A platform for life-cycle controlling

The paper describes how the application of new information and communication technologies in manufacturing systems and technical consumer goods gives companies the possibility to create added value services in the usage phase, for example through remote operations or virtual facility management. In this regard, a communication platform for a digital factory has been developed to make diagnoses of the machine, program changes or process optimizations possible in less time by using an integrated control system, visualization and surveillance. The precise reproduction of the production system in a virtual world makes it possible to analyze and optimize all influences on the real production in that virtual world.