Within the GEMINI project, CONTACT is aligning its PDM/PLM system to meet specific requirements in the context of configuring Industry 4.0 business models.

"New technologies in the fields of information logistics and networking are paving the way for innovative business models that are relevant to Germany as a leading economy with global footprint for advanced capital goods," says Dr. Patrick Müller, Product Manager PLM at CONTACT. "Industry 4.0 solutions demand end-to-end PLM support from development of the business model to design of the system architectures through to digital system simulation."

According to Müller, the operation and maintenance of capital goods represent a further motivation for CONTACT's involvement. Here, innovative business models are based on operational excellence in the service business. It is inconceivable that this can be implemented in the face of increasing product individualization without an IT-based, lifecycle-oriented approach covering everything from development right through to operation. Beyond this, Industry 4.0 requires products and production systems to be networked on the shop floor. And again, the foundation for this is provided by PLM.

<link http: www.autonomik40.de en external-link-new-window>GEMINI is one of 14 consortium projects in the "Autonomics for Industry 4.0" technology program with which the federal government is aiming to merge state-of-the-art ICT information and communication technology with industrial production by exploiting the potential offered by innovation in order to accelerate the development of innovative products. The GEMINI project is managed by the project sponsor at the German Aerospace Center (DLR); the consortium coordinator and project leader is the Heinz Nixdorf Institute (HNI) at the University of Paderborn.

Scientific support is provided by the HNI, the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology, the Sales and Marketing Department of the Ruhr University Bochum and the VDI/VDE Institute of Innovation and Technology. Alongside CONTACT Software, the other consortium members are the IT service provider Atos, the plant and equipment manufacturer SLM Solutions Group (3D metal printing), and technology and management consultants UNITY. GEMINI is due to run until March 2017. The findings will be disseminated on global conferences, by the partner network and by new standard PLM modules and software applications.