Adaptability

Companies sometimes miss opportunities to pursue long-term people-related targets despite short-term performance targets. There is a lack of a measurable variable that shows possibilities for the pursuit of person-related targets. This paper will therefore present an approach based on a simulation-based robustness analysis that makes it possible to integrate long-term targets into production planning. By identifying critical workplaces and determining the tolerable change in the planned personnel deployment, possibilities are shown for pursuing long-term people-related targets.

Applications such as mobile or industrial robotics gain increasing autonomous capabilities. Autonomous systems can adapt dynamically to user goals, perceive the environment and solve complex tasks without human intervention. During operation, unsafe system states may occur in a priori unknown scenarios, which can lead to an impairment or a safety risk. Self-healing is an inherent and necessary property of these systems. In this article, we present an architecture of self-healing systems. Using the example of an autonomous mobile robot, we present the results and possible application in a smart factory.

The SARS-CoV-2-crisis has brought many companies into existential distress. The sudden loss of suppliers and customers as well as short-term changes in regulations and relevant information sources pose challenges for companies. The linking and visualization of information from the corporate environment with internal capabilities remain an unsolved problem. This article shows how a situation picture can help companies to act in a goal-oriented manner.

Industry 4.0 is work in progress in Germany, digital technologies such as IoT, KI, Cloud or Big Data Analytics are increasingly being introduced in companies. However, alongside technology, people and organisation are the central success factors of digital transformation. Further training, lifelong learning, agile organisation and corporate culture are becoming increasingly important in companies. Study results on the competence requirements for industrial work 4.0 show that in addition to IT and technical skills, openness, overview knowledge, interdisciplinary cooperation and agility are also required. Young professionals from NRW largely understand the importance of these competences, but show significant deficits in many of them, especially in digital competences, interdisciplinary cooperation and agility. It is necessary to promote these competences in a targeted manner during studies and further education.

In many companies there is still a lack of clarity about the “right” way to implement digitalization projects. Therefore, the article describes guidelines for the successful implementation of digitalization projects. They are derived from the experience of various practical projects and include considerations of economic efficiency as well as resources and staff. Structured as “Ten Commandments for Digitalization Projects”, they are designed to support actors in the practical implementation of digitalization projects

This article is about agility, awareness and diversity in project management. In agile project management and especially in the working world 4.0, the importance of cooperation in diverse teams is emphasized again and again. Diversity does not only comprise crossing cultural, organizational and professional boundaries, but also integrating people who are sometimes excluded from communication in the working world. Deaf people belong to this group of people who are often disadvantaged regarding their job opportunities. Daily.Srum.Diverse offers a possibility to work together agilely in various teams and to bring together agility and diversity.

The past few years have shown that Digitization is not just a fad of the millennium, but rather the next inevitable step in technological evolution. It was and is a development that affects everything and everyone, both socially and industrially. But digital transformation requires more than just the conversion of individual processes in the company or the introduction of new technologies. Above all, it requires sustained agility in development and production, as well as ongoing employee training in order to be able to meet this demand for agility as a company.

In times of digital transformation, it is important to counteract the associated challenges in the work world. This requires resilience and flexibility on the part of employees. Resilience has a positive effect on the health and performance of individuals. Therefore, organizations should support their employees in developing a positive attitude towards the unknown and increasing complexity, aspects that are often associated with new technologies. In this article, two exemplary corporate actions for organizational development aiming to strengthen the resilience of employees are explained.