As part of Leicester’s Innovation Festival, InterAct partnered with Made Smarter East Midlands (MSEM) to host the latest in their series of Technology Transfer Workshops titled, ‘Increasing Productivity through the Adoption of Digital Technology’ on 9th February, 2024.
The InterAct and MSEM teams gathered a sizeable audience of manufacturers to hear from four Industrial Digital Technology (IDT) providers about solutions designed to assist SME’s with increasing productivity, and the InterAct funded, human insight focused research that can help to support successful implementation.
Attendees had the chance to learn about best practice for adopting new manufacturing technology, minimising implementation time, and maximising upside. Our guest speakers drew on a wealth of expertise to discuss the risks, key challenges, and considerations in adopting digital technology.
Presenters sharing the technologies on offer included:
Phil Tonge and Mark Lees of TQC – discussing their design and supply assembly automation, robotics, and testing equipment services.
George Slater of FourJaw – examining the how manufacturing analytics technology can use new and existing operational information to power data-driven production planning and strategy.
Vignaes Rajesh and Chris Pavelin of Sensopart – delivering a presentation on optical sensors and vision-guided robotic solutions.
Nicola Ballantyne of MESTEC – explaining the benefits of MESTEC’s integration of a manufacturing execution system with a traditional ERP framework to integrated front and back office functions more effectively.
Participants then had the opportunity to hear from two InterAct funded researchers from the University of East Anglia, Dr. Dimitrios Dousios and Dr. Antonios Karatzas about their work on application of digitally servitized business models for SME manufacturers. Their online tool offers decision-makers the means to diagnose the contextual and organisational conditions of their business and determine the suitability of digital servitization business models. You can access their full report and toolkit here.
The event concluded with a panel discussion featuring technology providers and InterAct researchers, discussing the challenges associated with digital implementation and improving productivity within the sector, followed by a general networking session and showcase opportunity for businesses and Made Smarter investments.
Made Smarter East Midlands – ‘Technology Transfer Workshops’ are a dynamic series of events dedicated to empowering manufacturing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the East Midlands. Presented by Made Smarter East Midlands, these workshops are specifically designed to show how the adoption of digital technology can help manufacturers solve everyday challenges and capitalise on new opportunities. To find out more about how Made Smarter Adoption can help you, and keep up to date with upcoming events, visit their website.
The UK faces being left behind in the electric vehicle revolution, economists have today warned.
Researchers have called for urgent policy intervention and a focused effort to ensure the UK’s automotive industry remains a critical pillar of the British economy.
The report, entitled Powering the Future: Aligning Economic Policy for Automotive Sector Resilience in the face of Critical Material Challenges, offers a comprehensive analysis of the UK’s EV industry.
Researchers Jun Du and Oleksandr Shepotylo, from Aston University’s Centre for Business Prosperity, found that the UK is in a weak position to capitalise on the EV revolution and immediate market opportunities – and such is the pace of change, the opportunity won’t wait for policy makers to catch up.
The UK is currently heavily exposed through its critical dependency on battery imports, with imports exceeding exports by 10.5 times.
Germany continues to lead the global market in the value of EV exports, whilst China now leads in terms of the number of EVs exported.
The UK’s position is further weakened by the resilience of the EU as a formidable EV market. The EU has made efforts to tackle the dependency on China for its battery imports by investing in production capacity in areas such as Poland, coupled with EU interventions such as the Green Deal which provides a simplified regulatory environment, faster access to funding and skills and supply chain development.
Moreover, the UK relies on sourcing materials from the rest of the world outside of the EU, coupled with higher prices making compliance with regulations more challenging.
The report warns that the UK risks a continued critical dependency on battery imports while its EU competitors are reducing the risk.
Strikingly the report shines a light on the level of Government intervention in the EU, US and China, all have coherent industrial strategy that capitalise on the shift to Net Zero, whilst the UK does not, favouring a reactive sticking plaster approach, such as the short term extension of Rules of Origin deadline with the EU. Whilst this provides respite to the UK the risk is that the gap with its competitors widens.
Jun Du, Professor of Economics at Aston Business School, said: “Cultivating a resilient and competitive UK automotive industry demands policy ideas that align with the ever-evolving dynamics of the global electric vehicle market.
“Our research highlights the weakness of the UK’s current position and outlines the strategic interventions urgently needed to fortify the UK’s interests and navigate the transformative landscape of the electric vehicle revolution.
“The implementation of these recommendations can effectively cement the UK’s leadership position in the realm of electric mobility, ensuring enduring growth, competitiveness, and innovation.”
The report outlines a three-point plan for automotive sector resilience. This crucial roadmap sets out the steps the UK must take to fortify its presence in the global EV market.
The recommendations strategically target global opportunities in the EV revolution, advocate for the optimisation of trade policy, call for strategic investments in EV battery production, emphasise the imperative of crafting a future-ready industrial strategy, and underscore the significance of continuous monitoring of global value chains.
Each year since 2019, the Observatory has gathered together a wealth of data to provide a snapshot of how the Midlands is faring and where the key opportunities lie.
The 2023 report details a challenging twelve months across the Midlands and the UK.
The report is split into two sections, based on the business plan published by the Midlands Engine earlier this year.
The first half explores how the region fared in terms of our key economic drivers: increasing productivity; innovating across sectors; building infrastructure for growth and increasing investment.
More in-depth stats are presented in a thematic deep-dive section covering the Midlands Engine’s five key themes: Green Growth; Advanced Manufacturing; Food & Agri-tech; Med-tech and Life sciences and New Market Opportunities.
InterAct is pleased to continue working with Midlands Engine as the Network moves into it’s final year of research. Following the sucessful development of the Future of Digital Manufacturing Ecosystems ‘Scenarios 2040’ report, InterAct will be hosting workshops focusing on the agri-food and medical technology sectors followed by in depth case studies of three midlands based manufacturing firms outlined in the report.
Discussing planned collaboration, InterAct Co-director, Professor Jan Godsell said: “At InterAct, we’re committed to working with businesses to help shape and co-develop our research to achieve the greatest benefits for regional and UK wide manufacturing.
By focusing our case study on the Midlands, we have a unique opportunity to support the thriving industrial base here and enable them to establish future systems of digital manufacturing – creating more resilient and prosperous supply chains which will enhance the productivity of the region and provide a blueprint for wider applicability to the rest of the country.”
InterAct researchers from the University of Sheffield based ‘Future of the Economy’ team led by Professor Vania Sena hosted the first of their Discovery Day events at the AMRC Factory 2050 on 16th November, 2023. Opened in April 2017, the venue is a fully reconfigurable assembly and component manufacturing facility for collaborative research, capable of rapidly switching production between different high-value components and one-off parts for prototyping and research and development.
This half-day workshop offered InterAct stakeholders from across the manufacturing and industrial digital technology sectors a chance to be introduced to part of the core mission of the Future of the Economy workstream.
The Discovery Day delved into the significance of advanced manufacturing zones, particularly in regional development, primarily focusing on South Yorkshire. The practical implications of these zones, the decision making behind them, and the strategy used was examined in detail by guest speaker Joseph Quinn of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA). He shed light on the transformative potential of these zones in terms of job creation, economic growth, and innovation.
Joseph Quinn presents on the work of the SYMCA
Professor Sena explained to participants the initial findings of the team’s research and understanding of the multifaceted impacts of investment zones on the future of the UK economy. They then had the chance to pose questions understand the challenges and opportunities in advanced manufacturing, a theme intrinsically linked to the economic landscape and outlook.
Following this session, attendees were invited to take part in a tour of the exciting and innovative facilities within the AMRC Factory 2050. Putting into context the overall mission of InterAct to help facilitate the introduction of new industrial digital technology into manufacturing, visitors were able to engage with a variety of cutting edge technologies with input from the AMRC staff.
Attendees examine one of the industrial technologies on display at the Factory 2050
Following on from our successful Sandpit event at Loughborough University, InterAct has funded five projects examining a range of topics concerning the manufacturing sector.
Developing a strategy that will shape the rebranding of UK digital manufacturing
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Principal Investigator:
Dr. Karl Warner – University of Glasgow
Co-investigators:
Dr. Nicola Bailey – King’s College London
Dr. Imtiaz Khan – Cardiff Metropolitan University
Dr. Anna Chatzimichali – University of Bath
Malek El-Qallali – University of Bath
Dr. Anastasia Kulichyova – Queens University Belfast
Project Outline:
This project aims to highlight the most probable future scenarios for rebranding manufacturing that can help stakeholders attract the next generation of young talent towards a career in UK digital manufacturing by 2040. This is rooted in the ambition of making the future of the sector a place that attracts, includes, and supports young talent from diverse backgrounds and mindsets.
Recent research conducted by Make UK – a UK manufacturers’ association – found that only 2% of the average UK manufacturing workforce is below 30 years old. These statistics are concerning considering current labour market inactivity rates and the shrinking UK population.
These statistics have triggered further research, including a large-scale InterAct Perceptions of Manufacturing survey that investigated UK public perceptions of the manufacturing industry and its place of work. Based on UK-wide survey of 2,000 people, a powerful message coming out of the results is that younger generations identify UK manufacturing as a less desirable brand, with many people being primarily uncertain about manufacturing employment prospects.
Using a variety of innovative methods to gather insights on potential rebranding opportunities from employers, educators, industry experts, policymakers and young people, this project intends to co-create the most probable future scenarios that can help stakeholders attract the next generation of young talent. This will enable the creation of a cross-generational map of peoples’ experiences of UK manufacturing – both past and present – that visualises potential opportunities for attracting the next generation of young talent towards a career in UK digital manufacturing.
Informing empathy-led change management: Creating a measurable readiness health plan for the adoption of digital technologies in manufacturing
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Principal Investigator:
Dr. Mersha Aftab – Birmingham City University
Co-investigators:
Dr. Mey Goh – Loughborough University
Dr. Iryna Yevseyeva – De Montfort University
Project Outline:
The project aims to improve the success of technology adoption in manufacturing organisations using an empathy-led approach to create a measurable readiness health plan for change management.
Whilst the value of digital technologies is well accepted, the UK is not adopting these technologies as quickly as our competitors. The Made Smarter Innovation People-Led Digitalisation (PLD) Centre has identified this as a challenge. They note that digitalisation tools are abundantly available and advancing at pace, but adoption rates could be higher, and it is not always clear what values these tools bring to an individual worker.
When trying to infer the adoption of technology by a person, it is important to consider what values they attach to the use of that technology. The difficulty is that most values are intrinsic, tacit, and non-transferable.
The Empathy-Led Change Management team aims to develop an initial version of a digital toolkit for businesses. This toolkit will be able to map and demonstrate the readiness level of the workforce in a company in real time. It will also support management to introduce the right strategies of people-led change at the right point of readiness, so the adoption is bespoke and ‘made to measure’.
Manufacturing a better future – exploring inclusive digital manufacturing
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Principal Investigator:
Dr. Marisa Smith – University of Strathclyde
Co-investigators:
Professor Nigel Caldwell – London Metropolitan University
Dr. Eun Sun Godwin – University of Wolverhampton
Dr. John Oyekan – University of York
Dr. Sebastian Pattinson – University of Cambridge
Project Outline:
This project is investigating how the use of digital tools can enable a more inclusive workforce in manufacturing. They will be focusing specifically on demonstrating how to engage disabled people to participate in digital design processes. The outcomes will include insight into removing barriers to entry for currently excluded groups to the manufacturing workforce.
The current focus in manufacturing policy and practice on equality and diversity has been limited to gender and ethnic diversity. Although according to Scope almost a quarter (23%) of the UK working age population are disabled, the industry has lacked a real interest in the inclusion of disabled people.
The employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people has also remained consistently high, at around 30% for the past 10 years, with a pay gap of almost 20% for disabled workers compared with non-disabled workers according to the Together Trust.
In order to counteract and overcome these challenges, the overall objectives of the project are:
To collaborate disabled people to understand how they can participate in digitalisation and manufacturing:
To gain a first-hand account of disabled people on manufacturing and working within the manufacturing ecosystem.
To understand technology developers’ expert view on technical constraints and adjustments with current digital technologies that need to be considered for accessibility of disabled people.
To explore how disabled people interact with AI interfaces and examine how the technology can be adapted to address any design challenges.
To build on the current InterAct 2040 scenarios by providing additional scenarios on inclusive manufacturing embracing disabled people through inclusive digital solutions.
To show small manufacturing non-adopters of digital tools the benefits and relative ease of adopting inclusive digital tools.
The project will provide greater understanding of how the digital divide, as well as the disability employment gap, can be narrowed through the inclusion of disabled people into the manufacturing ecosystem.
Community co-created distributed manufacturing platform (COCODISMAN)
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Principal Investigator:
Dr. Elaine Conway – Loughborough University
Co-investigators:
Atanu Chaudhuri – Durham University
Dr. Usman Adeel – Teesside University
Jay Daniel – University of Derby
Project Outline:
The aim of this project is to develop a blueprint for a co-created, distributed, community-based manufacturing platform in the UK with a business model to support its financial viability and scalability.
In many UK communities, there is apathy towards manufacturing, a digital skills divide, unemployment challenges and low engagement with disadvantaged or hard to reach groups. Equally, local manufacturers need to adopt digital technologies to remain competitive but face severe skills shortages.
Recognising these issues, the team behind COCODISMAN will be carrying out a scoping exercise to discover what community needs exist for digital skilling and local manufacturing. Using this information, they will create a digital platform which matches the needs with deliverables as they currently exist in the community. The ultimate aim of this process is to provide the link between community needs for products and skills and local manufacturing facilities with excess capacity.
The project objectives are to:
Understand the challenges which local communities face in getting objects repaired and delivered at reasonable cost, their perceptions about manufacturing as a career choice and acquiring the necessary skills to gain employment in the manufacturing sector.
Understand the challenges faced by local manufacturers in upskilling their employees while embracing digital transformation and in attracting a future workforce to manufacturing.
Understand the challenges faced by local councils in creating meaningful learning and employment opportunities for young people to enter the manufacturing sector and in supporting the elderly population in accessing manufactured goods and services.
Assess the potential of a digital platform in changing the perception of the community towards manufacturing, improving skills, reducing the digital divide and improving youth engagement in manufacturing.
Support sustainable and localized production.
The COCODISMAN platform developed and rolled out at the end of the project will form the basis for greater collaboration by the researchers involved with partners such as local county councils, local manufacturers, and industry representative organisations.
The role of consumers in driving UK manufacturing’s digital transformation
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Principal Investigator:
Professor Ana Isabel Canhoto – University of Sussex
Co-investigators:
Dr. Maren Schneider – Anglia Ruskin University
Dr. Ahmed Beltagui – Aston University
Ramin Behbehani – Brunel University London
Niraj Kumar – University of Essex
Project Outline:
The aim of this research is to identify the factors that lead consumers to adopt new Everything as a Service (XaaS) models of consumption, and drive the adoption of digitally enabled, distributed models of manufacturing.
XaaS is a business model for consumers to pay for access to a product’s benefits rather than own it outright. XaaS may take the form of acquiring a product whose performance is remotely monitored by the manufacturer. Parts are replaced or instructions issued to the consumer, as needed, through a maintenance contract, to extend the useful life of the product, a XaaS ‘stewardship-model’.
Alternatively, XaaS may take the form of acquisition of a service, with the manufacturer owing the machine and monitoring its maintenance needs, remotely, intervening when needed to ensure continued provision of the service, a XaaS ‘usership-model’ of consumption.
There are numerous benefits to XaaS including reducing manufacturers’ incentives to make products obsolete in order to generate additional sales, reducing electronic waste, increasing consumer retention, increasing consumers’ access to the latest technology, improving the energy efficiency of household appliances.
The project will attempt to achieve the following objectives:
Analyse viable XaaS models for washing machines.
Identify the factors influencing consumers’ acceptance of XaaS for washing machines.
Test the impact of those key factors in driving demand for washing machines under the stewardship vs. usership models.
Develop recommendations to support the development and implementation of XaaS in UK manufacturing.
If you’re interested in getting involved with any of these projects, you can contact the project team or email us at info@interact-hub.org.
InterAct representatives including Co-director, Professor Jillian MacBryde, were pleased to support the Women in Manufacturing initiative’s ‘Changing Perceptions’ conference on 31st October 2023.
Hosted at the state-of-the-art Manufacturing Technology Centre facility in Coventry, the event attracted industry leaders, policymakers, and aspiring professionals from across the country to share ideas and discuss the biggest challenges to female participation in manufacturing today.
The ‘Changing Perceptions’ conference was organised by the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge (IfM) and Innovate UK’s Made Smarter Innovation programme, with support from the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, InterAct and Lloyds Banking Group. It marks a major milestone in the activities put together by the Women in Manufacturing Initiative, a group dedicated to improving diversity and representation within the manufacturing sector.
Although women represent almost half of the labour force in the United Kingdom, they account for only 26% of all workers in the manufacturing sector.
Gender norms and stereotypes still segregate women and men into different occupations and economic activities. Women are also underrepresented in leadership positions, and this lack of diversity influences decision-making and firm performance.
The morning sessions of the conference sought to address some of the influencing factors behind these issues looking at: ‘Perceptions of Manufacturing: International Perspectives’, ‘How to Network Effectively’ and a panel discussion on ‘Promoting Diversity in the UK Manufacturing Sector’.
Throughout the afternoon, a series of workshops delved into various aspects of women’s roles in manufacturing, covering topics such as career advancement, mentorship programs, and strategies to overcome gender bias. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with seasoned professionals, share experiences, and gain insights into navigating the challenges unique to women in the manufacturing workforce.
Speaking to conference supporters Lloyds Bank about the importance of the event, organiser and Head of Industrial Technologies and Manufacturing at Innovate UK, Dr. Megan Ronayne said: “One of the main advantages of increasing diversity in manufacturing is that it raises innovation in the sector” and this can help to offset skills gaps and shortages in the workforce.
Whilst the Changing Perceptions conference made it clear that these are long-term issues, that require long-term solutions and investment to overcome, the enthusiasm and ideas generated for the Women in Manufacturing initiative was an inspirational takeaway for attendees.
If you want to learn more about how you can take practical steps to help address these challenges, you can read Dr. Castañeda-Navarrete’s report on ‘The case for a gender-transformative digitalisation’. This policy brief offers practical recommendations for businesses, industry associations, and research and government organisations to promote gender diversity and inclusion within the UK manufacturing sector.
Disruption, digital innovation, new business models… the world of manufacturing is changing rapidly, perhaps faster than ever before. To adapt and survive, businesses must anticipate changes, identify opportunities and make informed decisions.
The InterAct Future of Digital Manufacturing Ecosystems team, one of InterAct’s core research streams, is committed to developing co-created solutions to the challenges facing the UK manufacturing sector in the near future. This team has now put together a vital report that brings you the information you need, at your fingertips, outlining potential future scenarios and the associated opportunities for the manufacturing world.
Discussing the importance of this new work, InterAct Co-director and Future of Digital Manufacturing Ecosystems lead, Professor Jan Godsell said: “The future can often seem distant and subordinate to the problems of today, particularly in the supply chain and manufacturing sectors when it has felt as though we are living in an age of ‘permacrisis’, constantly fighting just to stay on track.
However, if anything, the impacts of conflict, pandemic, supply chain disruption, climate change and labour market shifts have proven the vital importance of considering potential futures, today. That’s why my team has produced this new report, to be used in conjunction with upcoming workshops and case studies to create a framework for businesses to effectively plan for, and mitigate challenges whilst exploiting new technological opportunities.
We’re excited to be working with organisations like Midlands Engine and Make UK on this project, and I look forward to inviting new and existing members of the InterAct Network to join us in co-creating this work.”
The scenarios outlined in the report map out four potential alternatives for the digital manufacturers of tomorrow:
Productivity Powerhouse
Flexibility as Standard
Sustainability Champion
Happy and Sustainable Workforce
Download the report to find out more about how the most useful measure of sustainable progress is total factor productivity, which accounts for inputs beyond labour – such as materials, energy and administrative time – to compare them against total outputs.
The IET Savoy Place, London hosted the InterAct Network’s second Annual Conference on 3rd October, 2023, bringing together a wide range of industry leaders, policy influencers, and academic experts. The central theme of the conference, “How do we create the digital manufacturing future we want?” provided a catalyst for discussions from 13 expert speakers who came together to deliver their unique insights on the challenges and opportunities for the future of manufacturing.
The conference began with an introduction from InterAct Co-director Professor Jillian MacBryde and ESRC Deputy Director of Impact and Innovation, Melanie Knetsch. Discussing the motivations and philosophy behind funding the InterAct Network, Melanie said: “What became apparent when we were first conceptualising the Made Smarter Challenge, was that this was more than just an R&D challenge. If you’re going to really understand manufacturing and support digital transformation you need to take a step back and understand the businesses, the structures, the people, the management, the training, and the skills involved within that.
“We needed to be able to bring people together who haven’t worked together before and adopt this multi-sector approach. That’s why it has been an absolute pleasure to watch it [InterAct] grow and develop over the last two years as a community has come together.”
The morning session then continued with talks from Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), who kicked off proceedings by offering insights into the future of work, emphasizing the pivotal role of human resources in shaping the workforce of tomorrow.
Ben Armstrong, Executive Director of MIT’s Industrial Performance Center, then delved into the benefits and potential pitfalls of automation, providing an international perspective on the opportunities that lie ahead.
The session then continued to explore InterAct’s core themes: the Future of the Economy, the Future of Work, and the Future of Digital Manufacturing Ecosystems. Expert speakers shared their own unique perspectives on the broader topics, providing the basis for the afternoon discussions. You can watch all the talks here.
Preceding the afternoon session, the final keynote speaker Ved Sen, Head of Business Innovation at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), shared his views on the habits of innovative companies. Charting the different approaches some of the worlds biggest companies take to developing a culture of innovation that fosters ingenuity and market leading thinking.
In the interactive segment of the day, attendees had the opportunity to workshop questions amongst themselves to pose to a panel of experts. The panel, comprising thought leaders from diverse backgrounds, discussed critical themes and issues facing the manufacturing sector.
As the curtains closed on the second InterAct Annual Conference, Professor Janet Godsell expressed gratitude to the speakers, sponsors, and attendees for contributing to a vibrant and collaborative event atmosphere. She reiterated the Network’s commitment to building dialogue and connections, highlighting the proactive role InterAct is taking in bringing stakeholders together through events such as these.
Insights from history on the new industrial revolution
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Ahmad Beltagui – Aston University
Co-investigators:
Dr. Brian Sudlow – Aston University
Dr. Miying Yang – Cranfield University
Project Outline:
The aim of the project is to communicate actionable insights from social science research on technology adoption, by creating a repository of digital stories on historical industrial transitions. The project will expand the Insights from History series of animated digital stories that resulted from a systematic literature review.
The project will use historical precedents to identify actionable insights about the factors that matter for IDT adoption. It will focus on conveying these insights to SMEs in particular, drawing on strong institutional links with SMEs. Creating short, informative and accessible videos has the potential to communicate findings most clearly to SME leaders and contribute to the desired impacts on successful IDT adoption.
The valorisation of the PrOH Modelling Methodology for the human-centred digitization of the Rolls-Royce Aerospace plc extended enterprise
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Principal Investigator:
Professor Ben Clegg – Aston University
Co-investigators:
Dr. Krishna Balthu – Aston University
Dr. Ehsan Eslamian – Aston University
Project Outline:
This project will build on capabilities in systems thinking and action research developed at Aston University – specifically the PrOH modelling methodology – to increase its impact outside academia. PrOH modelling is a systems thinking action research approach used to understand complex organisational issues, stimulate innovative thinking to improve organisational issues and implement effective solutions.
PrOH modelling is a form of soft systems methodology specifically designed to affect change in organisational strategy, people, culture, technology and operations through a human centred approach. To date the PrOH modelling methodology has had in-depth success led by experts in small volume. This InterAct project is focused on commercialising the PrOH Modelling Methodology for training, teaching and practice, to achieve a more widespread use.
AI with Impact: A guide for CEOs
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Principal Investigator:
Dr. Viktor Dörfler – University of Strathclyde
Project Outline:
The project aims to help business leaders with getting AI implementations right, as an astonishingly high proportion of AI implementations (various sources put it between 50-80%) are either a failure or do not deliver the desired outcomes. Examining underlying reasons that are fundamentally human not technological, the project team hopes to correct unrealistic expectations towards AI resulting from the lack of understanding of what AI actually can and cannot deliver.
Project outputs will help improve AI implementation quality and thus increase investment in AI in the UK manufacturing sector. Dr. Dörfler seeks to assist manufacturing in learning from other sectors and vice versa through increased understanding of the variety of AI solutions. Helping smaller AI solution providers make suitable offers to large, established companies and indirectly help increase the international competitiveness of UK organisations.
Design and evaluation of a brochure outlining the toolkit for responsible and inclusive digital transformation
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Principal Investigator:
Dr. Vladislav Grozev – University of Sheffield
Co-investigators:
Dr. Hui Zhang – University of Sheffield
Professor Carolyn Axtell – University of Sheffield
Professor Karina Nielsen – University of Sheffield
Project Outline:
The aim of this project is to produce an extensive brochure informing relevant stakeholders about the availability and purpose of a toolkit for responsible and inclusive digital transformation, including:
(1) A structured process for involving multidisciplinary teams across different departments and stakeholders at different levels of an organisation in responsible co-design
(2) Exercises for co-creating acceptable future scenarios for working with the digital change (including consideration of job design).
(3) A survey tool for measuring digital attitudes, and generating action plans to enhance trust and adoption of the change.
The toolkit contains guidelines for organisations in relation to the structured process (i.e., the five-stage process, principles of responsible design/stakeholder involvement, guidance on potential action plans) – as well as provide guidelines for how to use the specific tools (scenarios tool and digital attitudes tool). Overall, the toolkit will help organisations action the insights gained from research on responsible innovation and socio-technical change.
Disseminating insights regarding the management and governance of Open Innovation projects for IDT providers
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Principal Investigator:
Dr. Andrei Gurca – Queens University Belfast
Co-investigator:
Dr. Kate Broadhurst – Loughborough University
Project Outline:
As the complexity of IDT development projects increases and numerous, highly interdependent elements, components and subsystems interact to deliver functionality, many firms lack the knowledge and capabilities to complete their projects independently. Therefore, firms are increasingly engaging in purposeful, collaborative efforts with different business partners (i.e., open innovation) at various stages of their complex projects. The benefits of opening up to business partners include access to valuable external resources, risk sharing, reduced costs, and improved time-to-market.
The project aims to engage business leaders and representative bodies and organisations like the Chamber of Commerce, Local Enterprise Partnerships in the creation of their actionable insights through a series of workshops targeted at demystifying the processes of open innovation for businesses and policymakers. Further materials will be made available via the InterAct resource repository and at additional events in 2024.
FASHTRAX: Knowledge Exchange Platform
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Principal Investigator:
Dr. Hilde Heim – Manchester Fashion Institute, Manchester Metropolitan University
Co-investigator:
Julie Hodson – Manchester Fashion Institute, Manchester Metropolitan University
Project Outline:
Researchers from the Manchester Fashion Institute’s Textiles Transparency Team (MFITT) are seeking to create an online knowledge exchange platform called FASHTRAX. The platform aims to be an industry facing, fashion transparency innovation exchange site for the dissemination of Manchester Fashion Institute’s research and innovations in the field of digitalising supply chain transparency.
The project is responding to findings that garment manufacturers are seeking guidance on how to adopt and integrate digital technologies in a non-disruptive way into their existing operations. The current fundamental lack of transparency and visibility throughout the various stages of the supply chain is one of the most significant barriers preventing organisations from implementing more sustainable, accountable practices.
The FASHTRAX knowledge exchange platform will signpost several emerging technology providers, such as those offering blockchain, AI, and sensors – that digitalise the supply chain’s key processes in addition to research on implementation to help organisations achieve these aims.
An interactive online tool for prioritising verification, validation and testing activities to support human decision-making
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Principal Investigator:
Dr. Khadija Tahera – The Open University
Project Outline:
The development of new digital technology needs extensive verification, validation and testing (VV&T). An effective way of analysing the requirements of different stakeholders, i.e., the customer’s voice, regulations and business’s voice and how these requirements must be considered in the VV&T planning for new technology, is significantly challenging.
This project aims to develop a systematic method of analysing critical requirements and influences on the VV&T activity for new technology development and manufacturing, which will support the adoption of digital technologies and facilitate collaboration between SMEs and larger companies.
Dr. Tahera will be developing a tool designed to help manufacturers and SMEs map customer and regulatory requirements to technical requirements and VV&T activities, and prioritise VV&T activities based on risk and importance. The tool will provide actionable insights that will help manufacturers make informed decisions about testing, potentially saving time and costs in VV&T planning and decision-making.
Using the Reflective Goal Setting Model to accelerate the adoption of digital technologies by enhancing digital readiness in UK manufacturing
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Principal Investigator:
Dr. Cheryl Travers – Loughborough University
Co-investigators:
Dr. Elaine Conway – Loughborough University
Sandra Huskinson – Coventry University
Project Outline:
Leaders’ personal and interpersonal skills and the ability to set goals are increasingly in demand due to the impact they can have on organisational success and employee performance, motivation, and wellbeing. The manufacturing sector is no exception. However, development of these skills often falls far short of expectations, with poor transfer of learning post-training. Traditional goal setting approaches have limited effectiveness in the development and utilisation of ‘softer’ yet crucial leadership and management interpersonal skills
The key purpose of this project is to take the established and evidence-based model of Reflective Goal Setting (RGS) and to develop actionable insights in the form of a toolkit, an animated video, and a discovery phase blueprint for an RGS app – specifically to facilitate the successful adoption of, and adaptation to, digital technologies. The project will explore the potential barriers to adoption that may result from a potential lack of suitable and relevant skills, lack of and/or prior experience, limiting mindsets, worry and anxiety, and unsuitable behaviours.
Enabling Digital Transformation for SMEs: an Industry 4.0 Open Innovation Platform
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Principal Investigator:
Professor Beverly Wagner – University of Strathclyde
Co-investigator:
Dr. Natalie McDougall – University of Strathclyde
Project Outline:
The unprecedented changes of increasing digitalisation in parallel with the challenges organisations face in adoption and implementation of Industry 4.0 are the driving forces behind this project. There is a need to enable collaboration and co-creation to drive digital transformation.
New requirements related to customer experience and needs alongside value and efficiency improvements necessitate digital transformation. This can be enabled via adoption and implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies, such as big data analytics, blockchain, Internet of Things, intelligent products, sensors, robotics, adaptive manufacturing, and many others. However, whilst this is becoming an imperative for organisations, SMEs may be hindered by a lack of resources and capabilities.
The project team will develop a platform using virtual collaborative sharing tools, which will be accessible via an Open Innovation webpage. Key insights taken from the longitudinal study of Open Innovation adoption and Knowledge Transfer Partnership on Open Innovation practices will shape an interactive toolkit comprising the following:
A best practice guide to aid the business community select an appropriate open innovation business model and understand the process and requirements at each level for ideation through to commercialisation.
Case studies presented by key stakeholder organisations that detail factors that influence open innovation implementation and technological uptake.
Methodologies of Industry 4.0 adoption from keynote industry speakers.
Collaborative tools, activities, and co-creation spaces to support the development of relevant capabilities adoption and implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies.
InterAct is pleased to announce the recipients of our second round of Systematic Review funding. These two projects are led by Dr. Dalila Ribaudo of Aston University and Dr. Nikolai Kazantsev of the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge. The projects will focus on topics relating to ‘Manufacturing in the metaverse’ and ‘Perceptions of manufacturing’.
Manufacturing in the metaverse: Conceptual model and future research directions
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Principal Investigator:
Professor Chander Velu – Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge.
Lead researcher:
Dr. Nikolai Kazantsev – Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge.
Project Outline:
The industrial metaverse uses ‘virtual and augmented reality to blend the physical and digital worlds to transform how businesses design, manufacture and interact with objects’.
The project aims to provide a coherent interdisciplinary summary of established knowledge from academia and practice on the application and potential benefits of a metaverse in manufacturing, mainly focusing on bridging technical and social insights.
The specific objectives are:
To clarify the terminology, technologies, and roles the metaverse can play in manufacturing.
To derive the barriers, drivers and benefits of adopting the metaverse for individuals, firms, the manufacturing ecosystem and the economy.
To summarise a conceptual model and outline future research directions of an industrial metaverse in manufacturing.
The industrial metaverse is often explored solely from a technological perspective despite being a fast-growing field of study in various domains. As a result, complex terms and concepts are misinterpreted by the industry, resulting in an overlapping stack of technologies and, therefore, unclear evidence of the application of the concept in manufacturing.
By investigating overlooked social and economic factors behind metaverse applications, the project aims unlock the virtual space for goods manufacturing and transaction, and discover how the interactions between firms and customers happen.
The team is open for collaborations on this research. Please contact nk622@cam.ac.uk if you are interested.
The purpose of a potential collaboration would be to better inform research on the positioning of the metaverse as a technological tool in manufacturing.
The team are keen to hear from:
Industrial partners who have already applied some elements of virtual reality or who want to do so soon, but are unclear on how to progress due to the perceived risks or unclear benefits of the technology.
This could be technology providers, such as Vuforia, Hololens (MST), Meta or creators of alternative augmented reality glasses.
How to make manufacturing charming again? It is everything, everywhere, all at once.
Kawee / Adobe Stock
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Dalila Ribaudo – Aston University
Co-investigators:
Dr. Guendalina Anzolin – University of Cambridge
Dr. Jennifer Castañeda-Navarrete – University of Cambridge
Project Outline:
The aim of this project is to conduct a comprehensive literature review of the perceptions of manufacturing, with a particular emphasis on international industrial strategies.
The team plans to analyse how perceptions of manufacturing have been changing across countries and how governments are taking actions to bring manufacturing back into the policy agenda. One of the main areas where this is happening is the adoption of digital technologies, a field where the changing features of manufacturing are evident.
For example, policy makers need to design industrial strategies that address both the increasingly higher requirement for skilled labour, and firms’ adoption of digital technologies, while also developing strategic sectors, such as semiconductors.
This study will reveal how countries prioritize manufacturing in the context of national and regional industrial strategies (i.e., for example with the levelling up agenda in the UK and the Innovation and Competition Act in the US.
There are four main topics the team will examine that can be linked to negative perceptions on manufacturing:
It is believed to be a declining industry, replaced by services, especially in advanced economies.
Manufacturing is a low-skilled and low-paying employment environment.
Manufacturing is a dirty and polluting industry that harms the environment.
Ideological as well as practical barriers for policymakers to provide sufficient attention to manufacturing.
