Learning factories for future oriented research and education in manufacturing

Abstract

Learning factories present a promising environment for education, training and research, especially in manufacturing related areas which are a main driver for wealth creation in any nation. While numerous learning factories have been built in industry and academia in the last decades, a comprehensive scientific overview of the topic is still missing. This paper intends to close this gap by establishing the state of the art of learning factories. The motivations, historic background, and the didactic foundations of learning factories are outlined. Definitions of the term learning factory and the corresponding morphological model are provided. An overview of existing learning factory approaches in industry and academia is provided, showing the broad range of different applications and varying contents. The state of the art of learning factories curricula design and their use to enhance learning and research as well as potentials and limitations are presented. Conclusions and an outlook on further research priorities are offered. © 2017

Keywords

Author Keywords

Training education competence development Learning factory Manufacturing research

Index Keywords

Personnel training education Industrial research Curricula design Learning factory Competence development Driver training Enhance learning State of the art Manufacture Manufacturing research Morphological model Research priorities

Author Affiliations

Technology and Machine Tools, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany

Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and Automation, University of Patras, Rio, Achaia, Greece

Institute of Management Science, TU Wien, Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) Centre, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada

Institute for Machine Tools and Factory Management, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Department of Production Engineering, The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Stockholms, Sweden

ESB Business School, Hochschule Reutlingen, Reutlingen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany

Funding & Acknowledgements

No funding information

References 10 References

1 Abulrub, Abdul Hadi G., Virtual reality in engineering education: The future of creative learning, 2011 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference, EDUCON 2011, pp. 751-757, (2011)

2 Abel, M., Competency-based curriculum for learning factories A didactical concept for learning factories, WT Werkstattstechnik, 103, 3, pp. 240-245, (2013)

3 CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering, (2016)

4 Abele, Eberhard, ETA Learning Factory: A Holistic Concept for Teaching Energy Efficiency in Production, Procedia CIRP, 54, pp. 83-88, (2016)

5 Abele, Eberhard, A new generation of learning factories: Development of systematics for the efficient design of learning factories, ZWF Zeitschrift fuer Wirtschaftlichen Fabrikbetrieb, 107, 3, pp. 147-151, (2012)

6 Institute of Production Management Technology and Machine Tools Ptw, (2011)

7 CIRP Collabora Tive Working Group Learning Factories for Future Oriented Research and Education in Manufacturing, (2014)

8 Zagreb, (2007)

9 Innovative Lernmodule Und Fabriken Validierung Und Weiterentwicklung Einer Neuartigen Wissensplattform Fur Die Produktionsexzellenz Von Morgen, (2015)

10 Abele, Eberhard, Learning factories for research, education, and training, Procedia CIRP, 32, pp. 1-6, (2015)

Learning factories for future oriented research and education in manufacturing

How to Cite