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August 9, 2018
At the first nationwide "Hackathon Handwerk" in Koblenz, craftspeople from various trades were able to develop their own product and business ideas.
For two days, the Koblenz Chamber of Skilled Crafts' Digital Skilled Crafts Competence Center revolved around digital ideas and projects: 30 skilled craftspeople from ten companies took on the creative challenges of the first "Skilled Crafts Hackathon." Together with Internet of Things experts, the goal was to develop new ideas for the digital skilled crafts world of tomorrow.
The starting situation was the same for all participants: a network and server structure, a programming platform, computer components, various sensors, tools, soldering irons, and instructions. Most participants had no prior experience implementing Internet of Things (IoT) projects. "That's why we prepared everything in great detail – together with students from the University of Koblenz, who helped develop this project and provided on-site support," explains Christoph Krause, head of the Digital Crafts Competence Center for Process Digitization.
The event began with three workshops to provide targeted support to participants from the carpentry, roofing, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, metal construction, joinery, electrical, and automotive trades in generating ideas. Then there was no stopping them: In nine cross-trade teams, the tradespeople tinkered with their own ideas. This resulted in many innovative projects: Monja Weber and Sebastian Alt from Rhens, both from the painting trade, developed a digital solution to manage the workflow of the various trades after water damage in buildings – using various sensors. Even the emptying of the water tank from the drying machines is displayed to the customer via smartphone.
Another team from the carpentry trade developed a solution in just a few hours to improve the handling of sanders. "Two sensors indicate excessive contact pressure and excessive temperatures on the sanding disc," reports Christoph Krause. Also interesting: A diverse team of carpenters, digitalization consultants, and roofers tinkered with a warehouse management system supported by Amazon's digital voice assistant, Alexa. At the final presentation, Alexa always knew the correct location of the tool, which was tracked via an RFID chip, when asked, "Where is the hammer?" Krause added, "This can really make life easier for any tradesperson."
Craft policy
Operations management
Operations management
At the final presentation of their ideas, all teams agreed: they want to continue working on their projects – and the Digital Crafts Competence Center will continue to support them. Christoph Krause was impressed by the participants' commitment: "The first night, we worked until 1:30 a.m. – and by 8 a.m., everyone was back on track. The teams would have loved to continue working on their projects for many more hours."
After the positive experiences of the first "Hackathon Handwerk," the question immediately arose as to whether there would be a second edition. Christoph Krause couldn't yet promise anything: "We are in discussions with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, which is providing us with financial support and enabling innovative work for the skilled trades. I am cautiously optimistic that more hackathons may follow soon." There would be minor organizational changes: For example, only one room for the skilled tradespeople instead of three. Every participant wanted to hear the activities, thoughts, and discussions of the other teams. This created a more intense atmosphere, which future hackathons should also benefit from.
Christoph Krause is more than satisfied with the results of the first hackathon: "I never would have expected in my wildest dreams that such good ideas would emerge here." The event demonstrated two things very clearly: "First, anyone who wants to shape the digital future must understand sensor technology and the Internet of Things. And second, digitalization can only succeed if we have fun while designing it. I don't know of any other tool that allows this experience as well as a hackathon."
hackathon-handwerk.de
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Competence Center for Digital Crafts
The Competence Center for Digital Skilled Crafts (KDH) supports skilled crafts businesses nationwide in the introduction of digital technologies. Its goal is to unlock new technical and economic potential through digitalization. The competence center is part of the "SME 4.0 – Digital Production and Work Processes" funding initiative. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) supports the initiative as part of the priority area "SME Digital – Strategies for the Digital Transformation of Business Processes." handwerkdigital.de
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