September 2027, Düsseldorf
Agenda
Day 1
08:00 - 08:50
REGISTRATION
08:55 – 09:00
CHAIRPERSON’S OPENING REMARKS
09:00 - 09:30
Sustainable Lean Transformations
- Insight into why transformations fail, from lack of vision to insufficient cultural anchoring
- Leadership as the critical success factor for sustainable Lean transformations and its direct impact on business results
- Where leaders should focus depending on the maturity level of the Continuous Improvement System
- How to build people excellence as the foundation for business excellence
09:30 - 10:00
Lighthouse by Design: What the Global Lighthouse Network Taught Us About Building from Scratch
- How the CRISP framework (Connected, Resilient, Intelligent, Sustainable, People-Centric) guides the design of Siemens’ next-generation Electronics Works Singapore factory
- Translating Global Lighthouse Network principles into a live greenfield project — from concept to commissioning
- Digital twins, modular assembly and AI-driven cross-factory knowledge federation as enablers of future-ready manufacturing
- Building resilience through location strategy, flexible shopfloor architecture and cloud-native IT/OT convergence
- Embedding sustainability from day one: LEED Platinum ambition, net-zero design and resource efficiency
- People at the centre: DEI-certified building design, microlearning on the shopfloor and empowering a digitally native workforce
10:00 - 10:30
From Shortage to Action: AI Apps That Decide and Act on Fresh Manufacturing Data
- The challenge of identifying and resolving manufacturing shortages.
- Detecting inventory shortfalls using fresh operational data.
- Using AI to evaluate options and make decisions.
- Executing decisions directly within operational systems.
- Demonstrating revenue impact and the data foundation required.
10:35 - 11:25
COFFEE BREAK
11:30 - 12:00
Slow planning & costly Mistakes: The case for high-speed factory planning in today's manufacturing climate
- Why planning speed increasingly matters
- Where the costly mistakes come from
- The hidden cost of slow planning
- What high-speed factory planning looks like
- Turning speed into safer investments
12:00 - 12:30
From Visibility to Value - Why Data Alone Doesn't Improve Performance
- Why more data does not automatically lead to better performance
- The gap between digital visibility and operational execution
- Why recurring losses continue despite being highly visible
- The critical role of frontline capability, ownership and problem-solving
- What leading manufacturers do differently to turn visibility into business value
12:30 - 13:00
Optimizing Industrial Operations – The Transformative Advantage of an End-to-end Experience from Engineering to Shopfloor with Virtual Twins
- How to leverage the engineering-execution continuum empowered by technology to gain efficiency and time to market
- Digitize Manufacturing Operations at the Shopfloor – the Digital Transformation foundational imperative
- Maximize Equipment Utilization by connecting Operational Intelligence and Scheduling Intelligence
- Establish a connected Engineering to Production Thread to make feasibility, cost and efficiency-aware decisions
- Virtually Commission your improvement what-ifs scenarios before any physical implementation
- Accelerate Time to Production of new Innovations
- People centricity: connect people at any stage of the plant lifecycle to elevate decision making and drive continuous improvement
PLANNED INVESTMENT AREAS
- Continuous Improvement / OPEX
- Industry 4.0
- Lean Methodologies
- Sustainability & ESG Software
- 3D Printing for Digital Manufacturing
- Project & Resource Management
- Additive Manufacturing / Factory-as-a-Service
- Connected Factory
- Industry 5.0 Concepts
- Net Zero
- Cybersecurity
- Robotic Automation
- Digital/Software Adoption
- MES / Shop-floor Digitization
- Machine Learning
- Digital Twin
- M2M Communication
- Remote Working
- Plant / Workforce Safety
- Wireless Connectivity
- Cloud, Edge & IoT Data Management
- Asset Performance Management (APM 4.0)
- Artificial Intelligence
- Digital Technologies
- Predictive Analytics / Condition Monitoring
- Green Manufacturing Practices & Initiatives
- Cloud Computing & Sensors
- Asset Management
- Data Analytics / Big Data / Data Management
13:00 - 13:55
LUNCH
14:00 - 14:30
Enigma: Why 70% of transformation programmes fail
- Since the mid 1980’s, 70% of transformation programmes have failed. These failures impact the bottom line of manufacturers and solution providers, economies and the environment. Until recently, the reason for this failure rate has remained an enigma.
- In 2020 John Robinson identified a systemic problem in global industry that is causing these failures. More importantly, he identified a solution.
- In this presentation, John will present the key points from his recent white paper that discusses the failure rate, the systemic problem causing the failures, the solution and the global momentum now building behind this concept.
14:30 - 15:00
Challenging Tradition by Redefining Compressed Air
- The Significance of compressed air across different industries
- Pure Air – Zero Waste
- Redefining OPEX & Reliability
- Smart & Sustainable Business Cases lowering the TCO
15:00 - 15:30
The best of both worlds - traditional AND Gen AI for engineering & production
- What are the fundamental differences between Traditional and Generative AI?
- Is Traditional AI now obsolete?
- What use cases to approach with Traditional AI? Which ones to tackle with Generative AI?
- What initial foundation model based PoCs were done and did they show actual value?
15:35 - 16:25
COFFEE BREAK
16:30 - 17:00
Operational Excellence at the Speed of Iteration: From Industrial Data to Context and Action
- Operational Excellence is becoming a data problem: manufacturers increasingly have the data, but struggle to connect it, contextualize it and turn it into operational action.
- Context is the missing layer: the value of industrial data comes from understanding what a signal represents—its asset, process, product, location, quality, production order and operational meaning.
- From dashboards to experimentation: digital transformation should enable teams to test, learn and improve operational processes in much shorter cycles—not create another generation of static applications.
- The new OPEX advantage is iteration speed: when connecting data sources and building operational workflows becomes dramatically faster, continuous improvement can move from periodic projects toward an always-on capability.
- A composable industrial data foundation: demonstrate how Unified Namespace, no-code orchestration and contextualized industrial data can create a reusable foundation across plants, use cases and improvement initiatives.
- From visibility to continuous improvement: show how manufacturers can move from “we can see what is happening” to “we can rapidly understand why, test an intervention and operationalize what works.”
17:00 - 17:30
Technology Is Not the Transformation — People Are
- People First – Technology enables change; people make it happen
- Technology with Purpose – From innovation to measurable impact
- Connected Workers – Empowering people with technology, not replacing them
- Breaking Silos – Connecting people, processes and digital ecosystems
- Leading Through Change – Building a culture ready for the future of work
PLANNED INVESTMENT AREAS
- Continuous Improvement / OPEX
- Industry 4.0
- Lean Methodologies
- Sustainability & ESG Software
- 3D Printing for Digital Manufacturing
- Project & Resource Management
- Additive Manufacturing / Factory-as-a-Service
- Connected Factory
- Industry 5.0 Concepts
- Net Zero
- Cybersecurity
- Robotic Automation
- Digital/Software Adoption
- MES / Shop-floor Digitization
- Machine Learning
- Digital Twin
- M2M Communication
- Remote Working
- Plant / Workforce Safety
- Wireless Connectivity
- Cloud, Edge & IoT Data Management
- Asset Performance Management (APM 4.0)
- Artificial Intelligence
- Digital Technologies
- Predictive Analytics / Condition Monitoring
- Green Manufacturing Practices & Initiatives
- Cloud Computing & Sensors
- Asset Management
- Data Analytics / Big Data / Data Management
17:30 - 18:00
Federated Agentic Manufacturing
- Multi-plant manufacturing suffers from data silos, uneven quality, and ownership constraints that block centralized data lakes and ML at scale.
- Federated Agentic Manufacturing (FAM) pairs federated learning with LLM-powered edge agents, keeping raw process data local while sharing only model parameters and insights.
- Edge agents (SLMs/LoRA models) are trained from plant and enterprise models to give real-time, humancentric decision support on the shop floor.
- The core paradigm shift is moving models instead of moving data, cutting infrastructure load while preserving data privacy and ownership.
- Result: more resilient, collaborative, and intelligent manufacturing across lines, plants, and partners.
18:00 - 19:00
DRINKS RECEPTION
Day 2
08:55 – 09:00
CHAIRPERSON’S OPENING REMARKS
09:00 - 09:30
Smart Manufacturing at Scale: How Roche is taking digital twin simulations from pilot to global reality
- How Roche uses AI as a key tool for simulating and planning new production facilities
- Which use cases deliver the greatest business value
- Which practical challenges need to be managed
- What Roche’s smart manufacturing strategy looks like
09:30 - 10:00
From New Lean to Dark Factory: End to End Operations for High Variety Manufacturing. An applied research perspective
- Why classic Lean reaches its limits in high variant, volatile manufacturing environments
- Why and for whom are Dark Factories attractive?
- What the New Lean study reveals about doubling productivity – and what it does not
- End to End Operations as the basis for “dark moments” in production
- Typical pitfalls of digital and AI initiatives in variant manufacturing – and how to avoid them
10:00 - 10:30
Don’t Start with AI. Start with the Decision
- Better human decision-making in manufacturing operations with the support of AI
- Why the real opportunity of Data & AI in manufacturing goes beyond individual technologies and use cases
- Exploring where AI can create tangible value across manufacturing operations and the shopfloor
- AI as a booster for Industry 4.0 reduces the digital bias
10:35 - 11:25
COFFEE BREAK
11:30 – 12:00
From Insight to Action: Agentic AI for the Connected Shop Floor
- AI-powered manufacturing software built for the shop floor accelerates decisions, autonomy, action, implementation — and ultimately productivity.
- Connected Workforce platforms are uniquely positioned to operationalize agentic AI where it matters most: at the line, in the hands of the people doing the work.
- Redzone is live in 2,000 sites globally, with 550,000 frontline workers using it every day to take action, communicate problems, visualize line performance, run tiered meetings, complete quality/safety checks and TPM, train on the job, and surface root causes.
- Measurable results in 90 days from go-live — and fully implemented in just 8–10 weeks.
12:00 – 12:30
Machine identity in OT: From manual complexity to automated trust
- Describes the evolution of OT security from physical fences and air-gapped networks to identity-centric, certificate-based trust.
- Explains why the operative question in OT has shifted from “where are you” to “who are you,” and what that means for automation engineers and plant operators.
- Shows why a single expired certificate can halt production, and why PKI is now critical plant-floor infrastructure, not just an IT concern.
- Demonstrates automated certificate lifecycle management (IDIAL) at scale: increased availability, reduced operating cost, and compliance with IEC 62443, NIS2, and CRA.
- Includes a live example of certificate renewal on an active PLC with zero downtime.
12:30 – 13:00
Manufacturing's Next Act: The Rise of AI Agents
- How to understand the mechanisms behind your operations to identify where digitalization and AI can create real impact.
- How to structure and analyze data effectively to support decision-making and drive measurable outcomes.
- How to implement a holistic approach that integrates processes, infrastructure, and digital tools for enterprise-wide operational excellence.
PLANNED INVESTMENT AREAS
- Continuous Improvement / OPEX
- Industry 4.0
- Lean Methodologies
- Sustainability & ESG Software
- 3D Printing for Digital Manufacturing
- Project & Resource Management
- Additive Manufacturing / Factory-as-a-Service
- Connected Factory
- Industry 5.0 Concepts
- Net Zero
- Cybersecurity
- Robotic Automation
- Digital/Software Adoption
- MES / Shop-floor Digitization
- Machine Learning
- Digital Twin
- M2M Communication
- Remote Working
- Plant / Workforce Safety
- Wireless Connectivity
- Cloud, Edge & IoT Data Management
- Asset Performance Management (APM 4.0)
- Artificial Intelligence
- Digital Technologies
- Predictive Analytics / Condition Monitoring
- Green Manufacturing Practices & Initiatives
- Cloud Computing & Sensors
- Asset Management
- Data Analytics / Big Data / Data Management
13:05 - 13:55
LUNCH
14:00 – 14:30
MAXIMIZING PLANT PERFORMANCE: DRIVING EFFICIENCY AND INNOVATION
- Implementing advanced workflows to optimize plant performance and streamline operations
- Scaling automation to boost efficiency while maintaining operational flexibility
- Using real-time data to monitor and drive continuous facility performance improvements
- Leveraging digital tools for predictive maintenance and reducing downtime
14:30 - 15:00
Group Discussion: Digital Manufacturing -Strategies and Solutions
- Current Digital Challenges and Opportunities: Group to share their current digital challenges and the opportunities they see in the digital space, such as impact of digital transformation on their respective areas, any obstacles they are encountering and the potential for digital technologies to drive innovation/improvements within the organisation.
- Cultivating a Culture of Ownership: How do we ensure that operators on the floor feel a sense of ownership over new digital tools rather than feeling monitored by them? Can anyone share a lesson learned from a digital rollout that failed purely due to a lack of user adoption?
- Scaling Without Complexity: When you introduce automated data tracking, how do you keep your frontline operators from feeling overwhelmed by notifications? How do you ensure your daily tier meetings or huddles are driven by live shop-floor reality rather than historical spreadsheets?
- Best Practices and Lessons Learnt: Group to discuss best practices and lessons learnt from their already delivered digital initiatives. Sharing success stories as well as what didn’t work and the valuable lessons gained from those experiences
- Future Trends and Innovation: Forward looking discussion about current trends and technologies in digital technologies, such as impact of AI, Machine Learning, Blockchain, or other cutting-edge technologies on their respective areas, how they envision these technologies are shaping the future of industry