Mechanical engineering finds itself in a dilemma. On the one hand, the industry is regarded as an indispensable driver of innovation in the economy, offering highly specialised, customised solutions. On the other hand, it is struggling with fundamental challenges that make internal processes inefficient and make day-to-day work considerably more difficult. Above all, inadequate modularisation, isolated knowledge silos and fragmented software landscapes hamper efficiency and innovation.
In this blog, we take a closer look at the industry’s structural problems – and the solutions.
More standardisation for customisation
Digitalisation in particular, which has long been established as an enabler for growth and increased efficiency in other industries, often remains piecemeal in special machine construction. The reality is that projects and processes are usually neither fully digitalised nor considered end-to-end – as a result, the potential of modern technologies remains untapped.
Despite the numerous possibilities offered by automation, AI or sophisticated robotics, companies often fail when it comes to practical implementation. Fragmented systems, incompatible software and complex licence models block the path to efficiency. The main difficulties lie in handling and merging the many individual solutions and in distributed teams.
But this is precisely where the opportunity lies. Special machine construction can realign itself digitally – as a pioneer for integrated, end-to-end digitalised processes that combine collaboration, transparency and efficiency.
The focus must inevitably be on transforming the entire engineering workflow: From the initial idea to the manufacturing plant. Only consistent and uniform digitalisation of the individual processes can create the basis for a future-proof and collaborative way of working. This is precisely what the industry is more dependent on than ever before, especially in view of the tense economic situation.
The country needs new ways of thinking
There are promising approaches, such as a central platform as a hub for data, projects and software. This could also solve another fundamental problem in special machine construction: the isolated silos of knowledge.
Individual employees and teams often work in a highly specialised and separate manner, even if central data storage systems are already in use. The catch here is the lack of transparency and availability of data beyond the respective departmental boundaries.
This makes collaboration more difficult, especially in projects that involve different specialist areas. Such silos are also susceptible to the loss of expertise, for example when employees leave the company. The perfect solution: more SaaS, more cloud, more collaboration.
Game changer from the cloud
So what does special machine construction need to remedy this imbalance? What is needed to utilise technologies in such a way that they unfold their full potential and entire teams can finally work safely and efficiently together?
One promising solution is an open cloud platform that connects everyone involved – from engineers and project managers to external people – and thus creates a transparent and flexible working environment. mosaixx has set out with its Software-as-a-Service solution of the same name to realise precisely this vision and take special machine construction to a whole new level.
It is all about ‘more’ standardisation, productivity and collaboration. The cloud platform replaces isolated solutions and knowledge silos in factories and offices with centralised software that brings together distributed engineering teams and system integrators.
The combination of smart data management, process understanding, simulations and software tools paves the way for the industrial engineering of the future. Fully digitalised and collaborative.
