The comprehensive use of data, the digitalization of processes and AI-based assistance systems pave the way for lean, holistic production systems – a basic requirement for increasing productivity and improving competitiveness.

Holistic approach

The industry working group “Holistic Production Systems 4.0” of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA is addressing the question of how lean management can be further developed with digital solutions. Adesso, one of the leading IT service providers in Germany, is forming the third working group together with the industrial companies Siemens and Liebherr and the Fraunhofer IPA in the first half of 2025. A total of seven workshops are planned. From January to July 2025, the managers of the manufacturing companies will gain insights into the applied research of the Fraunhofer IPA and the digitization solutions of the partners, develop ideas for practical implementation based on this, and exchange their own best practices and experiences.

Lean Production 4.0: Digital and with people in mind

One of the industrial working group's main objectives is to address the design of future-proof production systems based on the “Lean 4.0” toolbox developed by the Fraunhofer IPA. It offers companies hundreds of solution modules in the field of digital tools and methods, which they can use to make their operational production systems future-proof and manage them in a modern way.

Implementation of new methods based on GenAI

Other key questions that the working group would like to address: What role will humans play in the future in digitized, holistic production systems? And what is the significance of human-centered assistance systems in this context? Adesso will provide some of the answers in its workshop on February 11, 2025, on the topic of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). The IT service provider will not only present innovative approaches with practical examples from implementation projects, but will also report first-hand on its experiences in implementing new methods based on GenAI.

Enormous potential

“Networking, systematic data management and the use of artificial intelligence are dramatically changing the shop floor. The opportunities for using these technologies to further streamline processes in holistic production systems and increase productivity are enormous,” says Dr. Patrick Kübler, head of the Digital Production Competence Center at Adesso. ”We look forward to exchanging ideas with the experts from Fraunhofer IPA and the participating industry representatives. The working group will provide important impetus that will advance the digitalization and competitiveness of Germany as an industrial location.”

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