FIED 2024: Industry 4.0 needs an Atmosphere that promotes Learning and Soft-Skill Training

Industry 4.0 needs a Learning Environment and Soft-Skill Training

Expert conference #FIED highlights “The Future Workplace” / Looking for Young Experts with Data Affinity and the Ability to abstract

Fueled by artificial intelligence, the speed at which the working environments of humans and machines in logistics, production and manufacturing are merging together is increasing. The cooperation and efficiency of those involved will be raised to a new level, provided that the design of workplaces on the industrial shop floor keeps pace with this development. Work design that promotes learning, new qualifications among young talent and the training of “soft skills” will help determine success. The Future of Industrial Engineering Day 2024 (#FIED for short) in Dortmund showed these trends with 200 participants.

The Future Workplace “People & Technology — Co-Workers or Counterparts? “was the focus of this year's event with 15 speakers from industry, research and the start-up world. From the logistician's perspective, Christian Lutz from Dachser outlines measures that are becoming increasingly important in personnel development: “In an increasingly technologized working world, it is essential to train and strengthen managers and employees in their 'soft skills. '” As Department Head of Health & Travel Management, Lutz is also responsible for health management.

In his presentation, he makes it clear that a positive working environment promotes well-being and helps to cope with everyday stress, particularly in view of more complex and diverse requirements. “Working life will continue to be heavily influenced by interpersonal relationships, which make a significant contribution to employee health,” Lutz is convinced.

Generations Z and Alpha must “be able to think outside the box”

Especially in view of the shortage of skilled workers, it is important to define the requirements and prospects for the next generation in industrial engineering. Professor Andreas Besse from the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences puts it in a nutshell: “Young professionals in logistics and operations today need more than ever a data affinity combined with sufficient abstraction skills.” It became clear that one of the core competencies will be to understand the inherent data and even more so to derive the “big picture” from it. “The abstraction ability to learn from data and to translate logistical relationships into measures will be one of the major demands on our young logistics talent,” Besse is convinced and makes clear, “these young people need the ability to think outside the box. ”

Physical AI as a Driver

Physical AI will also have a major impact on the new world of work. This involves the fusion of artificial intelligence with sensor data from the real world (Internet of Things), which will play a central role in logistics, production and manufacturing in the future. “Improved real-time data analysis, intelligent interaction options and increased automation raise efficiency and collaboration between humans and machines to a new level,” concludes Dr. Alexander Hüttenbrink, co-founder and co-CEO of software developer Kinexon. This trend has several effects: Productivity is increasing, job security is increasing and companies are prepared for the requirements of the future.

Strategic and sustainable Positioning of Industry is possible

Overall, not only the logistics sector, but also the manufacturing and manufacturing sector is on the cusp of a groundbreaking transformation through the use of AI, with excellent opportunities for employers and employees to position themselves well in the long term and to assert themselves in the competition. “The digitization of logistics is not just a technical advance, but a strategic step towards a sustainable and resilient future for companies,” says Professor Sascha Stowasser from the Institute of Applied Ergonomics, placing the topic in an overall context.

#FIED is establishing itself as a Forum for Industrial Engineering

Originally started as a user meeting for users of Motion-Mining® technology, the Future of Industrial Engineering Day has developed in recent years into a broad-based conference with a focus on logistics, production, manufacturing and industrial engineering. “We are very pleased that #FIED is bringing together important players in the field of industrial engineering for the third year in a row. For us, the focus is on the exchange between industry, start-ups and research. Through this collaboration, current and future challenges in the working world can be addressed and discussed and solved by the right actors,” explains Dr. Sascha Feldhorst, CEO and co-founder of MotionMiners. The #FIED took place for the third time this year and is supported by the Ministry of Economics, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

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