process optimization

In the connected world, digital twins open up completely new possibilities: they virtually replicate physical systems, processes, or products. However, key challenges remain, including the collection of current product data. This issue of Industry 4.0 Science covers a wide range of topics, from the basic concept of the digital twin to its benefits in procurement and its use in supply chain management.

Functional safety (safety) and cyber security (security) are key aspects of modern industry and technology. Safety aims to minimize risks posed by system malfunctions. This includes measures to protect people and the environment from failures and errors within systems. Security focuses on protecting systems and networks from digital attacks. The primary security objectives include ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability. A joint consideration of safety and security is essential for the future of the process industry, as both the physical safety and digital integrity of modern systems must be ensured. In industrial practice, this creates a field of tension: measures to enhance security can negatively impact safety and vice versa. This article analyzes relevant standards and regulations, presents key approaches for the integrated consideration of safety and security, and highlights areas of further research.

The production of cooked ham involves a number of challenges. In production, cuts of meat are put through in a multi-stage curing and cooking process involving brine. This can lead to fluctuations in quality due to structural defects in the meat. The result: the brine is not optimally absorbed. An AI model trained on historical data intends to solve the problem.

The logistics industry offers numerous opportunities for data-driven solutions, such as improving the part feeding problem in assembly line industries. A data-based approach for will lead to an improvement of cost-effectiveness through optimized processes, resource utilization, and consistent supply to the assembly line. The generated approach is a mixed integer programming model which considers limited storage space, uses constraints, and various cost factors related to transport, replenishment, and picking.

Many departments have already recognized the enormous increase in efficiency and personnel relief from routine activities through process automation. These digital thought leaders have begun to automate office processes using new technologies such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), low code in the Microsoft Power Platform or in SAP. However, the positive experiences often remain in individual departments. Due to the lack of a strategic superstructure, companies as a whole have not yet succeeded in systematically transferring the added values to all areas. The organizational solution for this is called a "Center of Automation". Sometimes it is enough for the team to consist of two members to bring an overarching, digital process mindset into a company. (Only in German)

An investigation of Industry 4.0 project examples of selected companies with a focus on possible resulting business model innovations shows that these innovations can certainly be triggered by Industry 4.0 projects. How-ever, the results of our investigation also show that the share of business model innovations with 22% out of the 158 selected companies is, however, at a rather low range. Disruptive business model innovations are mainly found in companies of the manufacturing industry. Their focus is no longer only on the production or processing of products, but also on a clear added value for the customer. In this article, these aspects are further elaborated and selected study results are presented.

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.

The presented QuickCheck enables a short and efficient analysis, understanding and modeling of as-is business processes in mid-size companies. Root causes of elaborated optimization potential of those analyzed business processes will be identified. Needed actions are qualified using an effect to cost portfolio analysis by relevance. Based on the portfolio analysis human resources can be utilized effectively in resulting projects which can be executed efficiently.

Cash-pooling solutions constitute for certain problems in companies and groups of companies useful tools to optimize or improve specific business aspects. Essential for an efficient and fast implementation is that the situation is well described, an economic calculation is prepared, the tax and legal points are checked and the accounting staff is involved in the change process. Only if these preliminary analyses are successfully concluded, the next steps in the drafting and subsequent implementation into operational business can be followed. The experience of several projects shows that no serious changes are needed in daily business, but certain processes can be optimized to create free capacities for important tasks. In addition to process optimization under certain cash-pooling structures the opportunity to optimize interest result and the ability to entail intra-group financing is provided.

In many industries the success of companies depends on efficient and sustainable processes: In which way higher output can be achieved by less resource consumption? Many process optimization projects improve single processes but not the whole process chain. Thus a high amount of potentials of resource efficiency are unutilized in manufacturing. For realising enormous achievements energy and resource efficiency have to be integrated into the optimization process.