Operationalisation Of Communication Structure Requirements In Factories In The Context Of Industry 4.0

Abstract

In today's markets, customers are demanding increasingly individualised products at a consistent price and quality level. Within production, this development is associated with a decrease in batch sizes and an increase in variant-specific components. As a result, product and process complexity in factories are increasing. Given this fact, a high innovation capacity of manufacturing companies is more important than ever. This is decisively influenced by effective communication processes between employees and machines, which can be brought about by a suitable design of the communication structures in factories. In this context it should be noted that changes in the external environment of a factory can lead to a need for change in the internal factory structures and thus also in the communication structures. The third industrial revolution can be cited as an example of this. The accompanying automation not only changed the technology used in the factories, but also the organisational structure, which ultimately led to a need for change in the communication structures. If such needs for change are ignored or remain unrecognised, this can severely impair the innovative capacity and thus the success of manufacturing companies. Especially against the background of current trends, such as Industry 4.0, this appears to be of utmost relevance. Still a comprehensive and generally valid description of communication aspects in the context of Industry 4.0 is not yet fully available. The lack of specific understanding of communication in the context of Industry 4.0 leads to the inability to design effective communication concepts in factory systems. Therefore, existing systems remain exposed to undesired effects and leave desired effects underutilised. In order to close this research gap, a holistic model for the description, evaluation and the design of effective communication concepts in factories in the context of Industry 4.0 is in development within the frame of "Komm 4.0".