Cognitive Maintenance and Polymorphic Production as the Leading Industry 4.0 Paradigms

Abstract

The increasing interest in the integration of informatics with automation control systems results in the creation of a brand new philosophy of production. The philosophy defined as Industry 4.0 revolutionizes manufacturing in the form as it is understood nowadays. The classical methods of optimization of a production process are insufficient for current requirements and therefore need totally new assumptions and should be reconstructed. Two significant paradigms of Industry 4.0 are presented in the paper: Cognitive Maintenance and Polymorphic Production. Polymorphic Production is an innovative organizational concept that enables dynamic switching between numerous production variants (frameworks). The idea is based on the gathering and analysis of various elements: production orders, current production process status, operational Key Production Indicators, resources and energy availability or priorities set by management. As a result, dynamic, real-time switching between production paths is possible in order to manufacture in the most optimal and efficient way. Due to increased system complexity and flexibility, effective maintenance becomes a key factor for successful implementation of Industry 4.0. Therefore, the second paradigm is the reinforcement of the Cognitive Maintenance concept by the use of knowledge and resources management, which are related to the industrial installation. The purpose of the approach is to gather the resources at every step of an installation life span and to use them effectively so they can support the maintenance. The technical supplement for the approach are methods like technological modeling, remote support and the use of augmented and virtual reality. By the use of such approaches like Polymorphic Production or Cognitive Maintenance, the significant improvement of efficiency of industrial plants is possible. The process can be performed not only by the optimization of production paths but also thanks to modern maintenance of industrial installations. The reason for stressing the significance of those two paradigms results from their complexity: on one hand they affect the whole concept of Industry 4.0, and on the other they combine many aspects that are usually considered separately or which are only partially treated together.