Many medium-sized industrial companies in Germany have some catching up to do when it comes to digitalization. A recent study by THM shows that larger companies are already further advanced in this area, while SMEs, especially in mechanical and plant engineering, have only a low level of digitalization.

"DigiTAMM (Digital Transformation Assessment Maturity Model) provides SMEs with a tool to determine their level of digital maturity and derive specific fields of action for a digitalization strategy. This is an important step towards shaping the digital transformation in the company in a concerted manner," explains Prof. Gerrit Sames, Head of Digital Business at THM.

The maturity model is based on the logic of the "VDMA Industry 4.0 Toolbox" and expands it to include additional categories. It is intended to provide German companies with a basis for the systematic development of a digitalization roadmap - as a starting point or for the expansion of existing digitalization measures.

The model at a glance

The model comprises five central areas: Product, Production, IT Organization and Processes, Employees and IT Security. Each of these categories is assessed in five levels based on specific characteristics. The scale ranges from the lowest to the highest level of digitalization.

The "Products" category focuses on how Industrie 4.0 products - or their subcomponents - can be developed and enhanced to create added value for customers. Aspects such as the integration of sensors and actuators, connectivity, data storage, monitoring, product-related IT services, business models and product lifecycle management are taken into account.

The "Production" category aims to optimize production processes and reduce costs - through modern data processing, M2M communication, company-wide networking, a robust ICT infrastructure and the integration of tool management and maintenance.

"IT organization and processes" is another category that covers the strategic embedding of digitalization in the company and maps elementary processes such as procurement and order processing.

The "Employees" category reflects the change in the world of work due to changing roles, shifts in qualifications and technological support in production.

The "IT security" category ensures that the risks of increasing networking - for example between office IT and production IT - are effectively countered by measures such as awareness, security checks, endpoint security and network protection.

AWF model complements maturity model

THM has further developed DigiTAMM together with companies from the "Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Wirtschaftliche Fertigung (AWF)". In addition, the AWF model offers a methodical approach for implementing digitalization strategies in four steps: Inventory, identification of relevant fields of action, definition of a target state and creation of a prioritized digitalization roadmap.

As a member of SEF Smart Electronic Factory e.V., THM is committed to promoting digitalization in SMEs. The close cooperation between science and practice enables the continuous further development of solutions such as DigiTAMM in order to optimally prepare companies for the challenges of digital transformation.

The brochure "DigiTAMM - Digital Transformation Assessment Maturity Model: A maturity model for assessing the level of digitization in industrial companies" can be downloaded from the Darmstadt University and State Library.