Christoph Roser at AllAboutLean.com CC BY-SA 4.0 from Wikimedia Commons
The Innovative Manufacturing CRC (IMCRC) has signed a MoU with Germany’s Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft that, it says, will significantly increase awareness and uptake of Industry 4.0 in Australian manufacturing industry.
According to IMCRC, the agreement establishes a broad framework governing IMCRC and Fraunhofer projects for the exchange of knowledge and the proliferation of Industry 4.0 technologies and research, and that could include collaborations, technology transfers, joint research projects and exchanges.
The agreement also recognises IMCRC as the preferred portal for Fraunhofer engagements on Industry 4.0 in Australia and New Zealand.
IMCRC’s CEO and managing director, David Chuter, said the partnership was intended to accelerate the awareness and uptake of Industry 4.0 technologies and innovative business models by Australian manufacturers.
“IMCRC is committed to transforming Australia’s manufacturing industry from its reliance on capital and labour-intensive production, to an industry realising new commercial opportunities driven by innovation in all aspects of manufacturing,” he said.
“The agreement with Fraunhofer formalises the work already well underway to drive collaboration between Australia and Germany to promote the uptake of Industry 4.0 and other advanced manufacturing best practices and methodologies, particularly with Australian SME manufacturing companies.”
IMCRC says it is already working with Fraunhofer to “develop a set of specific educational material and workshops that transfer practical expertise to get SMEs on the journey for digital transformation.”
Aus Government gets into, and out of, Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is a concept originated by Germany. The Prime Minister’s Industry 4.0 Taskforce was formed in 2016 following the release of the report of the Australia-Germany Advisory Groupthat recommended government and industry collaboration in both countries on Industry 4.0.
In April 2017, the taskforce signed a cooperation agreement with Germany’s Platform Industrie 4.0, but the Government has since handed the task force off to the Australian Industry Group. It has been renamed the Industry 4.0 Advanced Manufacturing Forum and, according to the Government, “will lead the next phase of Industry 4.0 activities, focusing on building education, awareness and collaboration between a broader cross section of industry.”
AI Group CEO Ines Wilcox is now convenor of the forum. However he was quoted in the IMCRC announcement as being chair of the Industry 4.0 taskforce.
Fraunhofer is described as the leading organisation for applied research in Europe, with research conducted by 72 institutes and research units throughout Germany and a staff of more than 25,000. The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering works together with companies and public-sector bodies and institutions to develop strategies, business models and solutions for digital transformation, including Industry 4.0.
