Challenges in the Engineering of Adaptable and Flexible Industrial Factories

To encounter the challenges of faster changing markets and growing individualization of customer requests as well as to efficiently deal with internal disturbances like machine failures, an enhanced adaptability and flexibility of industrial factories is required. In this paper, challenges in the engineering of adaptable and flexible factories are highlighted, which remain unsolved from an industrial point of view. For this purpose, some general challenges are derived from the Industry 4.0 application scenarios “seamless and dynamic engineering of production systems” and “adaptable factory”. Selected general challenges are detailed based on typical engineering tasks ranging from the design of a new production system and the engineering of its self-orchestration capabilities to safety and product quality aspects. Solutions for these challenges will be essential for the future of adaptable and flexible factories.