Category
Details
Industry 4.0 in Action
Industry 4.0 envisions intelligent factories (“Smart Factory”) that integrate highly networked production systems to exchange data internally as well as across companies and collaborate flexibly in value chains. Key elements of the smart factory are embedded systems with local information processing and extensive interconnection between each other and the Internet. Participants in this category recognize the potential of the smart factory, map it in their system and actively engage with its added value (e.g., independent material reordering or repair initiation).
Artificial Intelligence in the Factory
The application of AI in factories supports the evaluation of process and machine data and thus promotes advances towards data-driven process analysis. This category analyzes advanced technologies, such as Big Data or AI-based manufacturing analytics solutions. The latter help to optimize key manufacturing KPIs, such as product quality, maintenance processes, lead times, and more.
Digital Transformation
Digital factories feature a crucial interconnection of the actors relevant for production. Machines and systems, suppliers and customers exchange information using digital technologies. Therefore, it is essential to digitally capture data, structure it appropriately and merge it across system boundaries. The real-time processing of the resulting data volume (big data) helps to design processes more efficiently, maintain machines, create forecasts or develop new business models. Future-oriented factory software solutions should promote this development toward the digital factory, using I4.0 (e.g., digital twin, IIoT, smart production objects) and form an important driver on the way to the intelligently linked factory (smart factory).
Platforms for the Connected Factory
Deriving added value from factory software requires intelligent and future-proof solutions. Factory software providers can benefit from the innovative ability of third parties with a platform approach. An outstanding solution in this category is characterized by expandability through development partners who add functions to the factory software and thus increase its value.
Connectivity
Secure and reliable networking of various production objects (machines, tools, software, and so on) plays an important role in the smart factory, ensuring the continuous communication necessary for the exchange of data and information. Providers and initiatives competing in this category should therefore offer a particularly high level of networking support – at both the syntactic and semantic levels. The protocols and (standardized) interfaces provided also come into play in this category.
Training and Further Education
This category honors groundbreaking solutions that have implemented a future-focused idea for further training in the sense of the smart factory and Industry 4.0. Successful submissions explain how they deal with the differing prior qualifications of the participants, how they intend to ensure workplace-oriented and problem-related further training, and what results they have achieved in terms of skills development.
Sustainable Factory
Questions about sustainability and environmental protection are quickly becoming the focus of debates around modern factories. This award goes to software-driven solutions that show how a factory can be both efficient and sustainable. Dimensions of social, ecological and economic sustainability are all taken into account.
Audience Favorite
Audience favorite is not judged by our jury of experts but by the audience itself – including your (prospective) customers. Every FIA participant is automatically considered for this award (i.e., no application is required for this category). The system with the most external votes (excluding those of participating companies) receives this very special prize.