The CiP research group strives to be the leading application-oriented research and transfer center for improvements in holistic production systems.

The research activities are divided into the following four main areas and are currently dealing with the above-mentioned topics:

Learning factories and competence development for production

• Mixed reality in learning factories
• Work-integrated learning for the introduction of artificial intelligence in production
• Competence development for circular economy
• Planning and development of learning factories

Shopfloor management and problem solving

• Design of customized analogue and digital shop floor management systems
• System-oriented design of data-based problem-solving processes

Data science and artificial intelligence in production

• Industrial image processing based on Machine Learning
• Time series analysis, anomaly detection, and predictive maintenance based on machine data
• Holistic data management in production
• Gaia-X-compliant data ecosystem technologies
• Knowledge/data integration in LLM-based assistance systems (neurosymbolic/grounded AI)
• Large Language Models (LLMs) in context of production and project management

Value stream management

• Value stream design 4.0
• Digital value stream twin
• Data analytics for value stream analysis and design
• Sustainability, resilience, and circularity in value stream management
• Digital factory planning

As part of a dynamic team of over 15 research staff, the CiP | Center for Industrial Productivity conducts application-oriented research into innovative approaches to production management for lean and digital manufacturing.

The CiP research group operates the CiP Process Learning Factory, an innovative training and continuing education center where, since 2007, lean production methods have been taught to partner companies in the manufacturing industry. It offers an ideal environment for testing new approaches in a production setting under laboratory conditions, as well as for transferring research results to industry in a clear and tangible way. Since 2016, the CiP process learning factory has also formed the core of the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Darmstadt (MDZ) (opens in a new tab) and prepares small and medium-sized enterprises for the challenges of digitalization.

With the FlowFactory, a new research and learning factory is being established on the Lichtwiese campus, where state-of-the-art technology is used to investigate and demonstrate future challenges in production management.

We live the lean philosophy, take a critical look at lean methods, seek exchange with lean thinkers and are enthusiastic when we manage to get the lean spark to fly. In our experience, however, this rarely happens through books, lectures or training in frontal teaching.

How do we arrive at this statement?

At the Institute for Production Management, Technology and Machine Tools (PTW) at the Technical University of Darmstadt, we asked ourselves what our graduates lack when they work in production-related areas after graduation. We received the answer from a survey of 50 HR managers. The deficiencies are…

• … too little knowledge of lean methods
• … lack of knowledge about production systems (structure + mode of action)
• … no idea of ideal processes and no enthusiasm for the continuous improvement process

So the lean spark hadn't been ignited. The observation continues in consulting projects in which we support companies in their lean transformation:

• Employees lack the practical skills to implement lean methods
• In training courses, employees often receive purely theoretical knowledge that they cannot put into practice because they lack practical relevance

So we have identified the need for improved education and training, in which not knowledge, but skills are imparted to employees in production.