Digitalisierung

Improving Documentation Quality and Creating Time for Core Activities

Improving Documentation Quality and Creating Time for Core Activities

Success factors for implementing AI-based documentation systems in nursing care
Sophie Berretta ORCID Icon, Elisabeth Liedmann ORCID Icon, Paul-Fiete Kramer ORCID Icon, Anja Gerlmaier, Christopher Schmidt
Demographic change is accompanied by both a growing demand for care and a shortage of qualified nursing staff. Consequently, AI-based technologies are increasingly becoming a focus of care-related innovations. Their aim is to reduce workload pressure, save time, and enhance the attractiveness of the nursing profession. Using the example of AI-supported documentation systems for admission interviews, this article examines to what extent such systems can contribute to improvements in work processes and care quality, focusing on the perspectives of nursing professionals and nursing experts. The results indicate potential for workload relief, enhanced documentation quality, and the reallocation of time resources toward direct patient care. However, realizing these potentials requires a human-centered and context-sensitive implementation approach.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 42 | 2026 | Edition 1 | Pages 154-160 | DOI 10.30844/I4SE.26.1.146
Empathic Assembly Assistance

Empathic Assembly Assistance

Combining AI-based data analysis and empathic human digital twins
Matthias Lück ORCID Icon, Katharina Hölzle ORCID Icon, Christian Saba-Gayoso, Joachim Lentes
Industrial companies in Germany face demographic change and stagnating productivity in an increasingly complex world. Manual assembly remains essential for complex, low-volume products, yet productivity and quality lag due to human variability. This paper introduces a concept and demonstrator for an empathic assembly assistance system that merges a human digital twin and AI-based screwdriver data analytics within a modular architecture. Tightening anomalies are classified, linked to inferred worker states and translated into information and recommendations.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 41 | 2025 | Edition 5 | Pages 6-13 | DOI 10.30844/I4SE.25.5.6
I4S 4/2025: Smart Logistics

I4S 4/2025: Smart Logistics

Sustainable, resilient processes along the entire value chain
Logistics is entering a new era. Climate change and geopolitical uncertainties are shifting the focus to resilience and sustainability. The concept of smart logistics is gaining importance. But what exactly makes logistics smart, and how can it help us organize our societies and the economy? Approaches such as predictive analytics, demand analysis, and machine learning show why smart logistics is more than just a technological trend.
Intelligent Digital Twins in Production

Intelligent Digital Twins in Production

Driving efficiency and accelerating agility in production planning
Cedric Kiener ORCID Icon, Steffen Schwarzer
Intelligent digital twins (IDT), as the next evolutionary stage of digital twins, have the potential to accelerate and optimize processes within companies. The intelligent twin presented here independently analyzes 3D CAD data and automatically conducts a physical simulation of the assembly. Utilizing the IDT optimized assembly, reduces production costs and accelerates the production planning process. This specific use case illustrates the broader possibilities and advantages of IDTs, offering valuable insights for their transferability.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 41 | 2025 | Edition 3 | Pages 84-90
Digital Twins for Production and Logistics Systems

Digital Twins for Production and Logistics Systems

Challenges and focus areas in implementation and use
Deike Gliem ORCID Icon, Nicolas Wittine ORCID Icon, Sigrid Wenzel ORCID Icon
For a successful implementation as well as sustainable use and maintenance of digital twins for production and logistics systems, it is necessary to identify relevant use cases and master the associated challenges. This paper analyzes scientific literature on common applications and challenges in the implementation of digital twins for the planning and operation of production and logistics systems. To confirm the practical relevance of the results, the results of an empirical survey have also been included. The findings are used to derive key focus areas for the successful implementation and long-term use of digital twins in production and logistics.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 41 | 2025 | Edition 3 | Pages 42-49 | DOI 10.30844/I4SE.25.3.42
Enabling the Future of Manufacturing with Digital Twins

Enabling the Future of Manufacturing with Digital Twins

Opportunities and obstacles
Javad Ghofrani, Darian Lemke, Tassilo Söldner
Digital twins connect physical and digital systems, furthering efficiency, enabling predictive maintenance, and allowing the production of more customized products. Despite these advantages, challenges such as high costs, data synchronization, and security risks hinder widespread adoption. This article explores the potential of digital twins and examines key barriers to integration and implementation, also considering some industrial applications including additive manufacturing as a relevant use case.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 41 | Edition 3 | Pages 72-81
Transforming Customer Impulse into Procurement Action

Transforming Customer Impulse into Procurement Action

How digital twins strengthen customer orientation in supply management
Dominik Oehlschläger, Andreas H. Glas, Michael Eßig
Supply management provides an organization with the resources that it needs but does not produce itself. However, intraorganizational needs are not isolated. They ultimately serve to fulfill the demands of external (end) customers. Traditionally, supply management receives information from its internal customers, i.e. from other functional areas such as production planning, logistics, or marketing. Information on (end) customer demands reaches supply management, if at all, indirectly via these other functional areas, which often pass on information after interpreting it. This article discusses how digital twins of (end) customer demands can provide all functional areas with precise, near-real-time data.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 41 | Edition 3 | Pages 118-124
Hybrid Learning Landscapes for Technical Concepts

Hybrid Learning Landscapes for Technical Concepts

The digitalization of training via practical concepts and targeted networking
Sebastian Anselmann ORCID Icon, Jessica Wädt, Uwe Faßhauer ORCID Icon
The Länder- und Phasenübergreifende Interface (LPI) (engl. Cross-Regional and Cross-Phase Interface) promotes the sustainable digitalization of vocational and technical education through the systematic provision of expertise and innovative networking formats. The focus is on hybrid learning landscapes (HLL), which interlink physical and digital learning spaces to create individualized, practical learning environments. Innovative approaches such as learning factories, VR/AR and learning analytics are integrated.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 41 | Edition 3 | Pages 126-132
Open-Source and Cost-Effective Digital Twin

Open-Source and Cost-Effective Digital Twin

A case study with two weeks to succeed
Shantall Cisneros Saldana ORCID Icon, Sonali Pratap, Parth Punekar, Sampat Acharya, Heike Markus ORCID Icon
Digital Twin (DT) adoption remains a challenge due to high costs, complexity and lack of skills. This study proposes a cost-effective, TRL 5-validated DT model that can be built using open-source and office suite tools within just two weeks. Integrating real-time sensor data, predictive analytics, anomaly detection and notification, the model improves efficiency and sustainability in agriculture. Even with cloud service constraints, the system delivers a 7.76% average relative error and rapid, automated notifications. The findings show how open-source in combination with common commercial tools technologies can make advanced digital tools accessible to all, creating scalable, human-centered, and affordable solutions in line with Industry 5.0 principles.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 41 | Edition 3 | Pages 62-68 | DOI 10.30844/I4SE.25.3.62
Work-Integrated Learning in Industry 4.0

Work-Integrated Learning in Industry 4.0

A qualitative analysis of various assistance systems in assembly
Kathleen Warnhoff ORCID Icon
In the era of Industry 4.0, many industrial companies are facing major transformations. In the process of digitalization, factory management is adopting new technologies such as cognitive assistance systems, which has led to changes in work processes. Regarding assembly in the metal and electrical industries, it is unclear to what extent this development has promoted work-integrated learning. Therefore, the topic of this paper is a qualitative analysis that explores employees' perceptions of the learning opportunities and risks presented by cognitive assistance systems. Results: Not all assembly employees benefit equally from these new developments.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 41 | Edition 2 | Pages 20-29 | DOI 10.30844/I4SE.25.2.20
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