Patrick Dallasega

Mobile On-site Factories — Scalable and distributed manufacturing systems for the construction industry

The concept of the “On-site Factory” consists in the temporary use of fully functioning mobile mini-factories or production cells at the site of consumption. This concept of a Mobile Factory is well suitable for situations in the construction industry with long distances and therefore high logistics costs. The advantage of this concept is not only the proximity to customers, but also the economic efficiency combined with a maximum of flexibility. By a high degree of reconfigurability and scalability of the On-site Factory, it can also be adapted to its individual mission and the quantity demand at the construction site. This paper presents the current state of research in the area of distributed manufacturing as well as on-site and off-site manufacturing. It discusses the need for new and innovative JIT solutions for construction industry and addresses the specific requirements for scalable and reconfigurable on-site manufacturing factories. The main content of this research paper consists in the definition of generally applicable Design Parameters for On-site Factories using Axiomatic Design as a methodology for the analysis of functional requirements and the related design solutions. Through practical examples and illustrations, the application of the deduced Design Parameters will be explained.

Collaborative Cloud Manufacturing: Design of Business Model Innovations Enabled by Cyberphysical Systems in Distributed Manufacturing Systems

Collaborative cloud manufacturing, as a concept of distributed manufacturing, allows different opportunities for changing the logic of generating and capturing value. Cyberphysical systems and the technologies behind them are the enablers for new business models which have the potential to be disruptive. This paper introduces the topics of distributed manufacturing as well as cyberphysical systems. Furthermore, the main business model clusters of distributed manufacturing systems are described, including collaborative cloud manufacturing. The paper aims to provide support for developing business model innovations based on collaborative cloud manufacturing. Therefore, three business model architecture types of a differentiated business logic are discussed, taking into consideration the parameters which have an influence and the design of the business model and its architecture. As a result, new business models can be developed systematically and new ideas can be generated to boost the concept of collaborative cloud manufacturing within all sustainable business models.

Increasing productivity in ETO construction projects through a lean methodology for demand predictability

Construction is one of the main sectors of the economy, globally. In Italy this sector is highly fragmented and consists mostly of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). During a traditional construction project many different disciplines interact causing high coordination efforts. The main problem is a weak planning of on-site construction processes. Especially shared resources (like tower cranes) are often the bottleneck processes on-site. The paper presents a methodology for demand predictability which is based on the Rolling-Forecast approach and consists of three modules: “Planning”, “Actualization” and “Progress”. Within the module “Planning”, tasks are assigned following budget specifications. By the module “Actualization” the deviation from budget is measured. By the module “Progress” the construction progress is measured and a reliable budget monitoring is performed. For aligning the engineering, prefabrication and installation of Engineer-to-Order (ETO) components a Constant Work in Process (CONWIP) control loop is described. For increasing the productivity on-site a continuous improvement process which is based on the plan-do-check-action (PDCA) cycle is presented. A practical implementation of the methodology for demand predictability within the expansion project of the central hospital of Bolzano in North Italy is included. Scientific findings up to now and the expected outcomes are presented.

Process Management in Construction: Expansion of the Bolzano Hospital

(a) Situation faced: Frener and Reifer (F&R) is a leader in engineering, fabricating, and installing facades with non-standard designs. The company was looking for comprehensive, domain-specific approaches to improve the company’s control over facade processes, from design to execution and monitoring. What makes process management particularly challenging in this setting are some peculiarities of the domain, such as high levels of variability, unpredictability, and inter-organizational synchronization (vom Brocke et al., BPM Trends, 1, 2015), as well as the non-standard and non-repetitive nature of the designs, which complicates the ability to formulate reliable estimates. Indeed, in many cases the installation department exceeded the number of hours that were initially estimated. (b) Action taken: A group of researchers developed a domain-specific methodology, called PRECISE, that provides methods with which to support the process lifecycle (Dumas et al., Fundamentals of business process management. Springer, 2013) in construction. FR (ii) process implementation, which involves defining short-term (i.e., daily or weekly) schedules for tasks based on actual data on the progress of the work; and (iii) continuous monitoring and measurement of the progress of the work on site. (c) Results achieved: By applying the methodology, which supports a detailed modelling and monitoring of the activities, F&R could perform reliable estimates of progress on tasks and expected cost to completion. For instance, F&R recognized that the budget it had initially estimated was too tight. By analyzing the up-to-date data on the progress of the work and consulting with the workers on the construction site, the company could identify problems and sources of delay promptly and act to mitigate their effects. During the application of PRECISE, F&R recorded an increase in productivity that was estimated to have saved 400 man hours. (d) Lessons learned: Application of the methodology singled out some aspects of the process that should be addressed to improve process management. Flexibility, which is required in dealing with the domain variability, is achieved by defining a process model and a short-term schedule, while the availability of reliable and up-to-date data on the progress of the work is obtained by applying continuous, detailed process monitoring. Engagement of the workers in the process management allows the project to benefit from their expertise (Rosemann and vom Brocke, Handbook on business process management, introduction, methods, and information systems. Springer, 2015), which is the basis of the collaborative approach. However, better IT support for the methodology is needed (Rosemann and vom Brocke, Handbook on business process management, introduction, methods, and information systems. Springer, 2015; Dumas et al., Fundamentals of business process management. Springer, 2013).

Industrie-4.0-Geschäftsmodell-innovation für KMU

Kurzfassung Die vierte industrielle Revolution, auch als Industrie 4.0 bekannt, ist eine der größten Herausforderungen, denen sich kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen (KMU) heute und besonders in Zukunft stellen müssen. Viele von ihnen sind bereits seit Jahrzehnten Marktführer und haben erfolgreich ihre Produkte und Dienstleistungen in einer „Offline“-Welt optimiert. Die Integration von smarten Produkten und Dienstleistungen im Hinblick auf Industrie 4.0 bietet dabei neue Möglichkeiten und Ebenen, Nutzen in der Wertschöpfungskette zu schaffen. Die Identifizierung dieser schlummernden Werte und die Entwicklung von neuen Geschäftsmodellen stellen heute eine große Hürde für KMU dar. Dieser Beitrag stellt daher eine von TRIZ abgeleitete Neun-Felder-Matrix und eine morphologische Analysemethode vor, die KMU dabei unterstützen soll, informationsbasierte Industrie-4.0-Geschäftsmodelle auf der Basis bestehender Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu identifizieren und zu entwickeln. Die praktische Anwendbarkeit der Methode wird anhand eines industriellen Fallbeispiels gezeigt.

Smart Shopfloor Management

Kurzfassung Industrie 4.0 bezieht sich auf die vierte industrielle Revolution und technologische Einführung von Cyber-Physischen Systemen (CPS) in der Produktion. Eine große Herausforderung im Produktionsmanagement besteht darin, Informationen zu bündeln und zu verknüpfen, um den höchstmöglichen Nutzen für das gesamte Produktionssystem zu erzielen und eine intelligente und vernetzte Fabrik zu schaffen. Auf der operativen Ebene des Produktionsmanagements zeichnet sich mit der Einführung neuer und digitaler Technologen ein grundlegender Wandel des Shopfloor Managements (SFM) ab. In den letzten Jahren wurde Shop-floor Management vor allem durch Lean Methoden optimiert. Mit den technologischen Möglichkeiten von Industrie 4.0 soll das SFM auf eine neue qualitative Ebene gehoben werden. Der folgende Beitrag zeigt erste Erkenntnisse aus einem laufenden Forschungsprojekt, indem Anforderungen an Smart Shopfloor Management (SSFM) ermittelt und erste Funktionskonzepte vorgestellt werden.

Industry 4.0 as an enabler of proximity for construction supply chains: A systematic literature review

Abstract The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) is changing not only the manufacturing industry but also the construction industry and its connected supply chains. Construction supply chains (CSCs) have specific characteristics, such as being temporary organizations that require high coordination efforts to align the processes of supply chain actors. The concept of proximity is used to analyze synchronization between suppliers and the construction site. This article presents a framework for explaining Industry 4.0 concepts that increase or reduce proximity. We find that Industry 4.0 technologies mainly influence technological, organizational, geographical and cognitive proximity dimensions. This presents benefits and challenges for CSCs. This framework is based on the results of a systematic literature review of scientific papers and analysis of applicability through practical publications and examples from industrial case studies.

Promoting Collaborative Construction Process Management by Means of a Normalized Workload Approach

The research project »COCkPiT« Collaborative Construction Process Management aims at developing methodologies and tools to enhance time and budget control in construction projects, with a focus on small and medium-sized companies. The hypothesis is that the interplay of the three main phases of project management planning, scheduling, and monitoring can be improved by collecting highly detailed information early on in each phase, and making it available to the other phases at a high frequency. COCkPiT builds upon previous experiences in façade installation, where significant time and cost savings have been obtained by applying a normalized workload approach based on a collaborative process planning routine, an approach which is currently hardly supported by commercial project management tools. Thus, the objective of COCkPiT is to develop a methodology that supports i) collaborative process modelling as a basis for ii) a short-term rolling wave planning considering iii) real-time measurement of the progress on-site, to create highly reliable schedules and accurate forecasts. The focus of this paper is to present the conceptual fundamentals of integrating the modules of modelling, scheduling and monitoring, as well as involving the lean construction community to current considerations regarding the implementation in a self-containing IT-solution. 1 Research Associate, Fraunhofer Italia Research, Bolzano, Italy, christoph.schimanski@fraunhofer.it 2 Research Associate, Fraunhofer Italia Research, Bolzano, Italy, carmen.marcher@fraunhofer.it 3 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano, patrick.dallasega@unibz.it 4 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Computer Science, Free University of Bolzano, elisa.marengo@unibz.it 5 Research Associate, Fraunhofer Italia Research, Bolzano, Italy, camilla.follini@fraunhofer.it 6 Research Assistant, Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano, ArifUr.Rahman@unibz.it 7 Freelance Engineer and Architect in Trento, Italy,andrea.revolti87@gmail.com 8 Full Professor, Faculty of Computer Science, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy, nutt@inf.unibz.it 9 Head of Fraunhofer Italia, Fraunhofer Italia Research, Bolzano, Italy, dominik.matt@fraunhofer.it 10 Full Professor, Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy, dominik.matt@unibz.it Promoting Collaborative Construction Process Management by Means of a Normalized Workload Approach Production Planning and Control 765

Distributed manufacturing network models of smart and agile mini-factories

Traditional centralised manufacturing systems will be replaced in future more and more through decentralised and geographically dispersed manufacturing strategies. So-called distributed manufacturing systems represent an ideal approach to meet challenges regarding individualisation of products, customer proximity or more sustainable production. Networks of smart and agile micro-production units lead to a rationalisation of the supply chain and therefore to an increase of sustainability. In this paper, the actual state of the art in distributed manufacturing is presented. Afterwards, sustainability oriented reasons for a trend towards distributed manufacturing networks are explained. Then, evolutionary stages in the development of factories are represented describing their characteristics at every stage. Finally, a framework of possible network models for distributed manufacturing networks of smart and agile mini-factories is provided and enforced by examples from industrial practice. The paper closes with a discussion of the proposed framework and an outlook on future needs in research.

Synchronisierung von ETO-Fertigung und Baustellenmontage

Kurzfassung Auftragsfertigung nach dem Engineer-to-Order (ETO)-Prinzip mit anschließender Baustellenmontage ist vor allem in der Investitionsgüterindustrie, im Anlagenbau sowie in der Baubranche verbreitet. Dabei werden Bauteile oder Baugruppen in der Fabrik hergestellt und vormontiert, die Montage und Fertigstellung erfolgt meist auf der Baustelle. Die Planungs- und Fertigungsprozesse in der Fabrik sind dabei häufig nur unzureichend oder gar nicht mit den Prozessen auf der Baustelle synchronisiert, was zu Ineffizienzen in der gesamten Supply Chain führt. In diesem Beitrag wird ein Ansatz zur effizienteren Gestaltung des gesamten ETO-Wertstroms von Auftragseingang bis zum Abschluss der Baustellenmontage nach Lean-Prinzipien vorgestellt, welcher auf einer durchgehend kundenbedarfsorientierten Auftragsabwicklung von der Planung über die Fertigung in der Fabrik bis hin zur Montage auf der Baustelle basiert. Der vorgestellte Ansatz wurde in Zusammenarbeit mit einem Fassadenbauunternehmen in der Praxis erprobt.