Enterprise Integration With the Structural Services Architectural Style

The Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Representational State Transfer (REST) architectural styles are the most used for the integration of enterprise applications. Each is more adequate to a different class of applications and exhibits advantages and disadvantages. This chapter performs a comparative study between them. It is shown that SOA and REST are dual architectural styles, one oriented towards behavior and the other towards state. This raises the question of whether it is possible to combine them to maximize the advantages and to minimize the disadvantages. A new architectural style, Structural Services, is proposed to obtain the best characteristics from SOA and REST. As in SOA, services are able to offer a variable set of operations and, as in REST, resources are allowed to have structure. This style uses structural interoperability, based on structural compliance and conformance. A service-oriented programming language is also introduced to instantiate this architectural style.

Smart Gateways for IOT-Factory Integration

This book chapter proposes a description of smart gateways and cyber-physical systems (CPS) for the industrial internet of things (I-IOT). It also presents a case study where a smart gateway is developed to be used in different types of industrial equipment for the shop floor. The case study is developed under the specifications of different industries in the region of Castelo Branco. It is a proof that the 4th industrial revolution will be the engine for SME innovation, independence of the regions and their financial strength. It is also proof that the cooperation between universities, industries and startups can evolve to break barriers and add value in the improvement of regional industries competitiveness. Topics that will be addressed on the chapter can be used for developers, students, researchers and enthusiasts to learn topics related to I-IOT, such as data acquisitions systems, wired and wireless communication devices and protocols, OPC servers and LabVIEW programming.

Digital Transformation in the Utilities Industry

Nowadays, there is a digital transformation in industry, which is being referred to as a new revolution, known as the fourth industrial revolution. Today, we are in the fourth industrial revolution, which strongly supports itself at enabling technologies, such as: Internet of Things (IoT), big data, cyber-physical systems (CPS) and cloud computing. These technologies are working cooperatively to promote a digital transformation in the forms of: Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet Consortium and Advanced Manufacturing. To meet these needs and as a proof of concept, a platform for digital transformation for a water issue is proposed with the objective of achieving an efficient management of resources linked to rational use of water. For the platform definition, a survey was performed of the process of a water treatment plant from the third industrial revolution and improved the process by applying the concepts of digital transformation to improve the new platform.

Towards Industry 4.0

An overview of the work under development within the EU-funded collaborative project MAESTRI is presented in this chapter. The project provides a framework of new Industrial methodology, integrating several tools and methods, to help industries facing the fourth industrial revolution. This concept, called the MAESTRI Total Efficiency Framework (MTEF), aims to advance the sustainability of manufacturing and process industries by providing a management system in the form of a flexible and scalable platform and methodology. The MTEF is based on four pillars: a) an effective management system targeted at continuous process improvement; b) Efficiency assessment tools to support improvements, optimization strategies and decision-making support; c) Industrial Symbiosis paradigm to gain value from waste and energy exchange; d) an Internet-of-Things infrastructure to support easy integration and data exchange among shop-floor, business systems and MAESTRI tools.

Cloud-Based Manufacturing (CBM) Interoperability in Industry 4.0

Cloud computing (CC) is generating new computing and business models because of its service-based nature, which enables collaboration and data exchange at higher level, more flexibility with better efficiency and parallel decreasing costs. Manufacturing environments can also benefit from cloud technology and follow fast changes in market demands. In these new scenarios, interoperability has vital importance in the operation and in the interaction among industrial realizations of cyber-physical systems. The chapter introduces the different cloud models and the interoperability issues concerning connected enterprise information systems. Various standardization frameworks have been developed for homogeneous integration of IT models in industrial environments: the IIRA and the RAMI 4.0 are the best-known ones. The chapter introduces both architectures; their methodological approach to industrial integration efforts and how integration can be realized through the OPC Unified Architecture. Finally, the authors propose a basic conceptual model for cloud manufacturing.

Technologies for Industry 4.0 Data Solutions

One of the main objectives of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) is to generate new opportunities based on the convergence of traditionally isolated technologies such as industrial control systems (ICSs) and information and communication technology (ICT). This presents new opportunities to take advantage of ICT technologies to develop new applications and services related to industrial processes. However, there are a variety of requirements and constraints that must be addressed for the attainment of this purpose. Moreover, the large amount of existing technologies and tools that can cope with these requirements makes the definition and selection of a solution a cumbersome task for traditional industrial workers with a non-ICT focused background. This chapter analyses and describes the main requirements and technologies required to provide a data-based Industry 4.0 solution.

Teamwork Behavior

Teamwork has become an important research field and its contribution to organizational performance has attracted attention of researchers from several disciplines. The development and application of newly emerged technologies such as Industry 4.0, Internet of Things, and cyber physical systems create additional concerns for teamwork which claim to be integrated into existing models. The objective of this chapter is to advance research on teamwork, by facilitating researchers with a review which identifies the key factors that affect teamwork behavior both in human and in agent-based teamwork models, while indicating if and how they are inter-related. A review of related studies was conducted, and, as a result, a range of factors that affect teamwork behavior to both human and agent-based models was identified and analyzed. From the analysis, stand out factors that gain attention while newly-appeared factors are determined from recent studies about models shift towards dynamic and realistic environments. These discoveries point to new aspects of teamwork behavior.

A Practical Approach to Manufacturing Execution Systems at Bosch AvP

With Industry 4.0 related initiatives, a brand new array of opportunities has emerged for organizations to face the ordeals that come with managing ever-growing manufacturing needs. The exponential increase in the complexity of supply chain management has put a real strain on manufacturing operations. In order to succeed, organizations must turn to solutions such as manufacturing execution systems (MES) in order to stay competitive. In this research chapter, we discuss the impact of MES in organizations, whilst describing the process for going from a theoretical concept to a hands-on system which runs the shop floor operations.

Smart DC Microgrid

The objective of this chapter is to elucidate on microgrid technologies, a comparison of direct current (DC) microgrid technology and alternating current (AC) microgrid technology, the role of the information and communication technology, demand response programs, and the evolution of Industry 4.0 in detail. The microgrid is a cyber-physical system. ICT is used for computing control algorithms and sending control information to actuators for physical processes. In a cyber-physical system, the physical processes, which are governed by the laws of physics, are controlled by computers. The computers are used for computing or executing the algorithms (i.e., the control logic) and the result is sent to the actuators in the form of control signal for actual control. In a microgrid, a consumer can act as a producer also, which is termed as the prosumer. This chapter explains the maximum power point tracking algorithm, software-defined battery, the operation of parallel converters, the working of prosumer, the demand response program, communication technologies, and the (industrial) Internet of Things.

The Role of Universities in Industry 4.0 Era

In every industrial era, one of the most important issues is the adaptation of business conditions to operational and administrative processes. Nowadays, as in every field of business-life, globalization and high competition highlighted the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation. The focal point of competition has changed to the position to innovate products at desired and required amounts, times, and quality with affordable price so taking advantage requires integrated management skills. Universities play a key role at this point thus entrepreneurs and researcher universities has emerged. In this study, after a general overview on evaluation of innovation and entrepreneurship concepts, the importance of them are explained in the view of industry 4.0. Then, a model of entrepreneurial and researcher universities is explained in detail with the analysis of several countries' models. The study reveals the role of universities in the innovation and entrepreneurship framework and to generate awareness about industry-university collaborations in the new industrial era.