Category: Resources

Categories
Productivity Resilience Resources

Industrial digital technologies for UK SME exporting manufacturers

newroadboy / Adobe Stock

Research overview

This research project examines the drivers, barriers, and performance outcomes of adopting industrial digital technologies (IDTs) in UK manufacturing firms. The findings outlined in the report and toolkit provide insights on the interventions that facilitate IDT adoption to enhance the performance of SME manufacturers exporting to international markets.

The project collected primary data from focus groups, interviews and a survey of 303 UK manufacturing SMEs currently exporting products. The outcomes from this primary research were used to develop an IDT adoption toolkit and decision-making model. This toolkit allows UK SME manufacturers to benchmark their level of IDT adoption against the industry standard, to identify which specific IDTs will have the greatest impact on improving their business performance across many indicators, and additionally can direct users to the digital solutions most relevant to their needs, thereby simplifying the process of IDT adoption.

Dr Hanh Pham, Dr Richard Hodgett and Prof Chee Yew Wong (University of Leeds). This work was supported by the UKRI Made Smarter Innovation Challenge and the Economic and Social Research Council via InterAct [Grant Reference ES/W007231/1].

For further discussions or to propose potential applications/collaborations, please contact Hanh Pham.

Please complete the captcha to download the file.

Download “Research report - Industrial digital technologies for UK SME exporting manufacturers” IDT-adoption-research-report.pdf – Downloaded 20 times – 3.02 MB

Please complete the captcha to download the file.

Download “Toolkit - Industrial digital technologies for UK SME exporting manufacturers” IDT-adoption-toolkit.pdf – Downloaded 12 times – 3.56 MB

Please complete the captcha to download the file.

Download “Insights for policymakers - The impacts of industrial digital technology adoption on the export performance of UK manufacturing SMEs” Impact-of-IDTs-on-UK-SME-Exports-Policy.pdf – Downloaded 11 times – 537.38 KB
Categories
People Resources

Digital Change Toolkit

THAWEERAT / Adobe Stock

Research overview

The Digital Change Toolkit is a freely available online resource which can help organisations to prepare, design, and evaluate the people and organisational aspects of digital change. It consists of three core components:

  • A six-stage change process with comprehensive guidelines for each stage
  • The CResDA Tool (a questionnaire for assessing and evaluating employee attitudes)
  • The Socio-Technical Scenarios Tool (a workshop based tool for assessing the current situation, designing future visions and developing action plans).

The Digital Change Toolkit offers:

  • Reliability: The Toolkit is grounded in research and established best practice guidelines, to provide credibility and effectiveness in supporting digital change.
  • Integration Flexibility: The Toolkit can be used on its own or in conjunction with other tools that focus on the design and implementation of new technologies or business models as part of digital change.
  • Versatile Application: The Toolkit is suitable for different change projects (both large and small) that involve technology or digital tools.
  • Scalability: The Toolkit can be used within a single organisation, across organisations, or across supply chains and is flexible and adaptable to suit the needs of the organisational context in which it is used.

The Digital Change Toolkit provides comprehensive guidelines to follow at all six-stages of a digital change process.

This research was conducted by Professor Carolyn Axtell, Dr. Vladislav Grozev, and Dr. Hui Zhang (University of Sheffield). This work was supported by the UKRI Made Smarter Innovation Challenge and the Economic and Social Research Council via InterAct [Grant Reference ES/W007231/1].

For further discussions or to propose potential applications/collaborations, please contact Vladislav Grozev.

Please complete the captcha to download the file.

Download “Digital Change Toolkit” Digital-Change-Toolkit.pdf – Downloaded 30 times – 679.78 KB
Categories
Productivity Resilience Resources

Verification, validation and testing (VVT) for new products and technology

Adobe Stock
Watch a short video about the importance of VVT processes and the potential of the new VVT tool.

Research overview

The development of new digital technology needs extensive verification, validation and testing (VVT). Implementing 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 often poses a significant challenge.

This project has developed a systematic method of analysing critical requirements and influences on VVT activity for new technology development and manufacturing. This offers support for the adoption of digital technologies and facilitates collaboration between SMEs and larger companies. The free to use online tool gives you the ability to visually analyse the transition of requirements from risk analysis to prioritisation and the impact of these choices.

This research was conducted by Dr. Khadija Tahera (The Open University). This work was supported by the UKRI Made Smarter Innovation Challenge and the Economic and Social Research Council via InterAct [Grant Reference ES/W007231/1].

For further discussions or potential applications/collaborations, please contact Khadija Tahera.

Watch the tool demonstration webinar recording
access the online tool
Categories
People Productivity Resources

Fast scheduling of human-robot teams collaboration on synchronised production-logistics tasks in aircraft assembly

Syda Productions / Adobe Stock

Research overview

The increasing deployment of mobile robots and collaborative robots is changing the manufacturing landscape with emerging technologies in Industry 4.0.

The deployment of human-robot teams (HRTs) promises to realise the potential of each team member regarding their distinct abilities and combines efficiency and flexibility in manufacturing operations. However, enabling effective coordination amongst collaborative tasks performed by humans and robots while ensuring safety and satisfying specific constraints is challenging.

Motivated by real-world applications that Boeing and Airbus adopt HRTs in manufacturing operations, this paper investigates the allocating and coordinating of HRTs to support safe and efficient human-robot collaboration on synchronised production-logistics tasks in aircraft assembly.

This research was conducted by Dr. Daqiang Guo (IfM, University of Cambridge). This work was supported by the UKRI Made Smarter Innovation Challenge and the Economic and Social Research Council via InterAct’s Early Career Researcher Fund [Grant Reference ES/W007231/1].

For further discussions or potential applications/collaborations, please contact Daqiang Guo.

access: ‘Fast scheduling of human-robot teams collaboration on synchronised production-logistics tasks in aircraft assembly’
Categories
People Resilience Resources Sustainability

Manufacturing in the Metaverse

FAMILY STOCK / Adobe Stock

Research overview

The future of manufacturing will be underpinned by two elements: digital technologies and collaboration. The industrial metaverse is the epitome of these elements, using extended reality to blend the physical and digital worlds to transform how businesses design, manufacture, and interact with objects.

This report presents a coherent summary of established knowledge from academia and practice on the drivers, risks, enablers, and barriers of the industrial metaverse for manufacturing through a systematic literature review. These aspects are explored at three levels of granularity: the individual, the firm, and the manufacturing ecosystem.

As a result of this work, the InterAct funded team has also conceptualised a prototype for an industrial metaverse implementation using a case of cocoa manufacturing.

This research was conducted by Dr. Nikolai Kazantsev, Dr. Bethan Moncur, Russell Goh, Professor Chander Velu (IfM, University of Cambridge). This work was supported by the UKRI Made Smarter Innovation Challenge and the Economic and Social Research Council via InterAct [Grant Reference ES/W007231/1].

For further discussions or to propose potential applications/collaborations, please contact Nikolai Kazantsev.

Please complete the captcha to download the file.

Download “Report - Manufacturing in the Metaverse” Manufacturing-in-the-Metaverse-Report.pdf – Downloaded 1021 times – 1.90 MB
Categories
Resilience Resources Sustainability

Aligning economic policy for automotive sector resilience in the face of critical material dependency challenges

gui yong nian / Adobe Stock

Research overview

The automotive sector holds a distinctive and pivotal position within the UK economy. Beyond its substantial contributions to national outputs, employment, and value addition, the sector embodies a catalyst for future growth, aligning with the levelling up agenda and propelling the Net Zero transition.

In 2022, automotive-related manufacturing injected £78 billion turnover and contributed £16 billion in value added to the UK economy. The sector’s impact extends to the employment of over 208,000 individuals directly in automotive manufacturing and a total of 800,000 across the broader sector. Noteworthy within this context is the diversity epitomized by more than 25 manufacturing brands, collectively producing over 70 distinct vehicle models, complemented by the presence of specialized small-volume manufacturers.

This intricate ecosystem is further supported by approximately 2,500 supply chain businesses, housing some of the world’s most skilled engineers.

This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the UK’s electric vehicle (EV) industry within the framework of economic policy and global value chains. It delves into the intricate dynamics involving supply chains, industrial policy, and critical dependencies.

The UK’s automotive sector confronts multifaceted challenges stemming from technological advancements, socioeconomic transformations, and geopolitical intricacies, necessitating the formulation of agile and responsive economic policies. The UK’s departure from the EU, as stipulated in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, amplifies the complexities, particularly in navigating non-tariff measures and rules of origin that exert influence on EV exports. Within a landscape marked by heightened global competition characterized by escalating industrial policies on a global scale, the urgency of nimble responses becomes evident.

This research was conducted by Professor Jun Du Professor, Reader Luciano Battista and Dr. Oleksandr Shepotylo (Aston Business School). This work was supported by the UKRI Made Smarter Innovation Challenge and the Economic and Social Research Council via InterAct [Grant Reference ES/W007231/1].

For further discussions or potential applications/collaborations, please contact Jun Du.

Please complete the captcha to download the file.

Download “Report - Electric Vehicles and Global Value Chains in sustainable manufacturing” The-role-of-GVCs-in-sustainable-supply-chains.pdf – Downloaded 0 times – 697.60 KB

Please complete the captcha to download the file.

Download “Report - Aligning economic policy for automotive sector resilience in the face of critical material dependency challenges” UK-critical-dependencies-in-GVC-of-EV_20-12-2023_final.pdf – Downloaded 839 times – 1.96 MB
Categories
People Resources

Perceptions of Manufacturing: How to make manufacturing charming again?

djvstock / Adobe Stock
Watch a short explainer video about the importance of sector perception to the future of manufacturing

Research overview

This report presents insights into how manufacturing is perceived, the factors shaping this perception, and how this perception has evolved in the last decade. The findings draw upon a systematic review of academic, grey and policy literature across seven countries: the United Kingdom (the UK), Canada, Germany, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States (the US).

The report is the main output of the InterAct-funded project “How to make manufacturing charming again? It is everything, everywhere, all at once”. The aim of the report is to support InterAct research on the future of manufacturing on an international scale by providing insights into attitudes to manufacturing and industrial strategies, and how manufacturing is discussed in other countries, particularly where digital technologies have been adopted.

This research was conducted by Dr. Guendalina Anzolin (IfM, University of Cambridge), Dr. Jennifer Castañeda–Navarrete (IfM, University of Cambridge) and Dr. Dalila Ribaudo (Aston University). This work was supported by the UKRI Made Smarter Innovation Challenge and the Economic and Social Research Council via InterAct [Grant Reference ES/W007231/1].

For further discussions or potential collaborations, please contact Jennifer Castañeda–Navarrete or Dalila Ribaudo.

Please complete the captcha to download the file.

Download “Report - UK and international perceptions of manufacturing” Perceptions-of-Manufacturing.pdf – Downloaded 1732 times – 1.17 MB
Watch project researchers Guendalina Anzolin and Jennifer Castañeda–Navarrete discuss their findings in this webinar hosted by IfM Cambridge
Categories
Productivity Resources Sustainability

CarbonVue

doidam10 / Adobe Stock

Research overview

CarbonVue is an innovative digital tool that enables businesses to increase efficiency whilst reducing costs and CO2 emissions from their supply chains. Using CarbonVue, companies can highlight key points in the configuration of their supply chains to target with improvements to help produce a greener tomorrow.

Find out more and request a demo
Watch a short animated explainer on the purpose and benefits of the CarbonVue tool.
Watch a full demonstrator webinar on the usage of the CarbonVue tool.
Categories
Productivity Resilience Resources

From supply chains towards manufacturing ecosystems: A system dynamics model

Research overview

Rapid market changes call for demand-driven collaborations in manufacturing, which trigger supply chain evolution to more distributed supply structures.

This paper explores the system dynamics of the largest European aerospace manufacturer’s supply chain. The authors conceptualise a manufacturing ecosystem by observing the impacts of supplier development, digital platforms, smart contracting, and Industry 4.0 on demand-driven collaborations in time.

The research team offers further contributions to the literature on ecosystem strategy, particularly for regulated industries, by disclosing the role of demand-driven collaborations in supporting the ecosystems’ growth. This paper also provides manufacturing firms with an open-access tool to exemplify their ecosystem development and produce initial training datasets for AI/ML algorithms, supporting further analytics.

This research was conducted by Dr. Nikolai Kazantsev (IfM, University of Cambridge), Oleksii Petrovskyi (National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy), Professor Julian M. Müller (Seeburg Castle University, Austria and Erfurt University of Applied Sciences, Germany). This work was supported by the UKRI Made Smarter Innovation Challenge and the Economic and Social Research Council via InterAct [Grant Reference ES/W007231/1].

For further discussions or potential applications/collaborations, please contact Nikolai Kazantsev.

Access: ‘From supply chains towards manufacturing ecosystems: A system dynamics model’

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122917

Categories
Productivity Resilience Resources

Insights from history: What can the past teach us about technological transformation?

dlyastokiv / Adobe Stock
Watch a short introductory video from the research team behind the ‘Insights from History’ project.

Research overview

The transition to sustainability coincides with an industrial digitalization. While this latest industrial revolution creates new challenges, it also revives historical ones encountered in previous transitions. Through two parallel systematic reviews, challenges are identified for the current digitalization transition and historical transitions: mechanization, electrification and computerization.

The aim of this research is to identify lessons from history that may help overcome the challenges of industrial digitalization. The paper provides illustrative examples of social factors that are either internal to a technology adopting organization or external, related to wider societal change. These factors suggest actionable insights that may support the adoption of Industrial Digital Technologies. The following videos and report introduce the project in more detail and provide a full accounting of their findings.

This research was conducted by Dr. Ahmad Beltagui, Dr. Brian Sudlow (Aston University) Dr. Miying Yang, Glen Jonata (Cranfield University), and Qinglan Liu (Exeter University). This work was supported by the UKRI Made Smarter Innovation Challenge and the Economic and Social Research Council via InterAct [Grant Reference ES/W007231/1].

For further discussion or questions about this project, please contact Ahmad Beltagui.

Please complete the captcha to download the file.

Download “Report - Insights from history: a systematic review of historical industrial transitions” Learning-from-histories-Report.pdf – Downloaded 6010 times – 221.55 KB
Watch an animated explainer about the impact of technological change on the mining industry.
Listen to the story of Edmund Cartwright, 18/19th century inventor, and what it can teach us about the challenges facing innovators.
Learn about the potential of small business cooperation through the case of arms manufacturers in 19th century Birmingham.

Learn about the potential of out of the box thinking when examining the benefits of new technology through the lens of the electrification of steam powered factories.

Find out more about the pitfalls of timing in innovation through the example of electric vehicle development.