CONTEXT Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) are key to industrial competitiveness, growth and job creation in Europe [http://bit.ly/2js1iCC]. The uptake of these technologies creates benefits to SMEs from, not only a technological but also an economic perspective. Companies adopt AMT to reduce production costs, improve the quality of their products and services, improve their employees’ productivity and reduce production lead time. PROJECT OBJECTIVES - Design a training program and supporting tools for addressing the barriers (especially the skilled human resources barrier and access to technology services) in ICT-enabled intelligent manufacturing (environmental, organisational, technological barriers) - Emphasize the main drivers for investing in AMTs - Personalise the training based on company type (barriers and drivers addressed at company type) TARGET GROUP SMEs, including micro-SMEs who lack the knowledge and resources (human & financial) to break through the AMT barriers. Specific focus will be on SMEs from the following sectors which were chosen based on the current share of firms which make intensive use of ICT-enable AMTs: - Food and Beverages - Wood industry - Metal industry - NACE 24 25 - Electronic and Electrical Equipment - VET providers, SME Chambers, targeted industries representation bodies, IT companies, young individuals who can benefit from additional skills which can help them obtain work, mobility. - Business Innovation Centres, business incubation clusters, entrepreneurship associations, public officials responsible for entrepreneurship/growth/VET. - Higher Education entities dealing with issues relevant to Industry 4.0, Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, ICT, Engineering, etc. PARTICIPANTS The partnership comprises 7 partners from 7 countries. A HE institute, a software development company, 2 technical consultancies with VET component, a technology foundation and VET centre from the furniture industry, an educational software provider and knowledge dissemination company and an ICT company developing software and offering VET training on ICT-related subjects. ACTIVITIES FAME will design, develop, test, implement and disseminate an innovative training framework comprising a modular training course along with online and conventional training materials facilitated by two innovative tools: (a) the Virtual AMT Adoption Assistant for personalised training, and (b) the Learning Motivation Environment for a skills retention service. Based on these results, FAME will support the in-service training and up-skill of the target groups. METHODOLOGY - Comparative analysis from a critical viewpoint of the current adoption of ICT-enabled AMTs from targeted SMEs in partner countries and identification of winning practices (in AMT implementation) from countries topping the AMT adoption charts. - Validation of the needs of SMEs from partner countries in relation to knowledge and skills for implementing the winning practices and identification and description of learning outcomes for the AMT Manager profile. - Elaboration of a training methodology and a set of winning strategies for the targeted SMEs to improve current production lifecycle practices through AMT adoption. - Inception of the list of goals to be achieved for materialising each strategy. - Description of each concrete goal per product lifecycle element to be supported (e.g. design, simulation, production, test, maintenance). - Design and development of the ICT-enabled AMT Training course to support the achievement of the goals. - Localisation of the strategies, goals and content - Implementation of the ECVET tools. - Design of the "Virtual Assistant" to personalise the strategies at the level of individual SME and deliver the goals for materialising each strategy. - Deployment, set-up and configuration of a Learning Motivation Environment. - Re-purposing and integration of the content as interactive multimedia resources for knowledge retention. - Training of a number of appointed instructors/trainers to the methodology, course and delivery tools. - Organisation of pilots. - Processing of results. RESULTS - AMT Adoption Training Content - ECVET profile of AMT Manager and supporting tools - AMT Virtual Implementation Assistant - Learning Motivation Environment and Knowledge Retention Service - FAME Network LONG TERM BENEFITS - Generation of awareness among European SMEs in relation to the benefits of AMT and more specifically how these translate these benefits to functional requirements and transcribed to technical specifications for their products/services depending on their specific situation. - Knowledge dissemination with regards to how the AMT challenge can be turned into an opportunity of high potential. - Better professional activity among the target groups leading to increase in revenues without any significant increase in costs associated to AMT adoption.
The problem Small companies in specific sectors would like to adopt AMT to reduce production costs, improve the quality of their products and services, improve their employees’ productivity and reduce production lead time. However, they lack the knowledge and resources (human & financial) to break through the AMT barriers. The target groups: SMEs, including micro-SMEs from the following sectors: - Food and Beverages - Wood industry - Metal industry - NACE 24 25 - Electronic and Electrical Equipment The solution The FAME project has developed a training program and tools to strengthen the skills of SMEs in the above selected sectors for them to adopt ICT-enabled AMTs. The project also facilitates the building of a network of FAME adopters through an AMT assistant and Knowledge Retention Skills space. The FAME Network of practitioners and enthusiasts promotes the uptake of high-end AMT through dynamic demonstrators and hands-on workshops even after the end of the project. Main objectives The specific purpose of the project is to support SMEs regarding skills, local ecosystems and access to finance, promote the uptake of high-end AMT through joint pilot plants and demonstrators, support new service-based business models for the diffusion of AMT, improve the alignment of European, national and regional policies. The focus is on ICT-enabled AMTs: - 3D printing - Cloud manufacturing - Adaptable manufacturing - VR and simulation - Supply chain - Product Lifecycle Management - Enterprise Resource Planning The partners The partnership comprised 7 partners from 7 countries. A software development company with ECVET expertise, an educational technology and knowledge dissemination company, one higher education institute of engineering and industrial process management, one company known for innovation in product development, an ICT SME, a Furnishings Cluster and Innovation Hub, a consultant in business development. Methodology The project started with a comparative analysis of the current state of play in ICT-enabled AMT practices of SMEs in partner countries and winning practices in countries outside the partnership (Germany, The Netherlands, Norway). The aim of the analysis was to identify the actual needs of the target group in order to form a training program tailored to them. The next step was the validation of the needs by representatives of the direct target group in order to address and describe the learning outcomes for the AMT Manager profile. The training methodology and strategies recommended for the SMEs are based on the validated needs. Upon the results, the partnership developed an action-based course materializing the strategies and supporting their implementation in real working environments. To that end, 7 modules were created comprising specific actions linked to ECVET points in relation with the learning outcomes defined in the validation phase. Together with the AMT Assistant, a personalized tool delivering the action-based course in all partner languages, the Knowledge Retention Service, was deployed with re-modeled actions complementing the training program. Results The outcomes of FAME comprise the: - AMT Course: instructor led and e-Learning - AMT Strategy Genie: personalisation of training paths - Learning Motivation Environment: skills retention functionality - ECVET tools for the AMT Manager for SMEs Long-term benefits With the support of the Learning Motivation Environment (LME), a virtual space developed for sustainability of the training program, SMEs are able to implement AMT management strategies at their business which will ensure reduction of production costs, improvement of the quality of their products and services, improvement of their employees’ productivity and reduction of the production lead time.