CPT International 02/2019

ut also the design, joining and production
technologies.
Automation
Production processes and information
technologies interact closely with one
another nowadays. Products, production
plants and operating materials can
be networked with one another due to
their automation – and thus react more
intelligently and faster to improve processes
in real time. This reduces operating
costs and counteracts the shortage
of skilled labor. Lean, flexible and sustainable
production is vital for
safeguard ing future competitiveness.
New business models and market
participants
The digital transformation is subjecting
companies to more rapid change than
has ever been experienced before.
Whereby rigid corporate structures
must be disrupted and transformed.
New business models should be universally
coordinated and aligned upon the
digital changes, while reflecting a company’s
core competences.
In the global information age, information
and knowledge are available
rapidly anywhere and at any time.
There is thus global competition for
Figure 1: The use of a digital twin can
support the work of employees in factories
with, for example, sensors, robots
and virtual reality.
products, processes and services, as well
as resources. Individual customer-specific
products are increasingly forcing
themselves into the spotlight, so it is
important to create innovative products
and services. But factors such as the
alignment of the entire value creation
chain, and the search for cooperating
partners and additional competences,
involve important fundamental decisions
that must be made.
Changes in skills profiles and
personnel requirements
The requirements for personnel and
their skill sets will change a lot in
future. Companies increasingly require
skilled employees with a comprehensive
knowledge of IT, as well as an awareness
of process, production and logistical
structures. Specialists will be needed
with a deep understanding of planning
and the implementation of complex
interactive data-based work processes.
The digital transformation will therefore
not only lead to employees being
supported by machines and robots, but
also to new jobs with new qualification
requirements.
All these megatrends have profound
effects on the development of products
and processes within the factory. The
upcoming changes should be exploited
as opportunities to fundamentally
shape the company of the future and
thus meet new paradigms. From the
factory planner’s point-of-view, the
planning methods will remain the same
– only the content, structures and markets
will be different. Whereby the
objective will be to plan the factory of
the future in such a way that it operates
highly efficiently, its products and processes
are self-monitoring, short delivery
times can be guaranteed, and production
waste and rejects are reduced
to a minimum.
Digitalized processes in the
foundry
Corporate processes are continuously
being permeated by the technologies of
digitalization – so the cycles of production
factories are also changing. New
technologies must be integrated into
the company’s own solutions in order to
cope with this change. Whereby the
existing value creation chain, and all
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