SAFIRE · Project

Cloud Platform That Automatically Reconfigures Factory Lines in Real Time

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Imagine your factory floor could think for itself — spotting a bottleneck on one production line and instantly reshuffling work across machines to keep everything flowing. That's essentially what SAFIRE built: a cloud-based brain that watches sensor data from the entire factory, predicts problems before they happen, and automatically adjusts production settings on the fly. Instead of an engineer manually reprogramming equipment every time something changes, the system handles reconfiguration in real time, optimizing for speed, energy use, and machine wear all at once.

By the numbers

Industrial partner sites where demonstrators were tested

Consortium partners across 4 countries

Total project deliverables completed

57%

Industry ratio in the consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Most factories still rely on manual reprogramming when production needs change — a new product variant, a machine breakdown, or an unexpected order spike means an engineer has to step in and reconfigure equipment by hand. This causes costly downtime, wasted energy, and missed delivery windows. The bigger the product mix, the worse it gets.

The solution

What was built

SAFIRE built a cloud-based platform that provides Reconfiguration as a Service for smart factories — combining real-time sensor data analytics with both reactive and predictive reconfiguration of production systems. The project delivered 20 outputs including working demonstrators tested at 3 industrial partner sites, with case study documentation.

Audience

Who needs this

Automotive and aerospace manufacturers running multi-variant production linesContract manufacturers handling frequent changeovers and small batch sizesFactory IT managers looking to add predictive reconfiguration to existing MES/SCADA systemsIndustrial IoT platform providers wanting to add reconfiguration intelligenceProduction engineers responsible for throughput and energy optimization

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Automotive manufacturing

enterprise

Target: Mid-to-large automotive parts manufacturers running multi-product lines

If you are an automotive parts manufacturer dealing with frequent changeovers between product variants — this project developed a cloud-based reconfiguration service tested across 3 industrial partners that automatically adjusts production parameters in real time. Instead of stopping lines for manual reprogramming, the system uses predictive analytics to reconfigure equipment on the fly, reducing downtime and improving throughput.

Electronics assembly

mid-size

Target: Contract electronics manufacturers handling short production runs

If you are a contract electronics assembler struggling with small batch sizes and constant retooling — SAFIRE built real-time reconfiguration capabilities that optimize production scheduling during runtime rather than pre-planning everything upfront. The system pulls sensor and process data from your factory floor and uses cloud-based analytics to make flexible production decisions as conditions change.

Consumer goods packaging

mid-size

Target: Packaging companies running high-mix production with frequent format changes

If you are a packaging company losing hours every week to format changeovers — this project created a cloud service that monitors machine performance data and triggers automatic reconfiguration to optimize utilisation, power consumption, and maintenance scheduling. The technology was demonstrated in 3 real factory environments across 4 countries.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would this cost to implement in my factory?

SAFIRE was a publicly funded research project, not a commercial product with fixed pricing. The technology was built as a cloud-based service (Reconfiguration as a Service), which suggests a subscription model rather than heavy upfront investment. Contact the consortium partners for current licensing or deployment terms.

Has this been tested at industrial scale?

Yes. The project built demonstrators that were implemented and tested at 3 industrial partner sites across the consortium. These were real factory environments, not just lab setups. The consortium included 4 industry partners and 3 SMEs, giving it strong practical grounding.

What about intellectual property and licensing?

The project was funded as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) under Horizon 2020. IP is typically owned by the consortium partners who created it. The Open Group Limited (UK) coordinated the project — they would be the first point of contact for licensing discussions.

How does it connect to my existing factory systems?

SAFIRE was designed to extend factory operating systems with cloud-based analytics, pulling data from sensors, smart objects, and existing manufacturing, logistics, and enterprise systems. The architecture was built for integration rather than replacement of existing infrastructure.

What exactly does it optimize?

Based on the project objectives, the system optimizes throughput, power consumption, machine utilisation, and maintenance scheduling. It does this through both reactive reconfiguration (responding to problems) and predictive reconfiguration (preventing problems before they occur).

Is this ready to deploy today?

The project closed in September 2019 with 20 deliverables completed and demonstrators tested at 3 industrial sites. The technology reached demonstration level. Deployment readiness would depend on which consortium partner has continued development since project end.

Consortium

Who built it

The SAFIRE consortium is lean and industry-heavy: 7 partners across Germany, Spain, Italy, and the UK, with 4 of them from industry and 3 being SMEs — giving it a 57% industry ratio that's well above average for EU research projects. The coordinator, The Open Group Limited, is a UK-based SME known for enterprise architecture standards, which signals the project was designed with real interoperability and adoption in mind. Backed by 1 university and 2 research organizations, the team had enough academic depth for the analytics work while keeping the focus firmly on industrial application. The geographic spread across 4 major manufacturing economies adds credibility for cross-border deployment.

The Open Group LimitedCoordinator · UK
INSTITUT FÜR ANGEWANDTE SYSTEMTECHNIK BREMEN GMBHparticipant · DE
UNIVERSITY OF YORKparticipant · UK
ELECTROLUX ITALIA SPAparticipant · IT
OAS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFTparticipant · DE
IKERLAN S. COOPparticipant · ES

How to reach the team

The Open Group Limited (UK) coordinated SAFIRE — they are an SME specializing in enterprise architecture standards and would be the first point of contact for licensing or deployment discussions.

Order a report on this consortium See The Open Group Limited profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to connect with the SAFIRE team about deploying real-time factory reconfiguration in your production environment? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the right consortium partner for your use case.

Order a report on this topic More in Manufacturing & Industry 4.0