Session Smart Systems and Smart Platforms transformation towards Industry 5.0: experience and lessons learned from SAE and I4MS experiments at World Manufacturing Week 2021

October 20th 2021, 11:00 - 12:30 CEST

The World Manufacturing Week 2021 took place from 18-22 October 2021 in Cernobbio (Italy) in hybrid format. The event is centered around the European vision and strategy on Industry 5.0, role of companies and Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs), and best practice examples in the future of manufacturing.

The Session was jointly organised by Smart4europe2/SAE, I4MS, AI REGIO at World Manufacturing Week 2021 on the 20th of October, was opened by the coordinator of the Smart4Europe2 project Meike Reimann, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum, and also joined by Anne-Marie Sassen, Acting Head of unit Digital Transformation of Industrial Ecosystems in DG CONNECT, presenting the Horizont Europe Programme on the Future of Manufacturing in more detail. Within this Session, Silvia Razzetti and Sergio Gusmeroli from Politecnico di Milano, the coordinators of the AI REGIO, hosted a Roundtable on Digital Innovation Hubs and SME’s take-up of Digital Manufacturing Platforms.

Besides a presentation of Silvia Razzetti on the D BEST (Data, Business, Ecosystem, Skills, Technology) methodology - the taxonomy for DIH services developed within AI REGIO with the aim to classify services of DIHs to create the cross-DIH collaboration, joint development and provision of services, joint matchmaking of assets and competencies, a roundtable exchange took place between Germana Gianquinto from Gualini Lamiere, Hugo Macedo from Aarhus University (HUBCAP), David Vidal from CARSA (DIH World), and Aiga Irmeja from Latvian IT Cluster (DIH BOWI).

During the roundtable, the stakeholders of AI REGIO have exchanged about the implementation of D BEST methodology for service portfolio definition and shared best examples on how manufacturing SMEs can receive support within the AI REGIO project through DIH.

Only 30 % of European SMEs have high level of digital maturity. Aiga Irmeja claims that the challenge is to scale up the services of DIHs in order to support both represented and underrepresented regions in digitizing the SMEs in Latvia. Therefore, D BEST service model is an excellent holistic approach on the way of leveraging the digital maturity of DIHs to assist the SMEs with expertise and technologies.

Moreover, it has been noted by David Vidal that the D BEST methodology can be utilized in scanning the service offerings of DIHs and aligning them with the demand from the SMEs. There are also initiatives as HUBCAP project, presented by Hugo Daniel Macedo focused on the strengthening the national network of DIHs with knowledge transfer and matchmaking events, which play essential role in providing DIHs opportunities to exchange best practices and in linking them with the relevant SMEs in the region.

As an end-user of DIH service, Germana Gianquinto reported that Gualini Lamiere received advisory services from DIH AFIL in Lombardia (AI REGIO partner) on finding the new business opportunities and received substantial funding. Currently, together with AI REGIO partners in Lombardy region – TXT Solution, Intellimech, and Gualini Lamiere are working on improving the processes in their warehouses. Moreover, the company has recently finished 400 hours of digital technology course in different production areas and looks forwards to use the benefits of DIH services within the AI REGIO project.

Re-watch this session here.