A Maturity Model to Organize the Multidimensionality of Digitalization in Smart Factories

Abstract

Smart Factory concepts describe fully networked, autonomous factories and form an essential part of flexible, but still highly efficient production systems. The requirements for the further development of existing production environments towards a Smart Factory are multidimensional and vastly complex. Many companies therefore fail in the structured realization of a holistic Smart Factory concept. They either focus one dimension of the challenge or merely address the maximum penetration of powerful technologies. This chapter addresses this issue and describes a systematic development path towards a Smart Factory by means of a domain specific maturity model. Based on the analysis of existing maturity models, requirements are derived which must be considered when realizing a Smart Factory. In total, 20 design fields (e.g., degree of intelligence, communication protocols, human-machine-interface and IT security) and respective detail descriptions result from this research. They holistically structure the relevant fields of action to pursue a Smart Factory.