. (Only in German)