SME 4.0 - Companies and Employees design the Digital Transformation - New Project started by RWTH Aachen Univesity and MTM

As part of the New Quality of Work initiative, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) is supporting a three-year project headed by the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University in cooperation with the German MTM Association e.V. 

  Copyright: © WZL Representative of the project consortium at the kick-off event on December 12, 2016 at the WZL of RWTH Aachen University

625,000 Euro will go to Aachen over the next three years via the New Quality of Work initiative. The WZL as one of the leading engineering scientific university institutes and center for industry 4.0 and MTM as recognized mechanism of the industrial work organization and - organization as well as enterprise federation arrange together with enterprises and employees and the technical company by the Federal Institution for industrial safety and industrial medicine the digital working world.

The project "KMU 4.0 - Betriebe und Beschäftigte gestalten die digitale Transformation" supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in recognizing the qualification needs of their employees and implementing suitable qualification measures. The employees of the companies are empowered to specifically shape the industry 4.0 trend in their companies. The holistic training concept comprises six qualification fields. From innovation capability, digital production, digital work, organizational learning, leadership/cooperation and communication to workplace innovation, the qualification fields serve to shape and implement digital transformation.

The consortium of the project consists of the RWTH Aachen and MTM, as well as five industrial application companies of the metal and electrical industry, with whom a training concept is being developed and implemented: Polishing wheel factory G.A. Spaeth eK, Ph-MECHANIK GmbH & Co. KG, Peri-plast GmbH & Co. KG, Julius Montz GmbH, Rhein-Getriebe GmbH.

Six Value Partners support the project

The Value Partners are Society for Innovative Employment Promotion mbH Bottrop, DFA Demonstration Factory Aachen GmbH, GOM Society for Organizational Development and Media Design mbH, memex GmbH, i2solutions GmbH and Heinen Automation GmbH & Co. KG.

The New Quality of Work initiative, launched in 2002, promotes a modern work culture and employment policy. It unites the shared commitment of the Federal Government, the Federal States, industry associations and institutions, trade unions, companies, the Federal Employment Agency, social insurance institutions and foundations to improve the quality of work as the key to innovation and competitiveness in Germany. The initiative has already reached around 3,000 companies with more than 3 million employees. More than 3,500 active employees shape local employment in the regions and develop the content of the New Quality of Work initiative promoted by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Further information can be found on the website of the New Quality of Work initiative.