Microsoft & Cognizant: What's Driving Smart Manufacturing?

New research conducted by Cognizant in partnership with Microsoft highlights delays surrounding smart manufacturing implementation in the UK. 

This is despite the fact an impressive 93% of industrial manufacturers have a clear, smart manufacturing strategy in place.

The root cause of this delay according to 44% of respondents is a shortage in experienced talent. 

The research, compiled in the report, ‘From sustainability to safety: What’s driving Smart Manufacturing?’, implies that unless the existing digital skills gap in manufacturing is addressed, the planning and implementation of smart manufacturing will be at best slow, at worst ineffectual.

“Ultimately this marks an exciting new era for manufacturers who, with the right foundations in place, can potentially drive innovation on a much greater scale,” says Prasanth Thomas, Head of UKI Consulting for Manufacturing, Logistics, Energy & Utilities at Cognizant.

“Although organisations clearly see the benefits of smart manufacturing, implementation is complex.”

Other factors shaping smart manufacturing integration in the manufacturing sector, according to the report, include safety, sustainability and cloud computing. 

The report addresses both the challenges and opportunities organisations may face, highlighting the degree to which the labour shortage impacts all these other factors. 

“Our research shows much optimism among industrial manufacturers, who are well on the way to implementing smart manufacturing processes that drive sustainability and improve safety,” states Prasanth.

Prioritising employee safety

Safety continues to be a leading priority, inherently linked to productivity and efficiency.

According to the report, 88% of respondents feel that improving safety has become a higher priority for their organisations over the past five years. 

Industrial robots and automation have broadly enhanced safety, dealing with more hazardous tasks, but they also create new safety risks.

This trend persists, with 32% of executives – 35% of which are from the largest companies – citing employee safety as the primary motivation behind their smart manufacturing initiatives.

Cloud computing: A catalyst

Although 91% of British industrial manufacturers deem cloud computing essential for a successful smart manufacturing strategy, only 28% feel they have fully leveraged it. 

Effective cloud implementation helps manufacturers harness real-time data collection, storage and analysis.

The subsequent insights can be harnessed to improve adaptability, efficiency, maintenance and productivity. 

Optimising cloud computing is key to holistic data-driven decision-making, enabling manufacturers to integrate new tools and respond quickly to evolving demands, all whilst avoiding excessive costs.

Sustainability at the core

Following COP28’s goals to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency by 2030, UK manufacturers are taking significant steps towards sustainability.

There’s a lot of action from UK manufacturers towards the pursuit of sustainability, with 87% considering it essential to their business and 88% actively following set objectives. 

Technology will enable greater progress here, as understanding and mitigating the carbon footprint of each manufacturing phase is essential to this. 

Digital twins, which allow for virtual scenario testing, are also helping manufacturers meet sustainability targets by enabling design and process evaluations without typical cost and time expenditure. 

Addressing skill shortages

Finally, we come to how skill shortages are shaping smart manufacturing.

Sourcing experienced talent remains a major obstacle to advancing manufacturers' strategies.

However, there is positive news on this front.

Research by UCAS indicates a record number of university students pursuing STEM degrees, suggesting these shortages could be temporary. 

While this news is promising, we mustn’t forget that this doesn’t guarantee students will choose to enter the manufacturing sector.

The industry continues to maintain a reputation that doesn’t match today’s reality and must work to define key incentives to attract the next generation.

In the interim, partnering with companies that possess the necessary expertise can help bridge the skills gap for smart manufacturers.

“Organisations with clear strategies, and the right partners to support their plans, have a vital opportunity to leverage smart manufacturing technologies and optimise their operations, improve productivity, drive innovation, and open up new streams of valuable data,” adds Prasanth.

“This will drive the growth, improve customer experience and put industrial manufacturers in a stronger position to adapt in a rapidly changing world."

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