Integrating resource efficiency in learning factories for industrial engineering

The electrification of tomorrow’s mobility concepts requires a lightweight design of automotive chassis. In order to save energy during the use phase of those cars, established material like steel are part wise substituted by composite materials. Looking at the manufacturing processes for composites, new technological challenges arise considering all aspects of sustainability. Hence, an industrial engineering learning factory was developed to increase sustainability during the manufacturing of composites products. The learning scenarios in this factory cover human factors engineering, energy efficient operations and economic improvements. Towards the implementation of a green factory a didactic learning concept was developed in order to train future industrial engineers during their studies as well as engineering people on-the-job. This paper contains the presentation of the developed learning scenarios and quantifies the practical impacts of the taught methodologies while applying them in industrial use-cases