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PublicationQuantitative Evaluation of Assessment Items of the Technology Audit Method for Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs)( 2023)Applied research and development (R&D) organisations strive to develop technological solutions that translate results from research and science into state-of-the-art products and services. As advanced technological capability is essential to their competitiveness, they need to be able to analyse and evaluate their technological capabilities. Hence, a tool or method is required that objectively and practically assesses the technological capability of Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) while meeting their unique requirements. The technology audit enables the assessment of the technological capability and thus the technological maturity of an RTO. It focuses on the analysis of the research activities in the R&D service areas of the RTO. This allows for a comprehensive understanding of the technologies used, the research competencies, the technologies developed, and the established technology partnerships of the RTO. In this context of the development of a suitable technology audit methodology, this paper aims to describe the process of validation of assessment items for evaluating the technological maturity of applied R&D organisations. After a brief overview of the technology audit method and the assessment dimensions and items, the focus is placed on the process of its validation. An expert survey using a questionnaire was created and used to evaluate the relevance of the 11 assessment items for the technology audit instrument in the three dimensions of Technology Base, Products & Services and Cooperation, as well as the respective aspects within each assessment item. This evaluation is intended to validate the selection of the items and to specify their respective importance to ultimately optimise the process of auditing applied R&D organisations.
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PublicationLearning Factory for Circular Economy and the Corporate Environment( 2023)Especially in times of dwindling resources, the importance of circular economy continues to grow. Challenges often arise in circular material processing due to a lack of easily accessible information. This information paves the way for a simplified and reliable decision-making process in favor of economic advantages at the end of a product lifecycle. In order to facilitate the required cooperation between all relevant partners of such a sustainable value creation system, awareness must first be raised about the respective needs of all stakeholders and benefits of targeted information sharing. To address this problem, the paper describes a Learning Factory that demonstrates how such a targeted information loop can make the idea of the circular economy technically feasible and enable better use of the advantages of processing residual materials. To be able to display the entire value creation system and the interfaces between its members, the Situation Awareness Monitor developed at Fraunhofer IPK is useda tool that combines information about the company's environment as well as internal information. The Interactive Situation Awareness Monitor is used in this mobile Learning Factory, among other things, as a system for detecting deviations and consequently triggering an order for re-manufactured material. The paper describes the setup of a sustainable value creation systems, the approach of a Learning Factory, supported by the function of the interactive Situation Awareness Monitor in this context.
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PublicationDigitalisation in the construction and woodwork sectors(Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Competence Centre on the Future of Work, 2023)
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PublicationKlimamanagement zur Verbesserung der CO2-Bilanz in der Produktion( 2023)Einzelne Klimaschutzmaßnahmen werden bereits von vielen Unternehmen erfolgreich umgesetzt. Doch oftmals fehlen ein systematischer Ansatz sowie die finanziellen Ressourcen zur Umsetzung eines konsequenten Klimaschutzes unter Beibehaltung des wirtschaftlichen Erfolgs. In diesem Beitrag wird ein Vorgehensmodell zur zielgerichteten und potenzialorientierten Ableitung und Umsetzung von Klimaschutzmaßnahmen im Rahmen eines betrieblichen Klimamanagements vorgestellt. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen des produzierenden Gewerbes.
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PublicationStudie zur Stärkung der Holzbauwirtschaft in der Metropolregion Berlin-Brandenburg(Fraunhofer IPK, 2023)Berlin verfolgt das Ziel, sich bis zum Jahr 2050 zu einer klimaneutralen Stadt zu entwickeln: Im Vergleich zur Gesamtsumme der CO2-Emissionen des Jahres 1990, sollen diese bis 2030 um mindestens 60 Prozent und bis zum Jahr 2050 um mindestens 85 Prozent verringert werden. Fast ein Drittel der CO2-Emissionen in Deutschland kann dem Gebäudebereich zugerechnet werden. Einen enormen Hebel zur Verbesserung der Klimabilanz bietet der konsequente Einsatz von Baumaterialien auf Basis nachwachsender Rohstoffe. Insbesondere der Baustoff Holz kann für die Metropolregion Berlin-Brandenburg eine zentrale Stellung zur Erreichung der Klimaziele einnehmen. Hierzu wurde bereits im Frühjahr 2021, in der Vorhabensliste1 des Strategischen Gesamtrahmens Hauptstadtregion, eine regionale Holzbau-Offensive festgehalten. Diese hat zum Ziel, die Region Berlin-Brandenburg zu einer Region des Holzbaus zu entwickeln. Damit die holzbasierte Transformation des Bauens in der Hauptstadtregion nachhaltig gelingt, ist insbesondere eine starke kreislaufwirtschaftsbasierte regionale Holzbauwirtschaft von Bedeutung.
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PublicationConceptual Approach for a Digital Value Creation Chain Within the Timber Construction Industry - Potentials and Requirements( 2023)This paper addresses the megatrend of urbanization as well as the associated challenges of climate change and its relation to sustainable manufacturing. An enormous lever for improving the climate balance is offered by the consistent use of renewable building materials. In the Berlin/Brandenburg metropolitan region, wood as a building material in particular should play a central role in achieving the climate targets. To realize this, it is not only necessary to use the potential of wood as a raw material for storing carbon, but also to embed wood construction in regional value chains and integrated digital production systems in order to be able to optimally design innovative value creation fields, new regional products and efficient material cycles for increasing sustainability. In the context of this work, the information flows along the value chain are investigated and transferred into a digital model. Existing digital concepts such as the “Open BIM” approach (Building Information Modeling) have been incorporated and shape the entirety of the value chain module developed in this paper for serial prefabrication in multi-story timber construction. Material and information flows are analyzed, interfaces between the actors are identified, value-adding factors of timber system construction are systematically examined for their effects, and industrial prefabrication is aligned with a digital model.
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PublicationTechnology Audit - Procedure for the assessment of the technological maturity of applied R&D organizations( 2022)Applied research and development (R&D) organizations - or research and technology organizations (RTOs) in a broader sense - strive to develop technological solutions that translate results from research and science into state-of-the-art products and services. This can only be achieved if technological resources and competences are effectively and efficiently used to build up competitive advantages. Therefore, the assessment of the technological capability can provide applied R&D organizations with information on strengths and weaknesses in their specific technology areas, on the basis of which technology strategies can be derived to contribute to the development and training of substantial (core) competences, which in turn improve the quality of unique and differentiating products and services. The main objective of this paper is to describe the technology audit as a procedure for evaluating the technological maturity of applied research organizations. Hence, the focus will be put on the technological capabilities needed to execute the intended research activities on the way to becoming a reference in the respective technology area. In addition, the aim of the application of the procedure is to provide a detailed insight into the working methods of research institutions with focus on the R&D portfolio (e.g. complexity of R&D projects). Furthermore, the sustainable impact of R&D projects of the applied R&D organization (e.g. optimizations of customers processes) will be discussed, as well as the used & developed technologies and the necessary competences to generate innovative solutions for the Brazilian industry.
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PublicationIdentifying the Dynamics of Intangible Resources for Industry 4.0 Adoption Process( 2022)Industry 4.0 is a socioeconomic phenomenon that affects all industries, transforming not only products, processes, and services, but also business models, organizational structures, and strategies, placing human beings at the center of this digital transformation. Researchers have already demonstrated the importance of intangible resources in the Industry 4.0 adoption process. Nevertheless, there is still a gap in empirical research on how these factors evolve during the process. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to identify how these factors influence each other across different Industry 4.0 maturity levels. To achieve this goal, a qualitative approach was used with multiple case studies comparing responses from companies at higher Industry 4.0 maturity levels and contrasting them with the responses from companies at lower levels, distilling aggregate dimensions through an inductive coding procedure. Experts evaluated the results to find relations between the aggregate dimensions, their evolution and influence on each other. As a result, a conceptual framework was developed that demonstrates the dynamics of intangible factors that could be used by any company to nurture its own Intellectual Capital as a groundwork for the adoption of Industry 4.0. Among these dynamics, the central role of engaged leaders was highlighted in developing structural capital factors. Future studies should conduct interviews with more companies from other industrial sectors as well as on the implementation and management of Intellectual Capital in manufacturing companies to assess the applicability of the proposed conceptual framework.
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PublicationMethodological procedure for the development of a qualitative and quantitative evaluation concept for project benefit assessment( 2022)The fourth industrial revolution not only brings great opportunities for the economy, but also poses major challenges for all stakeholders. Manufacturing companies in particular are affected by challenges such as a lack of innovative strength or the risk of being overtaken by innovative start-ups. However, the dynamic environment and the resulting complexity require faster and better decisions to remain competitive in the long term. Current business practices of established companies do not meet this challenge and risk losing control of their core business. Taking a purely technological approach to this subject harbors costly risks. Only the integration of the various individual technologies into a holistic digital strategy creates efficiency and new growth areas. To exploit the full potential of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) in the manufacturing industry, companies must therefore take a strategic view of the technological options and adapt their organizational structure and culture. The main objective of this paper is therefore to describe the procedure for developing a suitable evaluation concept for assessing the economic benefits of digitization projects. The evaluation concept to be developed is designed to be able to perform a multidimensional examination and evaluation of digitization projects in order to enable a quick and well-founded decision on the implementation as well as the prioritization of a specific project or several projects from a qualitative and quantitative point of view. The paper therefore describes a seven-step approach to developing a multidimensional matrix diagram that serves as the basic structure for such an evaluation concept. To develop a suitable evaluation concept, the research focus will be carefully examined and in-depth research on two overarching themes will be conducted, resulting in the definition of appropriate evaluation criteria: From a methodological point of view, existing assessment models are considered in general and the strengths and weaknesses of these models are discussed. From a practical perspective, the special requirements of digitization and Industry 4.0 will be addressed. To this end, expert interviews will be conducted and a total of 100 practical examples will be selected from an extensive database and analyzed in a criteria-oriented manner in order to derive assessment dimensions and assessment criteria from both a quantitative and qualitative perspective.
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