Highly connected cyber-physical systems and the increasing popularity of the Plug-and-Work approach contribute to rising system complexity. This rise in complexity often hinders manageability and prevents companies from adapting to new technologies. In response, the Reference Architecture Model Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) is introduced as a suitable framework for visualizing interconnections within Industry 4.0 systems and for providing different stakeholder perspectives. While RAMI 4.0 and model-based systems engineering (MBSE) have proven to be effective in managing system complexity, the manual process of resource selection based on product or process requirements, persists. To overcome this challenge, this research extends the RAMI 4.0 domain-specific language (DSL) to enable the mod-eling of resource functionality as capabilities and skills, and to connect those elements to requirements. A capability diagram is incorporated into RAMI 4.0, featuring modeling elements inspired by the Capability-Skill-Service (CSS) model, introduced by Platform Industry 4.0. This paper presents the implementation of the functionality aspects in RAMI 4.0 as well as a proof-of- concept application using the newly introduced elements, while concurrently evaluating the CSS reference model.

Tradition manufacturing is undergoing a significant change, mainly promoted by emerging technologies like Cyber-physical Systems (CPS) or the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), leading to new automated production. The rising number of dynamically interconnected elements leads to an increasing complexity in such systems, which accompanies new challenges during systems engineering and thus leads to reaching the limits of contemporary methods. While the community has recognized this, new approaches recently arose to find solutions for particular parts of this problem. However, as the need for a holistic approach emerges, the Reference Architecture Model Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) has been standardized as a promising framework. While this domain-specific architecture framework is missing specifications to address all aspects of such critical infrastructure, this paper thus proposes a new modeling methodology promoting model-driven engineering (MDE) of current or future production systems based on the peculiarities of RAMI 4.0. To enable mutual architecture development across the entire system hierarchy and all stakeholders, the aspects of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) are considered. The proposed step-by-step guideline is thereby made applicable by a modeling framework called RAMI Toolbox that ensures the engineering of both greenfield and brownfield systems. Finally, the approach, including all artifacts, is evaluated based on a real-world case study proposed by Siemens.

Additive manufacturing and product configurations will become increasingly important in future production systems. This trend brings great opportunities for manufacturing companies, but also inherits challenges to overcome. Resulting from this, a heterogeneous tool-landscape has emerged, where each of the single tools is addressing a particular aspect of the value-creation network. An example for such a tool specifically targeting the engineering of such flexible production systems according to the Reference Architecture Model Industrie 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) has been proposed with the RAMI Toolbox. However, as universal frameworks are too general to deal with all aspects of developing such complex systems, other possibilities for conflictfree engineering of the system need to be available. Thus, the main contribution of this paper deals with proposing a Round-trip Engineering (RTE) approach, that allows to export previously modeled flexible production systems according to the peculiarities of RAMI 4.0 and subsequently reload external elaborated results. Thereby, a major benefit is the application of Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE), which ensures the traceability to the remaining system components. The chosen methodology for bidirectionally exchanging the engineering data is AutomationML, which allows to store exported information from RAMI 4.0 or import such stored information into it. The RTE-approach is thereby evaluated with a real-world case study, the Siemens Fischertechnik industrial plant model.

In recent years, the manufacturing industry sector has undergone major changes. Better known by the term Industry 4.0, this trend describes the transformation of centrally managed production systems towards decentralized value creation networks. As this leads to a strong increase regarding complexity, engineering such current or future manufacturing systems becomes a difficult task. An example for such a challenging engineering process is the selection of technical implementations fulfilling all requirements and performing the needed functions. In order to support this process, model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and its expressions like model-driven architecture (MDA) proved to be promising approaches. However, semi or fully automated model transformations, which could deal with the aforementioned issue, are still yet widely unexplored in the industrial area. Therefore, this paper introduces an approach transforming the logical architecture of a system into its technical implementation by utilizing AutomationML. As the goal is to perform this step automatically, additional tool support is provided by developing specific software. The results of this approach are thereby evaluated by a real-world case study, which is applied according to the concepts of the Reference Architecture Model Industrie 4.0 (RAMI 4.0).

Flexibility and adaptability are major challenges for modern production systems. To realize them integration approaches are required. Within this paper a literature survey on integration approaches and integration approach types is described based on an attempt towards a detailed characterization of both. It is intended to enable an informed decision for research and development directions towards modern integration strategies as required in Cyber Physical Production Systems.

Engineer-to-order (ETO) companies supply complex, highly customized products in low volume. They face an increasing complexity of their business, driving the necessity to ensure a proper interaction of the modules in the overall technical system and/or its life cycle by system integration. Despite its importance and proven benefit, system integration is an often neglected topic in the ETO business. This contribution aims to promote a more intensive discussion on the topic of system integration. Thus, it describes current trends in the ETO business and their implication on integration. It further gives an overview of system integration aspects in the ETO business and outlines current challenges of system integration from a practitioner's perspective.

Flexibility and adaptability are major challenges for modern production systems. To make them applicable integration approaches are required. Within this paper an attempt towards the detailed characterization of integration approaches and integration approach types is made based on a literature survey. It is intended to enable an informed decision for the selection of research directions towards modern integration approaches as required in Cyber Physical Production Systems.

Facing the current trends in the lifecycles of products and manufacturing systems flexibility and adaptability are of general interest. To make them applicable integration approaches are required. Within this paper an attempt towards the detailed characterization of integration approaches and integration approach types is made based on a literature survey. It is intended to enable an informed decision for the selection of research directions towards modern integration approaches as required in the Industrie 4.0 approach as well as to identify candidates within the field of existing integration approaches for further investigation.

Industrial enterprises are facing an increasing complexity of their manufactured products. In order to support engineering organizations to increase their profitability, this paper presents major success factors for efficient plant engineering. These factors are based on the analysis of six case studies regarding standardization programs from the plant engineering domain. Subsequently, a function-based standardization framework for the plant engineering domain is developed. The framework can be applied to fulfill the most important success factors identified in the case studies. It helps to improve the interdisciplinary collaboration throughout the whole engineering process of a plant by using mechatronic (information) objects. By providing a function-based modularization strategy for the engineering of plants, the project comprehensive reusability ratio of developed plant artifacts can be improved as well. Finally, the function-based engineering framework is evaluated in a case study to prove its feasibility.

This contribution presents the results of an empirical study about assessments of performance of engineering departments in the German plant manufacturing industry. Engineering plays a central role in the industrial value chain. However, its multiple impact is not considered in an adequate way by current assessments. For instance, economic considerations have a strong focus on costs and consider the engineering department only in an isolated way. Since there is little literature about this topic - existing publications analyze performance from a technical-functional perspective or focus on design aspects - this study aims to evaluate performance criteria and challenges for performance assessments. 36 experts in the domain of plant engineering have been asked in an online survey and personal interviews. A lack of common understanding of engineering performance and the difficulty to quantify the impact of engineering turned out to be the main challenges besides a strong cost focus in the plant manufacturing business. Finally 13 challenges were identified which oppose comprehensive assessments of engineering performance. If recognized, these challenges can help plant manufacturing companies to minimize the ill effects of current economic considerations and to improve their engineering departments more effectively.

Industrial engineering can be regarded as a specialization of systems engineering. It deals with the engineering of industrial solutions, e.g. power plants or airport logistics systems. In today's competitive environment, the industrial solutions business faces high cost and productivity pressure, increasing complexity, and highly demanding customers. Transforming this business from the project-focused development of highly customer-specific solutions to the customization of a 'solution product' and fostering reuse in general are judged highly rewarding approaches to tackle these challenges. As a consequence, an ISO/IEC 15504 conformant process reference model for the industrial solutions business has been proposed, based on the integration of a process reference model for reuse in industrial engineering and a product-oriented process model for the engineering of industrial solutions. In this paper we present the results of analyzing this reference model against the international standard ISO/IEC 15288 on systems life cycle processes. The results of the mapping of these models are analyzed to identify further enhancements of the reference model for the industrial solutions business, and for identifying potential directions for the further evolution of the international standard.

Abstract Improving reuse in industrial engineering is more and more recognized as a key to economic success by providers of industrial solutions. It generally increases the quality of the engineered systems, shortens engineering time, and decreases engineering costs for the development of customer‐specific industrial solutions. We therefore developed an integrated set of methods for assessing an organization's reuse practices, identifying its reuse potential and guiding the selection and implementation of improvement actions. While the assessment of reuse practices is performed according to the principles of ISO/IEC 15504 for process assessment, identification of improvements for reuse in industrial engineering is much more complex compared to ‘traditional’ process capability‐oriented improvement. Orthogonal to improving along the process capability dimension it also involves strategic decisions on the overall design of the engineering process, the pursued engineering and reuse paradigms, the desired organizational reuse maturity stages, etc. To tackle this problem, we developed a potentials analysis method that assures compliance of the improvements with the strategic goals of the organization. It bridges the gap between the process assessment and the improvement action planning parts of the methodology by supporting the selection of reuse practices considering strategic issues and business goals. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The necessity to improve the current automation concepts for cost reduction in plant engineering represents a widely discussed problem. Although research has been developing solutions for this problem area for quite some time on the basis of decentralized automation concepts, industrial companies have been showing reluctance concerning their broad application in practice. This contribution discusses the potential for use of decentralized automation of industrial plants in the context of strategic developments. The ramifications of such technological perspectives to the different stakeholders in an industrial life cycle, their interests and their processes are discussed and a method for the evaluation of decentralized solutions over their entire life cycle is presented, offering a basis for a well founded assessment of their cost effectiveness.

The lack of clear and standardised documentation for industrial systems makes the re-engineering of plants challenging. This paper proposes a modelling method based on a component oriented paradigm, domain specific views, and the definition of dependency rules in order to support (re-)engineering activities. A brief case study illustrates these principles.