Led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI), the collaborative project aims to deliver results by 2021 showing how to optimally adapt a company’s work environment to the requirements of digitized production. To this end, the six project partners are developing specific digitization solutions based on case studies in mechanical engineering, medical technology and plastics processing. Priority is being given to making adjustments on two levels: changes to a company’s corporate structures as well as its cultural conditions.

The points to be clarified include new ways of integrating employees into digital manufacturing processes, restructuring hierarchies and corporate mission statements, and establishing a corporate culture that accelerates the learning process involved in using automated, networked processes. A lack of expertise on the part of their employees, in particular, is currently deterring many companies from introducing digital technologies.