Lean Principles in Corporate Research

In many industrial branches, we face a trend towards accelerated innovation cycles at higher product complexity. A critical success factor when acting in those branches is the fast adaption to dynamically changing market needs as well as a short time to market without sacrificing quality.

Application of lean methods helps us to achieve this goal. In particular we work on the following fundamental principles:

1. Effectiveness – “do the right things”: Besides standard portfolio management practices which we are already applying, lean methods like “design-thinking” and “frontloading” help us to focus on customer value generation and to find the best solution faster 
   
2. Efficiency: After identifying the “right things”, we have to “do things right”. Several lean methods like agile project execution, visual management, ideation and problem solving techniques provides support to produce results fast and minimize waste
3. Continuous improvement: Based on daily experiences we continuously improve our processes and our way of working. Active knowledge management helps us to prevent reinventing the wheel and instead reuse of existing solutions
   

Agile Project Management

Application of agile project management helps us to work effectively and efficiently in an environment with high uncertainty like ours. In contrast to classical project management methods, the project goal and the respective plan to achieve this goal is now not specified in detail upfront.

Instead, the goal is defined as a range, which enables the project team together with the receiver to optimize the outcome based on the findings during the project. Therefore the plan to achieve the goal is emerging in the course of the project. Regular communication within the team but also between team and receiver is key for success.

Several agile project management frameworks exist, which bring the above listed principles together. “Scrum”, being one of the most popular frameworks, has a domain agnostic nature, but was established in the SW-domain first. We now work on introducing this method for development of mechatronic and mechanic systems as well.

Open innovation

ABB Corporate Research, as a whole, is one key pillar of innovation at ABB. The Research Center in Germany serves also as one of the external interfaces for open innovation, i.e. collaborative innovation with external actors.

As an example, we support ABB’s business units in co-creation with other companies. This way, we do not only contribute to novel products, demonstrators and prototypes, but also better understand the requirements of customers and partners in a larger context.

Moreover, we are one player in promoting and coordinating ABB’s engagement with startups. We screen and are, more and more, entering the German startup ecosystem – with its relevant young companies, networks, and service providers. In particular, we appreciate the connection with German universities, which often run incubators that yield fascinating teams of founders and their solutions.

Vice versa, we help connect startups with ABB’s various units. In addition, we aim at the sharing of experiences, best practices, and collaboration methods within ABB, in close collaboration with business units. Last, but not least, we identify and technically assess new companies and their technologies, e.g. as part of research projects. With all of this, we support the global ABB organization and work together with ABB Technology Ventures.

A last example of open innovation takes place in public-funded projects. There, we cooperate with academic institutions, as well as industrial partners and customers – to understand industrial needs, tackle the challenges of the future together, and deliver joint research results and IP. 

For further information (e.g. as a startup interested in ABB), please contact:
Philipp Vorst, philipp.vorst@de.abb.com

Jan-Henning Fabian, jan-henning.fabian@de.abb.com

Cooperation with universities

Successful innovation requires a combination of competencies ranging from basic research to technology development and productization. In industrial research, we focus on applied research and technology development.

In order exploit the results of basic research and get access to latest technology trends, we enter into research cooperations with leading universities and research institutes, both in Germany and in other parts of the globe. 

Particularly in Germany we have unique academic environment with a large number of excellent universities. With a few selected strategic universities we establish and maintain holistic partnerships. This includes classical bilateral cooperation on project level or participation in common joint projects, as well as a variety of other activities at the university like lectures by ABB employees, participation in career events, sponsoring, and many more.

With bilateral cooperations we get access to competencies and skills as well as results of basic research, which are needed in a project but not availabie within ABB. With these cooperations on project level we established a valuable network of academic partners, who complement the competencies and resources in our projects in an ideal way. 

In an early, pre-competitive phase of the innovation process, we are participating in larger joint projects where we cooperate with universities and industrial partners. These projects are typically partly funded by public institutions like the European Commission or the German government. Those projects are often adressing the challenges of global megatrends like the fourth industrial revolution or the transformation of energy systems, and are driven by the high-tech strategy of the German government. 

Co-creation of Analytics solutions with customers

Developing data science and artificial intelligence into product-grade solutions can pose challenges to development teams originating from other fields of expertise. With our Analytics Solution Center (ASC-DE) we have moved closer to our business units’ development teams wherever it is about bringing novel data analytics and artificial intelligence technology into their products.

The ASC thereby offers the opportunity to our scientists to gain experience in product development processes during short-term (3-6 months) joint business unit and corporate research projects.

Beyond the pure support of the software development process, our ASC team also engages in end-customer co-creation workshops together with the colleagues from the business and we also counsel BU teams with respect to data science and artificial intelligence.