Setup of a Lean Learning Factory Integrating Aspects of Industry 5.0 and Sustainability

Industry is facing an increasing influence of digitalization and sustainability affecting all departments and processes. Along with that employee qualifications are changing. Learning Factories are complex training and education environments simulating real industry conditions. Learning Factories at universities are aiming to prepare students for their career start by providing profound hands-on experience. To assure the best possible job preparation, Learning Factories must be adapted and enhanced according to latest developments in industry. Most Learning Factories today are Lean Learning Factories, only a few already integrate aspects of digitalization and sustainability. This paper provides an easy-to-apply procedure how to set up a Learning Factory, based on the VDI 5200 factory planning process, integrating aspects of Industry 5.0 and sustainability. The procedure is applicable to systematically set up a new Learning Factories including the design of a basic didactic framework model. This contains practical assistance in selecting the appropriate form of teaching in accordance with the teaching content and goals. The setup of the Lean Learning Factory at University of Applied Sciences and Arts Dortmund is presented as a case study to validate the developed procedure.