Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for manufacturing companies - not only as a social goal, but also as a strategic competitive factor. In small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, however, there are obstacles to implementing appropriate measures in production planning. While ecological, economic and social aspects are sometimes taken into account in product development, there is often a lack of systematic approaches to integrating these target variables in resource planning, especially in the area of assembly. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

The NaBeMi research project, funded by the FQS - Research Association for Quality, is dedicated to the development of a digital assistance system that enables sustainability-oriented planning of resources in manual and hybrid assembly systems over a two-year period. The focus is on a holistic target value system that combines classic planning objectives such as time, costs and quality with the three dimensions of sustainability. The methodological basis is formed by three interlinked quality control loops for the systematic recording of requirements, target variables and possible solution configurations. By structuring the planning process and providing an IT-supported solution, access to sustainable resource planning is to be made easier, particularly for SMEs, and planning quality is to be increased in the long term.

The Bremen Institute of Production and Logistics (BIBA) and the Institute of Production Systems and Logistics (IFA) are the research institutes carrying out the project. The project is supported by seven companies in the project support committee. The Bremen Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Hanover region are also supporting the project.

In this interview, Dirk Schweers (BIBA) gives an outlook on the project and explains how companies can benefit from the research results.

Interview