New paradigm in manufacturing engineering: Factory life cycle

Today the manufacturing enterprises are confronted with new models of competition and new modes of operation. They have to provide competitive industrial goods and support services at decreased prices, with high quality, overcoming the customers' expectations. Motivated by these challenges, new and innovative paradigms aiming at supporting the research and innovation in manufacturing engineering are promoted: factory as product, factory life cycle and advanced Industrial Engineering. This paper defines and scientifically founds the new concepts and presents a first prototype of this approach, the Stuttgart Factory Planning Environment.