Framework of a Modular Tool Box for the Design of Process Chains in Automotive Component Manufacturing

Methods and tools of the Digital Factory in the automotive industry are an important part of the planning and control phase of production systems. An integration of data about the prospected energy demand of machinery into the early planning phase enables the reduction of investments, operating costs and environmental impacts. Against this background, decision situations have been analyzed in workshops with planners and have been aggregated to a reference planning process. On this basis, a framework for a set of planning tools has been developed which can seamlessly be integrated into the current software environment to support early and late stage planning processes as well as purchase and operations. All tools receive their input data from a database which comprehensively integrates relevant data sources which would otherwise be scattered in the company. The application of the tool set is exemplarily illustrated by a case study.