Approaches for data collection and process standardization in smart manufacturing: Systematic literature review

The world of smart manufacturing is continuously evolving. Since the introduction of the term "Industry 4.0" by the German government in the year 2011, different terms, technologies and approaches to foster interoperability and efficiency in smart manufacturing environments have been established. Nevertheless, the challenge is not only to integrate new equipment and to connect it to the Industrial Internet of Things. Legacy equipment still needs to be joined into automated end-to-end processes as well. This paper conducts systematic literature research to assess three areas revolving around those topics: first, the current standards, reference models and state-of-the-art approaches in the sector of smart manufacturing were evaluated. Second, the focus was laid on Open Platform Communications United Architecture (OPC UA) to check if the goal of standardization at the communication level was successful. Third, the current approaches to data modelling such as the usage of Asset Administration Shell (AAS) have been elicited. The results were summarized in tabularized form and a framework has been introduced that empowers readers to evaluate a proper approach in realizing interoperability and harmonization at the field level.