Digitalisierung

Shaping intelligent production environments is one core element of Industry 4.0, but has progressed differently in the various branches. While concepts are well advanced in automotive, SMEs within textile industry still need assistance. As demands on individualization and responsiveness are increasing, a Smart Factory for textile SMEs must be designed. The futureTEX consortium therefor is working on shaping a textile Smart Factory and implements it prototypically by using demonstrators.

The Industrial Data Space enables business based on networked data and data sovereignty at the same time. The technological solution and the certification scheme of the Industrial Data Space ensures secure access to data which companies usually do not dare to share today. This gives new opportunities and provides new data-driven business models. The Industrial Data Space® initiative consists of a research project owned by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the Industrial Date Space Association.

Currently the implementation of digital technologies in response to important competition requirements is promoted in many places. Consequently, the working environment of employees in operative logistics is going to change significantly. This article provides an overview of the possible uses of future-oriented technologies in different logistics processes as well as the thereby changing subtasks and competence requirements of operative employees in the working world 4.0.

In the context of Industry 4.0 the change and digitalisation of technical information move more closely in the focus of research. During the whole life cycle of a product, relevant information arises, that has to be stored appropriately. Future industrial applications require adaptive information management, e.g., individual and appropriate delivery of data, connection of information, target-oriented search or visualisation of information. The focus of this contribution is on challenges of the digitalization of technical documentations with respect to Industry 4.0 paradigms. The handling of the technical documentation over the complete lifecycle of a product is discussed.

Digitization opens extensive opportunities to gather real time information, exchange them and use them for a variety of different purposes. In industry, the related developments are referred to as the transition to Industry 4.0. They relate to the workplace design as well as to the alignment of business strategies and the underlying business models.

Industry 4.0 not only changes products, processes and work organisation, but also the understanding of leadership. Manager in future are visionaries, analysts and mentors who develop the strategy and new business models, designer and moderators for virtual and intercultural teams, self-reflected personalities..

As the digitization of production processes advances, it influences many areas. In addition to the intra corporate structures and inter enterprise supply chains, it even has an impact on social structures. The progress includes the whole range of changes from the digitization of production processes to their data-driven optimization using intelligent feedback processes. In the end it will result in the combination of the real world with the digital world. To build up this digitization of the value chains, the human relations departments, the forms of communication and cooperation as well as the process management have to change. But to be successful on the way of digitization, new skills are necessary. To obtain these skills, the forms and techniques of the qualification acquisition need to be adapted.

The article deals with competences for the implementation of the Industrial Internet whose further development is rather open. Statements on competences are made in the context of extreme scenarios. Concrete requirements depend on combinations of technology and organization which companies choose. So, an - supported - adaptable continuing training is important in which employees learn to carry out changing tasks in the actual work process. The article points to training forms which support competence development for digitalization of industry.

Industry 4.0 is one of the most frequently used term - in context to improved productivity, flexibility and securing the standard of living in Germany and Europe. In spite of the various initiatives that primarily focus on the formulation of the technical requirements, there is currently no common understanding in terms of content and implementation. With the goal to estimate the degree of implementation and define future potential projects, this article defines a comprehensive and pragmatic rating system. Based on industrial studies and individual professional experiences, various criteria are captured and used. There are already two use case demonstrations in real industrial applications.

In hardly any other sector have the production conditions changed so rapidly in recent years as they have in the automotive industry: An increasing variety of models, greater variety, greater segmentation and the increasingly international nature of automobile production require efficient supplier plants with greater production depth. Suppliers who want to compete therefore have to continuously and flexibly adapt their processes to the dynamics of the major manufacturers. At the forefront of this is the company IT: From this it is expected that more and more formerly analogous processes will be reproduced digitally. But digitization is only possible with great knowledge of the industry and individually tailored solutions.