Enabling the Smart Factory - A Digital Platform Concept for Standardized Data Integration

The digital transformation of industrial manufacturing companies is still seen as a challenge on the path to the smart factory and efficient and transparent production. Companies have already been dealing with concepts such as Industry 4.0 and the associated tasks of digitization and process automation for years. More recently, data-driven methods of machine learning and artificial intelligence, have increased the demands on data integration in industrial applications and the need for seamless and automated communication within information systems. This facilitates the creation of entirely new business models or the adaption of new approaches such as predictive analytics (e.g. for predictive maintenance) or data mining methods (e.g. for anomaly detection) to increase productivity. A multitude of partly proprietary standards for communication between machines and systems, and interface definitions complicates the integration of systems and data. To minimize the challenges of system and data integration, we have developed a digital platform concept as a solution to standardized data integration issues. In a first step, through literature research and expert interviews, we identified current industrial trends and key relevant standards and processes. In a second step, we developed a concept for a digital platform - a Service Hub - through which the identified standards and integration processes can be marketed. The Service Hub supports companies in their digital transformation and offers providers of various integration solutions an opportunity for individualized marketing of frequently used (integration) processes.