The mechanical and plant engineering industry is in the midst of digital transformation. How far along are German companies?

With around 1.3 million employees in Germany, the mechanical and plant engineering sector is Germany's largest industrial employer and the backbone of the German economy. Many mechanical engineering companies are family businesses and deeply rooted in powerful networks of industry and science. This structure makes mechanical engineering powerful and gives companies the tools to set standards in global competition.

The concept of "Industry 4.0" has been around since the Hannover Messe 2011. Since then, we have observed a continuous development of mechanical engineering companies towards digitally supported production and internal and external digital networking. However, we also see different speeds of transformation in the various sectors of mechanical engineering and, of course, depending on the size of the company. The larger companies have come a long way, which of course also has to do with available budgets and capacities. Smaller and medium-sized companies generally have a more difficult time, although there are many agile and innovative companies in the industrial SME sector in particular. Overall, Industry 4.0 is on the agenda for all companies and the current crisis will give a further boost to leveraging efficiency potential through digitally supported production.

The VDMA supports and accompanies companies on the path to digitalization. For example, the association had a significant positive influence on the determination of license costs for 5G and played a key role in driving forward the revision of IT job profiles, also against the backdrop of Industry 4.0 prospects. Germany must position itself as a leading market and provider.

Automation technology is one of the basic building blocks in the digitalization of production. What trends are emerging here?

Automation technology is the sensory and neural network of a machine, so to speak. On the one hand, sensor technology is revolutionizing in the direction of smart sensor technology, in which not only raw data is generated, but signal processing is already taking place in order to obtain higher-quality information. On the other hand, standardized interfaces are playing an increasingly important role. In particular, the idea of plug & play, i.e. the interoperable combination of components, machines and systems in the ecosystem of intelligent networked production, is of great importance. Another trend is the decentralized processing of data in the form of edge and cloud computing as well as the type of processing using AI-based solutions. Ultimately, the digitalization of production must be beneficial - we are also talking here about value creation from machine data. This is because the evaluation of machine data provides information for more resource-efficient, predictive and sustainable production. This creates a win-win situation for component manufacturers, machine builders and plant operators. Mechanical engineering and its components have a key role to play here; they are the data source.

How will artificial intelligence change mechanical engineering?

Artificial intelligence offers companies a wide range of new opportunities to automate their production or establish completely new business models. However, it also changes the tasks that humans will have to perform in the future. Their manual workload will decrease and their creative workload will increase. The mechanical engineering industry is taking this challenge and the associated responsibility seriously. But for the mechanical engineering industry and its employees in Germany and Europe in particular, the use of artificial intelligence offers opportunities for new business. These must be exploited! Artificial intelligence will play a key role in maintaining the global product leadership of mechanical and plant engineering in the future.

Secure and transparent communication is the be-all and end-all of the smart factory. Which standards will prevail and what role does the VDMA play in this?

In the field of wireless communication, the new 5G mobile communications standard will play an important role, as mobile applications will increase as a result of Industry 4.0 and the associated flexibilization of production. Ethernet TSN (Time Sensitive Network) is becoming increasingly important for real-time communication requirements in heterogeneous, industrial network environments. TSN is developing as a key step towards standardized communication protocols in automation technology, right down to field level and for demanding applications, including in mechanical engineering.

Already established by now, OPC UA continues to spread in mechanical engineering - worldwide. In the VDMA, we want to develop the global language of production. To this end, we have provided orientation, have made progress and are setting global design standards. Since 2016, the VDMA has been doing pioneering work in the field of creating industry-specific OPC UA Companion Specifications. As a result, the information level in communication is also becoming standardized, which reduces the previously immense costs of developing customer-specific interfaces to a minimum. The 'umati' brand takes the next step towards the plug & play value proposition, for example through implementation recommendations.

Last question: To what extent has the role and range of tasks of the VDMA changed in the course of the digital transformation?

The VDMA has been at the forefront of Industry 4.0 from the very beginning. From 2014 onwards, we established a broad internal network across all sectors and cross-disciplinary areas via the interdisciplinary VDMA Industry 4.0 Forum: Experts from the VDMA's various specialist departments come together and network with industry and science across all sectors in working and specialist groups. Our subject areas are: Research, standardization, IT security, Work 4.0, new business models and, of course, the representation of interests in Berlin and Brussels.

Topics such as OPC-UA or AI show that overarching cooperation is the key to success in digitalization. The VDMA offers its member companies interdisciplinary support and networking in this area. Learning from each other and transferring intelligent solutions to their own needs are the keys to success in Industry 4.0.

The VDMA aims to provide guidance to the mechanical and plant engineering sector and the entire manufacturing industry. This also includes 'umati', as a brand for guaranteed interoperability between machines and systems.

umati' is now being implemented for the entire mechanical engineering sector. This is the next step in the Plug & Play value proposition. We are creating greater visibility and international acceptance of the solutions developed, particularly for intelligent networked production. In doing so, we are making an important contribution to ensuring the international competitiveness of German industry in the coming years. Because Germany remains the most important innovation and action area for intelligent production.