Factory life cycle evaluation through integrated analysis of factory elements

Abstract In consequence of the technological advances of the last few decades, factories emerged to highly complex systems that consist of numerous factory elements like production machines, technical building services and the building shell. These factory elements are characterized by individual life cycles that differ in their duration and life cycle behavior. Consequently, the factory life cycle is composed of multiple overlapping life cycles. The fact that the life cycle of some factory elements (e.g. the building shell) exceeds the life cycle of other elements over many times (e.g. of machines) presents a challenge for factory planners. In particular, factory planners struggle to understand the contribution of single factory elements on the total factory life cycle. Consequently, it is hard to systematically synchronize the inherent life cycles of a factory while adhering to manifold requirements. Against this background, the goal of this paper is to develop a methodology that supports factory planners in the evaluation of the factory life cycle. The proposed methodology enhances the understanding of how factory elements contribute to the factory life cycle and what is the current life cycle state of the entire factory. To this end, the factory system is broken down on its constituting elements. A modified failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is applied to assess their life cycle priority according to economic, environmental and technical criteria. The methodology is exemplarily demonstrated on a pilot scale battery production system.