Preventive �Efficiently controlling necessary downtime. Preventive maintenance is usually carried out on the basis of fixed contracts, which provide for an inspection of critical elements of Maintenance the production systems at regular intervals or at fixed times. This may include analyses and cleaning the machines, for example. One of the advantages offered is the easy-to-plan and predictable maintenance times, which serve to prevent unforeseen downtime and ultimately save costs. Reshoring �Available is the new cheap. Whereas in the past purchase decisions were often primarily made on the basis of the lowest price, in the future it will be the product that is available most quickly and with a high level of customization that will be at the top of consumers’ shopping lists. This necessitates new manufacturing and marketing methods and structures that will only become possible as a result of networked production in smart factories. Short distances will be an important factor in achieving fast availability. Due to the high degree of automation, production steps that are currently outsourced to low-wage countries can be repatriated to high-wage countries in a process known as “reshoring”. Irrespective of wage structures, intelligent automation allows cost-efficient and high-quality production in the vicinity of the consumers. Resource E昀昀iciency �Sustainable production. The ability of humanity to handle the future will be determined by a responsible and sustainable approach to natural resources. In a just world, it may be assumed that ever more people will want to be supplied with ever better products. Flexible, intelligent and networked production as envisaged in Industrie 4.0 offers the opportunity of using raw materials more efficiently and more sustainably along the entire value chain and recycling them to a great extent for the sake of the planet. Robofacturing �Craftsmanship meets robotics. Unlike a conventional factory, with its high degree of uniform mass production, craft manufacturing combines the virtues of skilled craftsmanship with a low level of mechanization. Craft-manufactured products convince with high-quality and a distinctly unique character. Robofacturing unites the advantages of craft manufac- turing with the low price of a mass product, making individual and high-quality products affordable for large parts of the global population. Robotic Governance �Creating a responsible future world for generation “R”. Robotic governance is a concept which, among other things, considers the ethical/moral, socio-cultural, socio-political and socio-economic e昀昀ects of robotics on society and provides a framework for solving problems resulting from these changes. The governance principles include accountability, responsibility, transparency of structures and fairness. In this way, robotic governance helps to create a sustainable and responsible future world for the upcoming generation “R”. Robotic Natives �Robots as natural companions. Future generations, “robotic natives”, will see robots as the state of the art, as a lifestyle, or quite simply as normal. Just as commonplace as smartphones and the Internet, for example, are for the digital natives of today. They will have overcome the old human versus machine antagonism. The robot-oriented generation will shape a society that not only works differently, but also thinks differently. They will see the capabilities of robots as universal, networkable services that can be requested via the Internet and flexibly adapted to the requirements and desires of the individual at the click of a mouse. While nowadays robots are primarily known as work assistants in industrial processes, in the future they will be found in all areas of our daily lives as driverless cars, robo-furniture, carebots and a wide range of home and personal assistants. By 2050, a robot in every household will be part of everyday life. Security �No success without security. The issue of safety and security is one of the most multi- faceted business aspects of modern companies. In the separate worlds of production (OT) and information (IT), a basic distinction is made between safety and security: in OT con- texts, the term “safety” is used to refer to the safeguarding of people and machinery as well as the availability and reliability of production equipment. In the IT environment, the term “security” primarily relates to data security, integrity and con昀椀dentiality. OT and IT are merged in the networked world of Industrie 4.0, which brings the issue of safety and security to a new level of complexity. The use of cloud models and the networking of entire companies and organizations exacerbates the security aspects (see also Data Ownership). 阀阀 Consulting o昀昀ers well-founded advice on all safety and security questions and can draw on a broad network of expertise, including strategic alliances with international experts. VIII�IX