The factory of the future
(Extracts)
Interview with the Managing Director of FORCAM-ENISCO
What characterizes the factory of the future? How can smart manufacturing succeed? What should be in
the digital toolbox for the shop floor? A conversation with Dr. Ullrich Ochs, co-managing director of FORCAM GmbH and ENISCO by FORCAM GmbH. He holds a doctorate in physics and is responsible for technology and development.
The factory of the future – what does it look like,
what characterizes it?
Dr. Ullrich Ochs: The factory of the future will be largely digital, i.e., data-driven. It is characterized by the digital networking of parts, products, and processes. The key term here is Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In this context, IIoT, digitization, and data management are not ends in themselves but represent a large and growing toolbox of software solutions with which manufacturing companies can achieve specific goals faster and more easily. The ultimate goal of every company is to secure its competitiveness. To achieve this, it must be able to operate efficiently and cost-consciously, act flexibly, and produce sustainably. Only digitally networked manufacturing can optimally support precisely these goals – profitability, resilience, and sustainability.
Why is this only possible digitally?
Dr. Ullrich Ochs: Because today’s markets demand one thing above all: speed with consistent quality and reliable delivery. In addition, customers want product ranges that offer a greater number of variants and innovations as often as possible. Product life cycles are shortening accordingly. These market requirements necessitate ever faster adaptation of production processes, i.e., adaptation to the cardiovascular system of the manufacturing industry. A company’s factory or factory network must be able to operate with corresponding flexibility. This flexibility in complex, often global production processes can only be achieved through digital technologies. Only through digital technologies can competitive production be organized today – efficient, sustainable, flexible, and open to innovation
“The factory of the future will be data-driven – or it will no longer be competitive”
What does this mean for factory IT service providers like ENISCO and FORCAM??
Dr. Ullrich Ochs: For factory IT service providers like our group, this means that they must deliver solutions for digital shopfloor management with the greatest possible measurable customer benefits – in terms of transparency, efficiency, and flexibility.
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