The experts found that standardising factory planning processes remains a challenge
Fraunhofer IGCV, Contact Software, and Ingenics Consulting have evaluated the results of a study on holistic digital factory models, in collaboration with five partners
The study, titled 'Industrial Study on Holistic Digital Factory Models', highlights challenges and offers solutions for factory operators through eight key theses. Doctoral candidates in the field of factory planning assessed the solutions based on current research in literature.
One key finding was the transformation of factory planning, evolving into a continuous, short-cycle task that creates an essential flow of information across the entire lifecycle.
Both literature and experts agree that there is a lack of collaboration and seamless information exchange between building and production system domains. The participants discussed possible improvements, such as Building Information Modelling (BIM). Participants also consider interfaces to be sufficient, which leaves the question: Are Common Data Environments necessary? Open.
Experts have confirmed the hypothesis that while companies largely rely on Office and CAD software, the future will see simulation tools, BIM, and PLM software complementing these tools. The role of digital twins in factory planning was considered ambiguous; however, the relevance of static and dynamic data was emphasised, and the Industrial Metaverse was found to be too unexplored for practical factory planning applications.
The experts highlighted that standardising factory planning processes remains a challenge. Despite the literature offering methods, experts consider them unfamiliar or insufficient, and companies would need to customise generic methods to their individual needs and implement them as a company-wide standard.
For the authors, this exemplifies a need for further research, particularly in the areas of cross-lifecycle information consistency, the effective use of digital twins for factory planners, and the potential of the Industrial Metaverse. Additionally, it is necessary to further develop existing specialised processes and methods.
