Umsetzungsempfehlungen für das Zukunftsprojekt Industrie 4.0

Executive Summary
Germany has one of the most competitive manufacturing
industries in the world and is a global leader in
the manufacturing equipment sector. This is in no
small measure due to Germany’s specialisation in research,
development and production of innovative manufacturing
technologies and the management of
complex industrial processes. Germany’s strong machinery
and plant manufacturing industry, its globally
significant level of IT competences and its know-how
in embedded systems and automation engineering
mean that it is extremely well placed to develop its
position as a leader in the manufacturing engineering
industry. Germany is thus uniquely positioned to tap
into the potential of a new type of industrialisation:
Industrie 4.0.
The first three industrial revolutions came about as a
result of mechanisation, electricity and IT. Now, the introduction
of the Internet of Things and Services into
the manufacturing environment is ushering in a fourth
industrial revolution. In the future, businesses will establish
global networks that incorporate their machinery,
warehousing systems and production facilities in
the shape of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). In the
manufacturing environment, these Cyber-Physical
Systems comprise smart machines, storage systems
and production facilities capable of autonomously exchanging
information, triggering actions and controlling
each other independently. This facilitates fundamental
improvements to the industrial processes
involved in manufacturing, engineering, material usage
and supply chain and life cycle management. The
smart factories that are already beginning to appear
employ a completely new approach to production.
Smart products are uniquely identifiable, may be located
at all times and know their own history, current
status and alternative routes to achieving their target
state. The embedded manufacturing systems are vertically
networked with business processes within factories
and enterprises and horizontally connected to
dispersed value networks that can be managed in real
time – from the moment an order is placed right
through to outbound logistics. In addition, they both
enable and require end-to-end engineering across the
entire value chain.
Industrie 4.0 holds huge potential. Smart factories allow
individual customer requirements to be met and mean
that even one-off items can be manufactured profitably.
In Industrie 4.0, dynamic business and engineering
processes enable last-minute changes to production
and deliver the ability to respond flexibly to disruptions
and failures on behalf of suppliers, for example. End-toend
transparency is provided over the manufacturing
process, facilitating optimised decision-making. Industrie
4.0 will also result in new ways of creating value
and novel business models. In particular, it will
provide start-ups and small businesses with the opportunity
to develop and provide downstream services.
In addition, Industrie 4.0 will address and solve some
of the challenges facing the world today such as
resource and energy efficiency, urban production and
demographic change. Industrie 4.0 enables continuous
resource productivity and efficiency gains to
be delivered across the entire value network. It allows
work to be organised in a way that takes demographic
change and social factors into account. Smart
assistance systems release workers from having to
perform routine tasks, enabling them to focus on creative,
value-added activities. In view of the impending
shortage of skilled workers, this will allow older workers
to extend their working lives and remain productive
for longer. Flexible work organisation will enable
workers to combine their work, private lives and continuing
professional development more effectively, promoting
a better work-life balance.
Global competition in the manufacturing engineering
sector is becoming fiercer and fiercer and Germany is
not the only country to have recognised the trend to deploy
the Internet of Things and Services in manufacturing
industry. Moreover, it is not just competitors in Asia that
pose a threat to German industry – the US is also taking
measures to combat deindustrialisation through programmes
to promote “advanced manufacturing”.
Industrie 4.0 9
Executive Summary