The planning of production buildings often involves considerable challenges, which are mostly due to a still manual way of working. Due to separate authoring tools and fragmented, decentralized and partly outdated data, the process lacks a coherent, multidisciplinary approach. The effort caused by a lack of overall vision and the lack of multidisciplinary use is immense.

The variety of machines and systems makes their integration into the digital factory a very demanding task. It requires a flexible and well-thought-out system architecture to ensure seamless collaboration. IoT sensors generate a large amount of real-time data that needs to be processed effectively. In order to predict maintenance needs and minimize downtime (predictive maintenance), a lightweight interpretation of this data is required. The operational design of service calls is also very complex, as downtimes must be short, system data easily accessible, and replacement solutions must be well planned. Problems that arise are often not responded to quickly and effectively.

Continuous and seamless updating is essential to ensure the integrity of the Digital Factory. This requires the implementation of automatic processes for data acquisition and updating. The necessary conversion of CAD data and BIM data into the digital twin system requires a precise and error-free process to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the model. The complexity of factory structures also requires a flexible architecture to seamlessly integrate changes and expansions and to keep the digital twin continuously up to date.

Another challenge is the target/actual comparison of media requirements in the digital factory. The large number of media, such as water, air, electricity, gas, etc., requires continuous and precise data collection as well as a consolidation option and an analysis platform to identify deviations between planned and actual consumption. Smart algorithms must be implemented to identify patterns and trends in media consumption and to derive efficient optimization measures.