Continental Automotive spearheads an innovative eight-partner consortium, revolutionising automotive production through comprehensive digitalisation for line planning and enhanced productivity forecasts. Their groundbreaking strides have begun to refine existing manufacturing workflows, setting new benchmarks in digital factory operations.
Continental Automotive has taken the helm in a collaborative venture featuring eight elite players from IT, academic research, and innovative startups to fully integrate digital technologies into the production of automotive components. The User Experience division of Continental is steering the project management of the three-year initiative “Digitalization of the Industrialization Process in the Automotive and Supplier Industries,” or DIAZI for short, with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
The DIAZI initiative by Continental initiative seeks to revolutionize manufacturing facilities by creating digital twins of future production lines, allowing for enhanced planning and virtual simulations. These innovations aim to bolster the manufacturing efficacy, adaptability, and cost-efficiency necessary for the modern automotive industry to meet rapid development timelines, complex logistical demands, and evolving consumer expectations. The outcome of DIAZI is poised to greatly enhance the efficiency of automotive industrialization, contributing broadly to the sustainability of mobility.
Thomas Ebenhöch, who oversees operations within Continental Automotive’s User Experience sector, states, “DIAZI signifies a pivotal leap in the digitization journey of the auto sector. Continental is at the forefront, pioneering this transformative shift toward highly efficient and sustainable manufacturing processes within the automotive supply chain. Our commitment to the digital transformation extends beyond creating smart digital products, like advanced display systems, to embracing digital simulations, AI, and cloud data services, thus streamlining the path from innovation to market. The promising early outcomes reaffirm our direction towards realizing a fully ‘digital factory’.”
The “digital factory” concept promises to infuse the infrastructure of Germany’s automotive and supplier industries with cutting-edge digital innovation. To remain competitive and meet the industry’s swiftly changing demands, a comprehensive digital approach is essential for optimizing industrial processes.
Through DIAZI, a virtual production landscape is envisaged where new plants are digitally planned, and procedures are virtually tested, ensuring a seamless real-world rollout. AI-driven analytics offer continuous process refinement, forecast precision in productivity, and help reduce machine downtime. This cohesive digital ecosystem aims to link various company plants and supplier networks for quick, scalable, and quality production.
The DIAZI project, backed by federal funding and European economic recovery initiatives, commenced on January 1, 2023, with a planned duration of three years. “The automotive sector’s rapid digital transformation harbors immense opportunities,” observes Ernst Stöckl-Pukall, who leads Digitalization, Industry 4.0 at the Federal Ministry. “Intercompany collaboration as seen in DIAZI is pivotal for the industry at large. The insights and models developed could revolutionize many companies and manufacturing lines, igniting a shift to fully digital, AI-driven production methodologies.”
In its initial phase, DIAZI focused on developing digital models for virtual planning and commissioning processes, engaging experts from various fields, including Landshut University of Applied Sciences, Technical University of Braunschweig, and several specialised tech firms. The preliminary outcomes of the DIAZI initiative are impacting Continental’s clientele positively, with advancements like expedited manufacturing of new display systems.