3 questions for Björn Sautter on the expertise ‘Engineering autonomous, adaptable Industrie 4.0 systems’

Dr. Björn Sautter, Senior Expert Industrie 4.0 at Festo SE & Co. KG

Copyright: © Festo SE & Co. KG
Munich, 15 April 2025

By autonomously adaptable Industrie 4.0 systems, I mean networked production systems that are able to adapt independently to new conditions and make changes. In my view, such future-oriented production systems enable new leaps in performance in the overall system of sustainable production. For example, the use of advanced technical intelligence helps the systems to adapt to local disruptions or changes – whether at the level of the production process, the supply chain or the collaborative value creation system – in a situation-specific manner and almost in real time. The continuous decentralised self-assessment and adaptation is always geared towards optimising the overall system in accordance with the specified target parameters such as productivity, quality, efficiency, resilience, etc.
For successful realisation in industrial practice, different perspectives must be included and a wide range of specialist disciplines must be combined. An integrative engineering approach is therefore required that takes into account the diverse interactions and dependencies in the system. Traditional engineering methods reach their limits here. The methods of systems engineering are very promising and represent a good starting point.

The expertise produced by the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechatronic Design Technology (IEM) provides a very good overview. Systems engineering is a holistic approach to designing complex systems, such as those used in the aerospace industry. When applied to the design of autonomously changeable production systems, this approach can specifically help integrate the various sub-disciplines of product and production development, for example, into a system model with a view to the greatest common overall benefit. Because these are complex socio-technical systems with diverse interactions between the three dimensions of people, technology and organisation, not only engineering skills are taken into account, but also social and methodological skills as well as the solution-oriented knowledge of computer science, business administration and other specialist disciplines.
In business practice, however, such holistic approaches to the development of production systems are rarely found. Rigid structures, a lack of process models for integrated, networked engineering and a lack of appropriately trained personnel are just some of the challenges. The expertise therefore identifies three fields of action to support the necessary change in companies:

a) Strengthening collaboration, i.e. targeted cross-disciplinary, cross-divisional and cross-organisational networking and cooperation in engineering

b) Further development of engineering methods and corresponding standards for the next evolutionary stage in production system development

c) Investment in knowledge and education to build up and sustainably secure the necessary engineering expertise in Germany

In four Best Practices the expertise shows how pioneers from the industry have already set out the path towards autonomously adaptable Industrie 4.0 systems. For example, a company from the automotive industry has introduced a state-of-the-art, networked production system with Industrie 4.0 technologies in its ‘factory of the future’ in order to significantly increase the efficiency and flexibility of production processes. Overall, however, we still have a long way to go, as the Research Council’s Engineering Roadmap shows. There are still a number of questions to be answered and solutions to be found over the next 10 years.
In Germany, we are well placed to establish the ability to engineer complex, autonomously adaptable Industrie 4.0 systems as a unique selling point in global competition. We should utilise this opportunity to increase productivity and competitiveness in Germany as a location for research, innovation and production.

The publication of the Research Council Industrie 4.0 ‘Engineering autonomous, adaptable Industrie 4.0 systems’ deepens these topics. You can find the publication here (in German).