Keywords

1 Introduction

The framework of production has changed significantly due to an ever-increasing dynamic [1]. Globalization has increased the importance of global trade in particular [2]. Companies are focusing more and more on their key developments. As a result, increasingly complex and interconnected networks are emerging. Due to globalization, worldwide production networks exist [3]. Several companies already operate a Holistic Production System (HPS) intending to achieve the highest possible output with their available resources [4]. An HPS is a company-tailored-fit set of methodical rules for extensive and universal production planning that consists of various principles [4, 5]. The reasons for introducing an HPS can be internal as well as external [6]. Nowadays, companies expect their suppliers to have an HPS as well because the potential of an HPS can only be fully developed if the entire supply chain is integrated [6]. However, maintaining an HPS requires a significant amount of time and effort.

Numerous biological principles apply to production. In nature, there are several systems and processes that conserve resources, such as photosynthesis. Therefore, principles from nature are offering a promising approach to support HPS. Transferring phenomena from biology to technology is called Biological Transformation [7, 8]. Biological Transformation is already being applied in numerous areas of manufacturing, such as product surfaces or robotic [9]. Implementation possibilities of Biological Transformation are distinguished in Bio-Inspired, Bio-Integrated, and Bio-Intelligent-Solutions, depending on the level of interaction of biosphere, technosphere, and informationsphere The interest in Biological Transformation in manufacturing systems is growing [8]. Biological Transformation pursues two focuses. The first focus is on sustainability. The other aspect is competitiveness through the development of more efficient and robust production systems [10].

As described earlier, Biological Transformation is already being applied in numerous fields. To this end, this paper presents a systematic literature review relating to the current state of Biological Transformation in Holistic Production Systems. For this purpose, the structure of Holistic Production Systems and their principles are presented in the following section. After that, the method for systematic literature research as well as the implementation and its results are presented.

2 Structure and Principles of Holistic Production Systems

An HPS is an enterprise-specific model for process design [4]. Figure 1 shows the schematic structure of an HPS. In the first step, goals are set, such as increasing quality. To achieve this global goal, subgoals are derived from the main goal. Subgoals for increasing quality can be, for example, sustainable process control and product development in line with assembly requirements. The goals have an impact on the processes in the company [5]. According to Fehr et al., in addition to production processes, processes from marketing, research and development, planning, logistics, quality assurance, controlling, financing and human resources are also part of the HPS [11]. Function-oriented structures have numerous interfaces, consequently, there is an increased coordination effort. HPS, therefore, focuses on process orientation and design with a low number of interfaces. This results in the transparency of the processes. To achieve subgoal 1, it is necessary to consider manufacturing processes. For subgoal 2, the construction process is considered. The corresponding process principles are selected in the next step. By selecting the principles, the available methods and tools are narrowed down. A distinction is made between the principles:

  • standardization,

  • zero defects principle,

  • flow principle,

  • pull principle,

  • continuous improvement process,

  • employee orientation and management by objectives,

  • avoidance of waste,

  • visual management. [5]

The zero-defect principle contributes to the achievement of the aforementioned objectives. The methods and tools are used to achieve the goals. These are assigned to the principles depending on their orientation. For the increase in product quality and process control Poka Yoke is a suitable example of a method of the zero-defect principle [5].

Fig. 1.
figure 1

Schematic structure of an HPS [5].

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3 Literature Review

3.1 Methodology

There are two different types of searches to identify scholarly articles on a topic. The so-called snowball search involves undirected research. This means that further papers and contributions are identified in relevant articles in the reference list [12, 13]. However, this type of search is characterized by a certain subjectivity [14]. In contrast, there is a systematic literature search, which is based on a structured and reproducible method [15]. The procedure of a systematic literature review is shown in Fig. 2, the first step is to define the research question. Based on this, the search algorithm is defined. In the third step, the databases to be searched are determined. During the search, the fourth step is to filter according to various aspects. After the search is completed, the identified literature is evaluated [14].

Fig. 2.
figure 2

Procedure of a systematic literature search [14, 16].

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3.2 Research Question, Search Algorithm, and Databases

As can be seen from the introduction, this paper focuses on the Biological Transformation of Holistic Production Systems. In addition to contextual containment, operational containment is also performed. To identify the relevant literature, no restrictions are made concerning the type of literature. Contributions in English and German language are considered. The research refers to the following question. Which conceptual approaches to the Biological Transformation of Holistic Production Systems are already available?

The papers in the databases are searched according to the search algorithm, which consists of individual keywords. Based on the research question, it is obvious to use keywords such as "Biological Transformation" and "Holistic Production System" for the search. However, there are also synonyms for the term Biological Transformation, such as Biologicalisation. All terms used in the systematic literature review can be taken from Fig. 3. Fitting combinations of the terms Biological Transformation and HPS were used, aiming to locate holistic support of HPS through Biological Transformation.

Fig. 3.
figure 3

Terms used in the systematic literature search.

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Scopus is one of the largest databases of peer-reviewed articles. Unlike other databases, these two in particular cover scientific journals well. The search with the terms from Fig. 3 yielded 86 results. To further narrow the search, the next step is to filter the papers. For this purpose, two steps are executed. First, the journals and volumes in which the articles are published are reviewed for their research fields. Journals that are not related to production systems are omitted. After filtering by journals and volumes 41 papers remain. In the second step, the remaining articles are filtered. For this purpose, the title, as well as the abstract, are included. The scope of this systematic literature search refers to the Biological Transformation of Holistic Production Systems. Neighboring research areas, such as materials or product development, were left out. After the second filtering, 10 papers remained. The following section presents these papers.

3.3 Evaluation of the Literature

Bergs et al. describe an approach for bio-inspired manufacturing. Therefore, self-adaption in manufacturing is considered. Cyber-physical production systems (CPPS) are key technological enablers to foster flexibility of manufacturing systems towards highly individual products within a mass production regime. Ideal CPPS physical components are equipped with sensing, communicating, and computation capabilities to enable real-time manipulation of the component (digital twin), while complex computation and data processing usually are carried out by cloud services. By doing so, otherwise lifeless objects may gain biological living system characteristics. If managed and organized beneficial, e.g. holistically like nature, CPPS are expected to deliver high capabilities of self-adaptation, including self-diagnosis, self-configuration, and self-optimization. Based on the digital twin properties it is possible to digitally process all component-specific information, containing all planning, raw material, and machining data covering the entire lifecycle. This means CPPS facilitate the bio-integration of production systems [17].

Bauer et al. develop a generic model to describe and characterize the essential developmental stages of autonomous production. Autonomous production compiles self-organization, self-optimization, dynamic and distributed networking, flexibility, adaptability, and virtualization. Due to automation progress, cyber-physical systems emerged which are linked directly to the feasibility of autonomous processes. Digital transformation is seen as the evolutionary development of industrial manufacturing towards connected and autonomous cyber-physical production systems. Lastly, Biological Transformation is described as addressing the comprehensive set of challenges for future manufacturing systems based on resource dependency, energy efficiency, and system complexity which cannot be solved by digital transformation alone. This clarifies that, for real, sustainable, and beneficial future autonomous production, biological principles, such as swarm-intelligence and metabolism principles, have to be integrated into manufacturing. The stage model is presented in a morphological box and consists of different features of manufacturing systems – depending on its scope – with each owning five different maturity levels as possible solutions. The defined autonomous production systems are as follows:

  • stage 0: analog factory,

  • stage 1: transparent factory,

  • stage 2: flexible factory,

  • stage 3: semi-autonomous factory and

  • stage 4: autonomous factory.

The features of each stage are presented by the author. Lastly, the model was evaluated by experts who had to assess their actual and targeted stages [18].

Leitao and Barbosa also consider autonomous factories. They describe how the inspiration of animal swarms helps to get an autonomous factory. Thereby they consider for example supply chains, shop floor layout and scheduling [19].

Mella et al. describe the holonic view applied to manufacturing systems. The holonic view is a concept of realizing everything in the universe, may it be atoms, molecules, cells, individuals, systems, words or concepts must not be seen as an individual but as a whole composed of smaller parts while being part of a larger whole. Holarchies and holonic networks based in the manufacturing industry are the Holonic Manufacturing System, the Bionic Manufacturing System, and the Fractal Manufacturing System. In Holonic Manufacturing Systems (HMS) holons are seen as building blocks of a manufacturing system with the capabilities of autonomy and cooperation, therefore creating operational plans and strategies and controlling their implementation, carrying out processes involving transformation, transportation, conservation, and control of physical objects or information. HMS’s special trait is that it involves simple units (holons) and methods of cooperation to perform complex tasks. If a holon has a problem or fails to execute the task then other holons reroute the process to avoid major disruptions. The Bionic Manufacturing System (BMS) holarchy is seen as a similar approach to the HMS. Its design methodology is conceived as an interaction of elementary cooperative, flexible, and adaptive individual operator holons. The differentiating feature of a BMS is the capability of autonomous decision-making of not only the processes to carry out but also the necessary input and output volumes, by each operational unit [20].

Several authors, such as Reiss et al. [21], Rais et al. [22], and Tharumarajah et al. [23], also consider holonic production systems.

Demeester et al. describe an organic production system that is based on a biological cell. A cell uses a small set of inputs to manufacture a wide range of compounds that help to interact appropriately with its environment and eventually allow it to reproduce itself. Just as in production systems the cell metabolism can be depicted in a flow diagram where raw materials are transformed into products by a series of processes. Enzymes in a cell are considered machines within a production system. With its thousands of biochemical reactions and flow connections, the cell’s complexity of production matches even the most complex industrial manufacturing networks. While the basic functions are comparable its performance pressures are similar as well. The cell uses many mechanisms applied to today’s production systems. As an example, a cell operates in a very lean way by using pull systems, and excess capacity is kept to a minimum. Broken molecules do not leave the source in the cell, therefore ensuring quality control and avoiding rework loops. Lastly, the cell uses modularity, component commonality, and postponement in its biochemical pathways (production lines) for its advantage. The equivalent to the pull system in manufacturing is the feedback inhibition in cells. Production in cells only occurs if the final product is depleted, coined downstream shortage. Furthermore, the cell uses a key-lock principle to guarantee a proper fit between substrate and enzyme, so that only a particular substrate can be further processed by an enzyme. This technique is comparable to the Poka Yoke technique. In conclusion, an organic production system consists of customized local production with universal components and just-in-time tools as well as a local circular economy [24].

4 Conclusion and Outlook

Today’s challenges in manufacturing, Holistic Production Systems, and Biological Transformation are introduced. The focus of this paper is HPS, therefore the structure according to VDI 2870 is described. The main part contains a literature review. For this purpose, the approach as well as the results are shown. The approaches identified relate generally to production. However, in the paper by Demeester et al. Poka Yoke is included as a GPS principle. The literature review shows that Biological Transformation is already part of production systems. However, Holistic Production Systems are not yet fully considered. In the next step, biological principles which support HPS have to be identified and integrated.