Learning factory for digitization of enterprises

The fourth industrial revolution stands for higher flexibility and productivity of companies. This requires intelligent and interconnected production systems with a well-trained staff. This article describes how the necessary qualification processes can be performed. A high degree of individualized products requires more digitized information (e.g. via IoT, sensors, RFIDs) and a flexible form of work. Today's changes in enterprises are focusing on upgrading the technical equipment. Dealing with changing the mental setting of the staff, enabling employees for digitalization and learning to cooperate in a smoother way (social learning) play an important role. Sensitization regarding necessary changes, decentralized decision-making and cooperating are the main goals for a training. Nevertheless, company's employees also need new technical skills to prepare the enterprise for higher levels of digitization. Learning factories include a stepwise evaluation and transformation of a model factory by the participants themselves. Performing group work sessions, participants have to agree on the future organizational structures, regardless of their function or role as worker, manager or administrative employee. In the upper level of production system design, a high level of digitization is the aim and most of the information flow should be automatically handled. In order to give participants a feeling for introducing extended IT support and using standard interfaces, they have to overcome some technological gaps. An example of a training factory is presented, which is focusing on the transformation of these production systems with different production steps.