Reengineering of Factory Planning Process for the Realization of Digital Factory 4.0

Abstract

In order to be competitive on the market as a company, entrepreneurial processes must be constantly adapted to new requirements. An important factor for competitiveness is the targeted design of the factory. Factory planning must identify future requirements for the entire factory at an early stage and transfer them to a suitable factory structure. If this does not happen, the ability of companies to change will be restricted. In order to counter this risk, the digital factory with its digital tools and methods provides a solid basis for assisting planners with the design and realizing the required goals for the factory. Using modern digital assistance systems in factory planning, relevant planning restrictions can be identified and the planning status can be visualized and validated. It is unclear what effects the new requirements and in some cases disruptive changes will have on the classic factory planning process. This article discusses the use of business process modeling to identify, model, analyze and adapt classic factory planning processes. The goal is to generate futureproof factory planning processes. These form the basis for adapting classic tools and methods at the digital factory to the new processes. The digital factory 4.0 is created.