Pioneering manufacturing digitisation in the UK
Published: 03 September, 2024
Aston University has announced it is working with Redditch-based manufacturing firm, Protaform Springs and Pressings, on a digital transformation of production processes in a pioneering project that could provide a blueprint for similar companies across the UK.
Through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), researchers from Aston University will enable Protaform to reap the benefits of both Industry 4.0 advances – which include innovations powered by automation, big data analytics and smart systems – and Industry 5.0 approaches, a rapidly advancing area of operations management research which place the wellbeing of the workforce at the centre of the production process.
The team will use the latest smart sensors and micro-controllers to enable automated data collection from Protaform’s manufacturing processes. They will create real-time, data-driven dashboards, enabling factory data to be accessible from any location worldwide. They will also use a whole systems approach to review and analyse the human-machine interactions within the company, identifying key success factors and areas for further optimisation.
The project will enable Protaform to implement more effective production planning and control their end-to-end manufacturing, creating a transformation in their business and management processes to drive efficiency improvements and deliver sustainable growth. Enhanced efficiency will prepare Protaform for rapid growth, ensuring it continues to reduce waste and energy usage and shrink their carbon footprint.
The partnership will contribute to the growth of the UK manufacturing sector by providing a blueprint for manufacturing companies looking to make productivity and efficiency improvements through digitisation. Keeping manufacturing in the UK brings other benefits, including security of supply chains and reducing carbon footprints.
Paul Taylor, Group Finance Director at Protaform, said: “The team at Aston University has been great to work with and very proactive.
“They’ve taken the time to understand our needs properly, rather than making assumptions about what we do and where we want to go. That’s been very reassuring and makes a strong foundation for a productive partnership.”
Professor Ben Clegg, previously Head of Operations and Information Management at Aston Business School, is leading the project. He said: “Implementing a new piece of technology or digitising a machine is doomed to fail, unless you rethink strategy, processes and address people’s attitudes towards change.
“A factory is a complex system, and it’s the interaction between different parts of the system – the people, the machines, the data, the regulatory frameworks – that provide opportunities for success.
“This is why, for a project of this kind, you have to take a whole systems approach.”
An award-winning innovator, Professor Clegg has worked extensively with organisations to increase their productivity through smarter use of people, processes and technology. He has developed a novel methodology, Process Oriented Holonic (PrOH) Modelling, which has been successfully adopted by companies through previous KTPs. PrOH Modelling is used to define systemic problems within organisations and support knowledge-based decision-making and implementation to tackle those problems.
Professor Clegg will be joined in the project by two colleagues from the Operations and Information Management Department at Aston Business School: Dr Donato Masi, Senior Lecturer in Operations Management and Dr Amar Al-Bazi, Senior Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Simulation; and KTP Associate, Anuradha Kamble.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, funded by Innovate UK, are collaborations between a business, a university and a highly qualified research associate. The UK-wide programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is a sector-leading KTP provider, ranked first for project quality, and second for the volume of active projects.
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