Enabling Data-Based Applications in Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing has enabled companies worldwide to increase productivity and quality by eliminating waste and was characterized as the most influential manufacturing paradigm. Besides lean management, IT technology-driven smart manufacturing, in the German-speaking area referred to as Industry 4.0, recently receives tremendous attention and will lead to the next fundamental paradigm shift in manufacturing. A key aspect of smart manufacturing is the exploitation of manufacturing data for more efficiency, process transparency, and quality. To support companies in gaining a competitive advantage by exploiting their manufacturing data, this chapter consolidates and briefly describes 14 data-based applications in manufacturing along with their key barriers and key enablers. The scope of the research and thus of the presented data-based applications is the site level.