Patterns for reuse in production systems engineering

Abstract

In Production Systems Engineering (PSE), domain experts aim at reusing production processes implemented as Industry 4.0 assets and software. However, the knowledge on reusable assets is often scattered on multi-disciplinary engineering artifacts and domain experts, making it hard to find suitable reusable assets and map them to requirements. In this paper, we (i) identify challenges and requirements for reuse in PSE based on a domain analysis; (ii) introduce the Industry 4.0 Asset Network (I4AN) that integrates multi-disciplinary dependencies between the assets and exposes recurring patterns; and (iii) present four patterns for reuse in PSE that aim at improving reuse efficiency and risk. We evaluate the I4AN with reuse scenarios in a feasibility study. The study results indicate that the I4AN model satisfies the elicited requirements and enables PSE domain experts to identify patterns for reuse in their contexts.