Recap: Smart MES and Rethink Smart Manufacturing Berlin June 2023

What a great experience sharing knowledge and getting new insights in cutting-edge technologies in smart manufacturing and the leading role of MES/MOM! Both events were hosted in parallel by we.CONECT - Discover a unique B2B event experience! at the great location Maritim proArte Hotel in Berlin from 26th to 28th of June. Both events exceeded my personal expectations in terms of networking and inspiring discussions about innovative IT and OT solutions shaping the future of Smart Factory.

For sure, there have been many highlights and it was challenging to spotlight on specific topics. ?However, I am pleased to share my impressions about the following presentations and insights of state-of-the-art concepts on #AI and #ML to design the #SmartFactory revealing current #MES market trends.

Major attention I have paid on the further development of MES solutions to MOM (Manufacturing Operations Management) aiming on the optimization of manufacturing processes in real time, especially by using predictive approaches. Particularly the following insights have been very inspiring:

-?????????It was very exciting to take a closer look at best practices to drive MOM implementation in discrete production. Michael Reisinger illustrated the importance of defining use cases and required functions and discussed the impact of technical and organizational aspects in the context of change management.

-?????????Low Code – a buzzword on everyone's lips. Andreas Rudl explained how customer-specific processes can be mapped with low code and workflow engine in a release-capable, cost-effective and flexible way. By using a low code tool, tailor-made, individualized user interfaces can be realized with little effort. In addition, the workflow engine can be used to flexibly adapt the software to the respective customer processes. A comprehensive API library is the basis for the release capability of the system.

-?????????Amazing insights on IT systems landscape for order processing were provided by Sebastian Junglas with focus on modularization as the key to success by replacing monolithic IT systems. Furthermore, the impulsive panel discussion on the future of production IT, especially addressing the question “standardized versus individual” – with the participation of Tobias Schr?er , FIR an der RWTH Aachen , has provided valuable insights.

-?????????A special highlight were the best practices presented by keynote speaker Gunther Boehner under the title "The smart factory at BMW - how to achieve a significant increase in efficiency in production" with exciting and at the same time inspiring success stories from the effective implementation of Industry4.0 technologies in the production. The BMW Smart Factory enables the continuous optimization of manufacturing processes through the use of big data and machine learning. The quality is increased and costs reduced through the use of AI for data analysis in real time, as impressively shown in the use case of test drives after final assembly.

-?????????In the discussion led by Martin Strempel with participants from science and industry, it was exciting to see which are the challenges and pitfalls in implementing AI in the production environment. And how to overcome the same by an intelligent AI strategy to implement scalable and affordable solutions that match the needs and can grow with the company’s AI maturity.

-?????????Last but not least, the "Smart Factory Navigator" workshop showed exciting insights into a tool that supports the selection of the appropriate MES/MOM solution from a comprehensive IT system landscape. In the discussion with the workshop participants, it was also interesting to see which different customer-specific requirements such a system has to fulfil. The "Smart Factory Navigator" is a matchmaking platform for industrial companies on their way to the Smart Factory presented by Adrian Rüedy und André Ziemke .

?I look forward to leveraging the new relationships and insights I acquired to contribute further to the industry 4.0 transformation. If we haven't connected yet, I invite you to reach out, as I am eager to expand my network and continue learning from fellow industry enthusiasts.

Looking forward to meeting you again at the next Industry 4.0, Smart Manufacturing or MES/MOM event!

#SmartManufacturing #industry4 #IT #OT #BigData #ITAC #MaritimHotel