The SHOP4CF modular reference architecture for flexible process-oriented, data-driven smart manufacturing

Organizations in the smart industry domain face an increasing complexity of their functions and processes, both in the intra- and inter-organizational scopes. This has a direct effect on the digital systems that support their operations: they grow more complex too. At the same time, the organizations need to increase their agility: they must be able to flexibly adapt their processes to market changes. Especially SMEs in the manufacturing domain get lost in this combination of complexity and changeability. To help SME organizations in the smart manufacturing domain with their digital transformation, we develop the SHOP4CF modular reference architecture for digital manufacturing support. We develop the SHOP4CF base architecture in an iterative way by application and evaluation in 36 real-world industrial cases, organized in three waves. We base our design partly on successful existing work, specifically the outcomes of the HORSE EU project, and align it with main manufacturing standards like ISA-95 and RAMI 4.0. We next distill the SHOP4CF reference architecture by abstracting the SHOP4CF base architecture, based on explicit design principles. We then specialize the reference architecture for process-oriented and data-driven manufacturing. The result of our work is a modular, flexible software reference architecture for smart manufacturing solutions. To facilitate its use, the reference architecture is coupled with manufacturing software life cycle models. Centered on a component marketplace, the life cycle for functional module developers is linked to the life cycle for module users, including explicit attention to the role of technology integrators. To illustrate its applicability, we describe three application cases in this paper. The reference architecture provides a demonstrated point of departure for SMEs in the manufacturing domain to design their digital support in a complex and dynamic industry ecosystem. The modularity of the architecture and its coupling to software life cycles provide a new level of flexibility. • The SHOP4CF Reference Architecture for modular support of smart manufacturing covers explicit support for flexible, integrated manufacturing process and data management. • The reference architecture is the main result of a large 5-year research and innovation project executed across Europe in the Horizon 2020 framework. • The reference architecture design is based on scientific and practical insights in the field of digital architecture and main standards in the field of manufacturing, like ISA-95 and RAMI 4.0. • The work integrates a reference architecture for software and data structures with lifecycle models of digital solutions and digital components, creating balance in the product and process perspectives of digital innovation. • The work presented is based on 36 applications across Europe from the SHOP4CF project, of which two are presented in this paper as illustrative applications, augmented with a project-external case.