Changeability by a Modular Design of Production Systems – Consideration of Technology, Organization and Staff

The steadily alternating and unpredictable requirements for industrial companies implicate the challenge to enhance production systems. As a consequence, the need for action leads to a paradigm shift in production. A transformation from a flexible production to a changeable company occurs. In this context, changeability will be decisive for the desired success. Production systems are used for the purpose of manufacturing products and are attributed to socio-technical systems. A production system is a unit used to realize the production and can include a single machine as well as a complete production area or the whole factory. The staff is also part of production systems and does not only assume organizational responsibilities but also technical tasks. Many already known drivers of change, e.g. new innovations in technologies, have an impact on these socio-technical systems. One chance to react to changing requirements is to apply the principle of modularization. Conventionally, modularization is considered in a technical context. The consideration of staff and organization is disregarded. This article introduces a new approach to design changeable production systems on the basis of modularization, including the dimensions of technology, organization and staff, which will enable industrial companies to make these complex socio-technical systems manageable.