Technology & Research in the Pilot Factory Industry 4.0 at our Factory Planning Event

On November 6th, the event “Factory Planning – from the first idea to successful operation” took place in the Pilot Factory 4.0 in Vienna. DELTA, step2solution and Fraunhofer Austria as organizers presented best practice examples from factory planning projects. Both successfully completed projects such as those for Haubis and Fronius as well as a current project for the company FACC were presented.Both successfully completed projects such as those for Haubis and Fronius as well as a current project for the company FACC were presented. “After having been allowed to plan factories for FACC since 1994, we are currently working on a new plant together with Fraunhofer Austria in Croatia”, explains Konrad Scheibl of DELTA about the project.

Wolfgang Waldhäusl of step2solution emphasizes what has to be taken into account already during the planning phase:“Not to be neglected is the fact that the full benefit of an optimally planned factory can only be achieved if the integration of the people involved and thus the change process starts at the same time as the planning.”

In addition to new construction projects, this time the main focus was on how existing production facilities can be used in the best possible way in the current market situation, after the last few years have brought rapid growth in many production companies. Presentations on the basics of factory planning alternated with interactive World Cafe tables where current projects and digital tools such as GrAPPA and the Digital Data Environment Datenpool were presented. Datenpool is used for optimal storage, processing and communication in projects. The participants already got first insights into the Datenpool app, which will be available from January 2020.

Digital Data Environment Datenpool with new app from January 2020 Material flow optimization with GrAPPA from Fraunhofer Austria

3D printing, robots and sensors

During the guided tour through the pilot factory, the participants were introduced to the latest technical possibilities of the industry. The production of components with robots is already well advanced and has some advantages in the factory. Many exciting research projects for better workflows and human-robot collaborations will be carried out in the pilot factory of the future. Presentation of novelties in simulation and Co/ Photo: Ivana Jovic

Not to forget: Humans and the environment

Millions of people in the EU are employed in manufacturing. Therefore, it is important to support these people in the best possible way and to use technological possibilities as support as well as a guarantor for the competitiveness of local production”, explains Titanilla Komenda from Fraunhofer Austria. Robots and assistance systems relieve the strain on employees and support them in increasingly complex and rapidly changing processes. This promotes creative human work and entrusts the robots with monotonous tasks. A modern factory can no longer ignore the issue of climate protection. However, sustainable investments are worthwhile if they are planned in time. With Impacting.Work, sustainable subsidy management is simple and uncomplicated; especially in the area of energy-saving, attractive subsidy subsidies are possible and support the implementation of energy efficiency measures by reducing the investment costs. The participants had the opportunity to chat with the speakers and other visitors during a nice dinner and end the evening in a relaxed atmosphere. One participant sums up:“There was a lot of input for our company and the event was a great opportunity to exchange ideas with other participants about factory planning projects”.