Serious Games in Production Management Environments
- Co-Leader: Prof. Nick Szirbik, University of Groningen, The Netherlands, nick.szirbik@gmail.com
- Co-Leader: Prof. Jannicke Baalsrud-Hauge, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, jmbh@kth.se
The IFIP WG5.7 Special Interest Group (SIG) on “Serious Games in Production Management Environments” focuses on the convergence of three relevant developments within the advances in production management systems: Industry 4.0, Gamification, and Augmented & Virtual Reality (AR/VR). The SIG predicts that the evolution and synergetic interaction of these three developments will produce new paradigms in teaching, research, and how knowledge is generated and used within the disciplines of industrial engineering, industrial management and operations management. The SIG envisages the emergence of complex virtual learning environments combined with interactive and collaborative educational processes. The SIG also foresees the development and adoption of novel technologies via gaming and AR/VR. Pioneering research projects will use the practice of AR/VR-supported gamification as an exploration of novel solutions. The SIG’s purpose is (i) to identify the state-of-the-art of this convergence from conceptual, practical and technological points of view, (ii) to identify the trends, gaps and opportunities emerging from this convergence, and (iii) to establish collaborations between the interested international researchers and practitioners.
Product and Asset Lifecycle Management
The IFIP WG5.7 Special Interest Group (SIG) on “Product and Asset Lifecycle Management” aims at promoting collaborative research and networking activities among researchers and practitioners with a shared interest in the key aspects of product and asset lifecycle management within advanced manufacturing systems. The lifecycle is the cornerstone on which the SIG explores innovative ways for the development, coordination and control of activities undertaken on products and assets. In particular, the SIG encourages research exploring how to design, implement and improve systems for the lifecycle management of products and assets. To this end, the SIG is interested in merging academic rigour with practical applications on topics such as the effective management and use of data and information among the different lifecycle phases of a product/asset; enabling closing the loops of information required by product/asset-related decisions; the adoption of Zero Defect Manufacturing and Predictive Maintenance strategies to support the optimisation of performances along the lifecycle; the adoption of intelligent products and assets for a smart lifecycle management; the exploitation of the Internet of Things, Big Data and Predictive Analytics, semantic technologies as well as advanced Human-Machine Interfaces in order to build an Industry 4.0-infused innovative lifecycle management. The purpose of the SIG is (i) to identify and share best practices to consolidate the knowledge in the field, (ii) to explore the existing gaps in practice and theory in order to identify new research paths, and (iii) to establish interdisciplinary collaborations in international projects and research activities.
Service Systems Design, Engineering and Management
The IFIP WG5.7 Special Interest Group (SIG) on “Service Systems Design, Engineering and Management” promotes collaborative research on future and emerging innovative ideas and networking activities related to new models, methods and tools to support service systems along their lifecycle. The SIG is composed of researchers and practitioners who are committed to improving and advancing the investigation of Service Systems. In particular, the SIG is focused on exploring how service solutions developed within the manufacturing industry (i.e., Product-Service Systems (PSSs)) and/or pure oriented service industries (i.e., healthcare, finance, entertainment, logistics) can be designed, engineered and managed. Moreover, due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it aims to exploit how new digital technologies can be applied to rethink operational processes, organisational structures, skills and competencies, management approaches, communication tools, as well as measurement and control systems in the Service Systems field. The purpose of the SIG is (i) to identify and share best practices to consolidate the knowledge in the field, (ii) to explore the existing gaps in practice and theory in order to identify new research paths, and (iii) to establish collaborations in international projects and research activities.
Smart Manufacturing Applications
- Co-Leader: Prof. Thorsten Wuest, University of South Carolina, USA, twuest@sc.edu
- Co-Leader: Dr(c). Stefan Wiesner, BIBA – Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik GmbH at the University of Bremen, Germany, wie@biba.uni-bremen.de
The IFIP WG5.7 Special Interest Group (SIG) on “Smart Manufacturing Applications” is formed by experts from academia and industry dedicated to advancing the practical adoption of smart manufacturing technologies, including industrial artificial intelligence, cyber-physical production lines, smart factory environments, and digital supply networks. This objective is supported by research and networking activities on demonstrators, pilot implementations, testbeds, and industrial case studies that highlight the deployment of models, methods, and tools in real smart and cyber-physical production settings. The scope of the SIG comprises innovative applications of smart manufacturing technologies to design, deploy, evaluate, benchmark, and scale solutions for industrial use cases. The SIG encourages contributions to smart manufacturing technologies use cases, technology readiness assessments of solutions and technology transfer, and the alignment of smart manufacturing applications with performance, sustainability, and resilience goals, as well as to exploit the possibilities of the smart manufacturing paradigm in new business and operating models based on smart products, services, and product-service systems.
Smart Manufacturing Ontologies & Data Interoperability
The IFIP WG5.7 Special Interest Group (SIG) on “Smart Manufacturing Ontologies & Data Interoperability” brings together academia and industry to advance formal ontologies and enable data interoperability and semantic artificial intelligence in digital manufacturing. The SIG’s objective is to catalyse R&D and networking to deliver semantic interoperability within and across cyber-physical production systems and supply networks. The SIG pursues this by focusing on research activities related to developing and implementing industrial ontologies, data exchange standards, and interoperability frameworks and methods that support seamless data integration and fusion for autonomous production systems and digital twins. The scope spans the whole manufacturing lifecycle, from design and planning to production, quality, maintenance, logistics, and service, and emphasises data connectivity and integration throughout the product value chain. Focus areas include mappings between W3C standards (RDF/OWL/SHACL) and industrial IoT standards (ISA-95/88, IEC 62264, ISO 10303/STEP, OPC UA, MTConnect, SECS/GEM); ontology engineering, alignment, and validation; runtime reasoning over streams, knowledge graph applications, and neuro-symbolic integration and reasoning. Representative use cases include predictive maintenance, closed-loop quality, semantic scheduling and dispatch across supply networks, product genealogy and traceability, physical artificial intelligence, and cross-enterprise data exchange.
Lean Thinking & Practice
The IFIP WG5.7 Special Interest Group (SIG) on “The Future of Lean Thinking and Practice” seeks to deepen the academic foundations of lean by promoting collaborative research on future and emerging trends in lean production. The SIG is composed of researchers and practitioners who are committed to contributing to our understanding of how to reduce waste, unevenness, and overburden along entire value streams. Group members are also encouraged to improve and advance this exciting research field by investigating areas such as lean management, lean production, lean shop-floor control, lean and green, and lean services; as well as digital lean manufacturing systems and lean digital transformations. The SIG places a particular emphasis on research that merges academic rigour with practical applications of lean thinking and practice in Industry. The objectives of the SIG are (i) to create a platform for exchanging ideas and learning, (ii) to organise Gemba walks and industrial best practice visits for its members, (iii) to organise special sessions/tracks at APMS conferences, (iv) to create special issues in leading international journals, and (v) to publish joint position papers among the SIG members. In realising these objectives, the purpose of the SIG is to consolidate state-of-the-art knowledge in the lean production field and explore gaps in theory and practice in order to identify new research paths and to establish further collaboration in international projects and research activities throughout the SIG.
Operations Management in Engineer-to-Order Manufacturing
The IFIP WG5.7 Special Interest Group (SIG) on “Operations Management in Engineer-to-Order Manufacturing” welcomes research contributions and best industrial practices on operations management enabling effective Engineer-To-Order (ETO) manufacturing, including Industry 4.0 technologies, supply chain management practices, lean operations, production planning and control techniques, production strategies, and product platforms. ETO is a manufacturing approach where design and engineering activities are included in the order fulfilment process. ETO manufacturing is used when engineering specifications of products are not known in detail upon receipt of the customer order, and is common in mechanical industries, the construction sector, shipbuilding, offshore supplier industries, and other types of project-based manufacturing; industries typically facing several unique challenges as the products are often one-of-a-kind and/or highly customised.
Smart and Sustainable Supply Chain Management
The IFIP WG5.7 Special Interest Group (SIG) on “Smart and Sustainable Supply Chain Management” focuses on discussing the current environment and advancements in supply chains. Researchers and practitioners in this SIG are dedicated to enhancing collaborative supply chain planning practices, logistics operations and distribution processes, minimising environmental impacts, and boosting resilience by leveraging advanced digital and smart technologies and investigating new planning systems, warehousing and delivery solutions. The SIG is keen on understanding the state-of-the-art of supply chain developments globally and their practical implications for effectively, intelligently, and sustainably delivering products and services. The purpose of the SIG is (i) to explore emerging topics of interest in the field to raise their importance and visibility, (ii) to analyse the existing gaps in practice and theory to design innovative strategies, mechanisms, and solutions for supply chain management, and (iii) to coordinate collaborations among SIG members in international projects and research activities.
Eco-Efficient and Circular Industrial Systems
The IFIP WG5.7 Special Interest Group (SIG) on “Eco-Efficient and Circular Industrial Systems” aims to bring together a community of researchers and practitioners around green manufacturing. The pressures and sense of urgency to address environmental issues, such as climate change, are pushing manufacturing organisations to formulate ambitious sustainability goals and strategies. Eco-Efficiency and Circular Economy are promising approaches to reduce our impacts on the planet. However, they are still considered as add-ons to business-as-usual, and their implementation is still the exception (rather than the industry norm to achieve impact at scale). This SIG looks at production systems through the sustainability lens to translate eco-efficiency and circularity concepts and principles into industrial actions. It is critical to align the goals of industrial development and sustainable development so they reinforce each other (rather than compete or conflict with one another). In other words, technological advances should support more sustainable manufacturing practices, and sustainability challenges should act as a driver for operational performance improvements and process innovation. The SIG aims (i) to raise the visibility and accelerate advances on this important topic, (ii) to provide a platform for information sharing (e.g. events, publications) within the SIG and with the WG5.7 when relevant, (iii) to coordinate collaborations on joint position papers among SIG members, (iv) to organise special sessions at APMS conferences, and (v) to reach out to potential new members through public seminars and workshops.
Human-Centred Systems
The IFIP WG5.7 Special Interest Group (SIG) on “Human-Centred Systems” focuses on supporting the development of smart, resilient, socially sustainable, and competitive factories of the future, where humans work through the use of advanced technologies. The SIG looks at humans as smart and skilled workers (operators, technicians, supervisors, and managers) who perform assisted, collaborative, and augmented work in harmony with automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence technologies in human-centred cyber-physical production systems. The purpose of this SIG is: (i) to understand the full spectrum of industrial activities involving humans to determine the best approaches to leverage both human and technological capabilities for operational excellence, and (ii) to design and engineer automation, assisting, collaborative, and augmenting systems to safely and ergonomically interact with humans to decrease their physical and cognitive efforts at work and aid in their occupational health, safety, and increased productivity. The SIG will explore the enhancement of human capabilities, both physical and cognitive, to leverage and compensate for the limitations of human operators in complex cyber-physical production systems, including manufacturing, service, and logistics systems. The SIG will foster collaboration among its members to promote socially sustainable, competitive, and resilient cyber-physical production systems by leveraging the best of human and technological capabilities in balanced automation systems.
