How do we implement artificial intelligence in a way that benefits technology, organization, and people? This question has guided the Competence Center Arbeitswelt.Plus, initiated by it's OWL, for the past five years. The BMFTR-funded project will conclude at the end of 2025. However, its content and structure will remain: Within the leading-edge cluster it's OWL, the focus group "Future of Work" and a strategic expert panel will continue the work. Companies in East Westphalia-Lippe will thus retain a reliable point of contact for the human-centered implementation of AI.



“With Arbeitswelt.Plus, we have demonstrated how companies can integrate AI step by step into their work systems without losing sight of the human element,” says Prof. Dr. Roman Dumitrescu, Managing Director of it's OWL and Project Manager of Arbeitswelt.Plus. “This expertise is crucial for the competitiveness of SMEs in East Westphalia-Lippe. That's why we are permanently anchoring the topic of the future of work within the leading-edge cluster.”

The "Working World.Plus" project ran from September 1, 2020 to December 31, 2025. The Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) funded the project within the "Future of Value Creation – Research on Production, Services and Work" program.

With Arbeitswelt.Plus, we have shown how companies can integrate AI into their work systems step by step without losing sight of people.

Prof. Dr. Roman Dumitrescu, it's OWL

Bette: AI relieves the burden on employees in high-variety production

Bette GmbH & Co. KG produces bathtubs, shower trays, and washbasins in a highly automated, but extremely diverse, manufacturing process. More than half of the products are made to customer specifications; theoretically, over 35 million variations are possible. This complicates production planning and leads to uneven utilization of machines and workstations.

Together with Bielefeld University, the University of Applied Sciences for Economics and Management, and the IG Metall trade union, Bette has developed an AI-powered assistance system. It analyzes historical production data and real-time information to estimate capacity utilization and workloads up to five hours in advance. Managers like Marvin Mönikes can identify bottlenecks early and schedule orders accordingly, thus relieving pressure on workstations. In tests, the system predicted plant utilization with an accuracy of approximately 95 percent for the next few hours. This significantly reduces the frequency of peak loads and material jams.

The system processes information, but decisions are still made by people. The concept has already been successfully transferred to other production systems in transfer projects of the competence center, so that other companies can also benefit from the know-how.

Focus on bathtub manufacturing: Bette has developed an AI for production in collaboration with Arbeitswelt.Plus.

WAGO: Combating piracy and strengthening AI expertise within the company

WAGO also exemplifies the breadth of topics covered by Arbeitswelt.Plus. The company has been confronted with product piracy for years, particularly regarding its Series 221 connectors. Counterfeits appear on online platforms at dumping prices and often fail to meet WAGO's quality standards.

WAGO, in collaboration with the University of Paderborn, has developed an AI-based solution. An algorithm analyzes prices, product descriptions, images, and other attributes, helping to identify suspicious offers more quickly. "We know that the problem is significantly larger than just one product line," says Stephan Großarth, Data Scientist at WAGO. "A powerful AI is currently our only chance of even getting an overview of these vast numbers of offers."

At the same time, WAGO explored how its workforce could assess the new technologies. Together with the University of Paderborn and the IG Metall union, the company developed an AI learning journey for all employee groups. In six different formats, over 700 employees learned what AI can do, where its limitations lie, and how it can change their daily work.

“With the AI ​​learning journey, we wanted to create an open space where people with very different levels of prior knowledge about AI could talk about it,” says Marcel Ellermann, Head of Organizational Development at WAGO. “What was crucial for us was not pure technical knowledge, but the ability to weigh up opportunities and risks together.”

The learning journey has resulted in a permanent organizational unit: At the AI ​​Centre of Excellence, interested parties from various fields exchange information about new use cases.

New structures within the cluster: focus group and expert panel

To ensure that these experiences are permanently available to other companies, it's OWL is anchoring the topic of the future of work within the cluster. Two committees provide the framework for this. The closing event of Arbeitswelt.Plus and the kick-off meeting of the focus group have already taken place.

The Future of Work focus group is organized as a working group and meets four times a year. Company representatives, HR managers, works council members, and researchers contribute their questions. The group prepares workshops, guidelines, and practical formats, and compiles experiences from AI projects on work design.

The expert panel complements the focus group with a strategic perspective. It comprises representatives from industry and research within the leading-edge cluster it's OWL and meets twice a year.

“In the expert panel, we bring together the strategic questions of companies regarding the future of work,” says Dr. Eberhard Niggemann, a member of the panel. “These questions will be a key factor in determining whether AI projects are sustainably successful.”

Companies in East Westphalia-Lippe (OWL) need guidance, practical experience, and open communication about potential obstacles when implementing AI. We are ensuring precisely this through the new structures within the cluster. While Arbeitswelt.Plus is concluding as a funded project, the future of work remains a central theme for it's OWL.

Kerstin Eller, Head of the Competence Center Working World.Plus

Support services will remain in place

The official end of the project does not mean the loss of support services for companies. The partners' catalog of over 20 free formats remains available. These include introductory workshops on AI in business, potential analyses for specific work areas, and expert presentations on the impact of AI on work and organization.

“Companies in East Westphalia-Lippe (OWL) primarily need guidance, experience, and an open exchange about potential pitfalls when introducing AI,” emphasizes Kerstin Eller, project manager at it's OWL. “We are ensuring precisely this through the new structures within the cluster. Arbeitswelt.Plus is ending as a funding project, but the future of work remains a central focus for it's OWL.”

The future of work as a building block of Industry.Zero

With its Industry.Zero strategy, it's OWL is consolidating its activities for the digital and sustainable transformation of SMEs. The focus is on intelligent technical systems that enable companies to strengthen their ecological, economic, and social sustainability, for example, in the areas of energy efficiency, circular value creation, and securing skilled workers. The question of how AI changes work and how skills within companies are further developed forms the social dimension of Industry.Zero. The new structures for the future of work ensure that this aspect is given equal priority alongside technology and climate issues within the leading-edge cluster.

The article "AI, skilled workers, good jobs: it's OWL secures the long-term results of Arbeitswelt.Plus in the cluster" first appeared on it's OWL .