Since mid-August BIFOCAlps partners have worked on work package 2 activities, which aim to build a preliminary methodology for stimulating synergies among actors along manufacturing value chain.

Identification of good practices in manufacturing sector

For that purpose, each partner has identified, reached and interviewed various actors of its regional ecosystem (companies, universities, research centers, policy makers…) in order to define best practices and gain better knowledge on successful and sustainable implementation of 4.0 technologies towards Factory of the Future (FoF) paradigm. In total, 96 organizations were interviewed in the BIFOCAlps regional space (Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Germany, and France).

Starting from these 96 case studies, Grenoble INP and ViaMeca have identified a set of 5 Critical Success Factors (CSF) which enable successful and sustainable implementation of practices towards FoF paradigm: strategy, technologies, innovation capacity, ecosystems support for innovation, and skills and change management. Guidelines have also been defined with examples from the interviews in order to spread, transfer and apply these best practices.

Pilot testing of innovation processes and evaluation in dedicated workshops

WP2 results (CSF and guidelines) have been shared, discussed and enriched with the target groups through two dedicated regional workshops. The integration of these discussions will allow to draft the preliminary methodology for innovation and knowledge transfer towards FoF.

BIFOCAlps second intermediate conference and PSG meeting

Finally, the second BIFOCAlps intermediate conference as well as a PSG meeting have been held in Munich on November 15th and 16th. The overall topic of the intermediate conference on November 15th was « How to Become a Factory of the Future » and addressed questions such as "How can a company best deal with the constant development of new technologies and which difficulties do companies have to face in the process?" and "Which technologies are promising and sustainable and which one are not?". On November 16^th, the BIFOCAlps partners met in order to discuss about the project’s advancement and the forthcoming 2018 activities.

The workshop held in Udine on October 16^th 2017 was an important opportunity to disseminate the project among all stakeholders, as well as allowing a proactive exchange of information among the key actors of the innovation system. In fact, the workshop experienced an active participation of members from academia, research institutions, business world, politics and civil society.

The various sessions articulated during the day allowed to address the main issues related to digital transformation, starting from the relationship between "human" and "digital" innovations, focusing on the importance of human resources in the journey.

The following sessions of the workshop focused on the analysis of the technologies on which to invest, the ability to perceive the path towards the factory of the future and the importance of transferring knowledge from academic research centres to and from the business world.

Two main issues emerged from the workshop: the clear need to tackle digital transformation through a network and ecosystem approach by connecting companies with service providers and research institutions to achieve an active and continuous exchange of knowledge; the requirement for the CEOs and innovation managers to have and share a clear mind-set and strategic orientation toward adoption of FoF technologies.

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Workshop Vienna (22nd February 2018)

We are glad to announce and invite you to our local BIFOCAlps workshop, held at the Pilotfabrik (http://pilotfabrik.tuwien.ac.at/) of the Technical University Vienna. (22^nd February 2018, 13:00-17:15h).

The goal of this workshop is to share the project-results, focusing on the first activities of the WP3. It aims to develop an impact indicator system to track effective and efficient improvements after transfer and adoption of enabling FoF practices in manufacturing enterprises, especially SMEs. Thematic topics will be:

• Indicators & performance measures for FoF-adoption
• Innovation process & management
• Public fundings & knowledge transfer
• and other relevant topics (not defined yet)

Tentative agenda:

13:00-13:30 – Welcome and Registration

13:30-14:30 – Presentation of best practices and the BIFOCAlps-progress

14:30-16:00 – World-coffee and round tables about thematic topics

16:00-17:00 – Guided tour through the Pilot factory

17:00-17:15 – Conclusion & Outlook

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Workshop Stuttgart (21st March 2018)

We are glad to announce and invite you to our local BIFOCAlps workshop, held at bwcon in Stuttgart (Seyfferstr. 34). The date is 21st March 2018, 14:00-17:00h.

This regional thematic workshop focuses on VR/AR technology. In the first section we will have an introduction into BIFOCAlps project and the impact indicator system. To have an overview we will have a look at the current state of the art of this technology. Subsequently we will focus on about 3 case studies which show how VR/AR technology can be used in different aspects of the manufacturing value chain (e. g. after sales service, maintenance, production planning etc.). Therefore we will use the world café method. Each table focuses on one of the topics. The guests have the possibility to discuss the concrete case considering the BIFOCAlps impact indicator system for FoF technology implementation and try out the different VR/AR systems. During the last part the guests provide feedback about the indicator system and have the possibility to discuss the topic.

Agenda is following soon.

The 2nd intermediate conference of BIFOCAlps project was held on 15th November 2017 in the context of productronica trade fair in Munich. The event focused on showing how companies and SMEs cloud become a factory of the future. The speakers explained different aspects of digital transformation and using technologies to support the transformation towards a factory of the future. *** Read more ***