Lean Production Systems for Industry 4.0 - smartLPS

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Industry 4.0 leads to a paradigm shift in process control: In future, the single work piece determines its individual production process by communicating with the various elements of the manufacturing system and navigating autonomously within the factory. Several developments are taking place in factories in order to implement this scenario (e.g. Internet of Things, Mobile Computing, Big Data). The implementation of these developments requires various information and communication technologies. In this context, most research activities have been focused on technological aspects. Only few projects are addressing intelligent work and organizational concepts in the context of industry 4.0. In particular, the effect of industry 4.0 on lean production systems (LPS) which are widely established in industry is not yet comprehensively investigated. The following basic research questions are of major interest: Which effects and interactions between industry 4.0 and LPS can be expected and how should a LPS be configured in the context of industry 4.0? Thus, the objective of the proposed research project is to explore the significance of LPS in the context of industry 4.0. First, mutual impacts of LPS and industry 4.0 based on four representative production scenarios will be analyzed. It will be determined how and to what extent the information and communication technologies of industry 4.0 influences the methods and tools of LPS. Based on the identified interactions, an LPS for industry 4.0 (smartLPS) will be developed. The smartLPS consists of principles, methods and tools analogous to the structure of existing LPS. The emphasis is placed on the exploration of a toolbox of methods for the smartLPS. Methods of the smartLPS include established methods which are still effective in the context of industry 4.0 as well as methods which are supported by the information and communication technologies of industry 4.0 to a higher extend (e.g. autonomous control of machine tools based on Quality Control Charts to support the LPS method statistical process control). Subsequently, a methodology of designing a smartLPS is developed. This methodology describes the selection and combination of smartLPS methods and tools according to the respective aims of each company. Finally, the research results are reviewed, evaluated and if necessary adjusted based on the four production scenarios. The knowledge gained from this project will enable manufacturing companies to combine and take advantage of the potentials of both: industry 4.0 and LPS. Notably, the potential which arises from the interaction of both approaches is of main interest.