How manufacturing is innovating.

Productivity

How to put the horsepower back into UK manufacturing 

Dave Waller June 20 2017,  The Times

Chris Greaves strolls the circular concourse of Factory 2050 in Sheffield. He may be the site’s operations manager, but even he seems wowed by the gear on display. Production lines magically reconfigure their shapes for the next part coming through. Hulking robotic arms operate with human hair-level accuracy. Artificial intelligence-powered workbenches gather data to make processes more efficient, while augmented-reality headsets harness computer-aided design data to let wearers to see through walls.

“This is cool,” says Mr Greaves, as a sturdy metal omniMove platform trundles past on eight autonomous wheels, beeping as it carries itself off on some undeclared errand. “You’re starting to see these technologies coming through, showing people the art of the possible. This isn’t the future any more. It’s not Tomorrow’s World, it’s happening now.”

Yet this is not only a showroom for industrial toys. Factory 2050 is the biggest and best collaborative research and development (R&D) facility at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, part of the University of Sheffield. It is shaped like a vast upended glass turbine — an apt layout, it turns out, as the breakthroughs being explored at the facility may inject some much-needed horsepower back into UK manufacturing.

When it comes to productivity, the UK lags woefully behind the competition. Output per hour is 16 per cent below the G7 average, and rival nations are rushing headlong into the “fourth industrial revolution”, where traditional manufacturing is bolstered by the latest digital and data-harvesting technology.It is vital that the UK catches up. 

Factory 2050 has been set up as a blank canvas for R&D among its member businesses, which can come with a project, stating a target production rate and stipulating critical features. The facility then pulls together the best technology and, if necessary, adapts it.

Mr Greaves shows off a robotic apparatus developed for BAE Systems, the defence and aerospace company, which countersinks holes in aircraft fuselage and wing sections. Robotics brought the projected cycle time down from 50 to 18 seconds. For Rolls-Royce, the car and aero-engine company, the centre developed a tool that shaved 75 per cent off its production process time.       

The centre has done similar work for McLaren, Boeing and Jaguar Land Rover. This is all well and good for these industrial giants, yet even the big guns understand that such gains don’t help if the technology and its data-gathering potential are not being shared.

Ian Davis, the chairman of Rolls-Royce and a member of the Productivity Leadership Group, says: “A lot of the evidence around the productivity problem suggests it’s especially acute for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are by far the biggest part of the economy.”

Factory 2050 has extended its membership to smaller local businesses. The Accrington-based Cardboard Box Company felt its costly German presses were running at only 70 per cent capacity because the team could not pick the boxes fast enough, without risking repetitive strain and back injuries. Factory 2050 is developing robotics to cope with cardboard. Ken Shackleton, the managing director of the Cardboard Box Company, says: “If it costs £50,000 to £60,000, we can justify it as an investment.”

Forty per cent of applications developed at Factory 2050 are for SMEs, but some technology remains out of reach. Take the Kuka Titan, a six-axis robotic arm with a 3m reach that the facility is tweaking to provide a more flexible, cost-effective alternative to traditional machine tools. It is a beast.Mr Greaves is warned by another team member not to get too close. “It’s a big dangerous arm,” he says, “and it won’t know that it’s squished you.”

Health and safety may protect against physical harm, but if there is one thing that drives resistance to such technology it is the impact it may have on people’s working lives. Many fear the big arm is coming to take their job.So far, that fear seems unfounded. As much as possible, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and robotics are being developed to work with humans, rather than replace them. 

Augmented-reality headsets overlay data on to workspaces to reduce errors, increase speed and foster remote collaboration. The cobot, or collaborative robot, is fitted with torque vector sensors that enable it to work with more dextrous humans, without the risk of harm.This isn’t the future any more. 

It’s not Tomorrow’s World, it’s happening now

While the latest breakthroughs may be impressive, they can go only so far in tackling the country’s productivity issue; these days manufacturing accounts for only about 8 per cent of the UK’s GDP.

 Given that the problem extends across all sectors, Rolls-Royce, BAE and their like are serious about the potential impact of soft skills and leadership techniques.

Mr Davis says: “The human side, getting the best out of people, has an even bigger role in improving productivity than technology does. It’s all linked, but talent management, diverse recruitment and the motivation of people are all big drivers of productivity.”

Again, such development will prove an easier investment for large multinationals than for SMEs. Rolls-Royce and BAE are among the companies helping their smaller partners directly. They work with Lancaster University Management School to train SMEs in understanding the link between employee engagement, working practices and productivity.

At BAE, apprentice and graduate schemes are having an effect on smaller businesses. Sir Roger Carr, the chairman of BAE and a member of the Productivity Leadership Group, says: “Many of these young people wind up working in supply chain companies, which then spreads best practice and techniques.”These youngsters are entering a fast-changing business landscape, but they are not the only ones who are likely to feel the pressure. 

Sir Roger says: “This touches everybody. The focus on productivity will be absolutely critical in the challenging next phase of business life, and can’t be a background activity. It has to be a foreground mission."