To listen to Stefano Micelli * at ITWeek, an appointment at 2:50 pm on 29 September in the Duomo, for a panel on manufacturing 4.0
The fourth industrial revolution does not have an instruction booklet or manuals to consult. Successful cases can be studied, the impact of some technologies evaluated, scenarios analyzed. That said, what we are experiencing in these years is an epochal change and the only way to anticipate the future is to build it. Together.
Considerations that apply to large companies as well as to artisan businesses. On the small business front, it is important to be explicit. Statistics tell us that SMEs that have invested in new technologies achieve significantly higher economic results than those who preferred to wait.
It is interesting to note how the impact of digital, in business management as well as in production in the strict sense, has confirmed the goodness of strategies based on a proposal for variety and product customization. Industry 4.0 tools, from collaborative robotics to 3D printers, amplify flexibility and the ability to respond to customer needs, which have represented the strength of small and medium-sized businesses.
It is more complicated to establish how to obtain these results without jeopardizing the economy of the company. The problem is not only to identify the most suitable technologies with respect to a specific organizational or production process but above all to find collaborators capable of giving substance and quality to complex innovation paths, the results of which can be appreciated in the medium term.
The experience gained in the context of the ITS 4.0 project promoted by the Ministry of Education from 2017 to today provides useful information in this regard. The aim of the project is to develop an ever closer collaboration between companies, universities and professional training, setting up innovation 4.0 projects thanks to innovation management tools.
The companies indicate a problem to be solved, the ITS organize work groups that face the problem by working for a semester on its solution. The method makes the difference. The technology development path, managed by a dedicated team of the Ca ‘Foscari University of Venice, follows the Design Thinking methodology with ad hoc tools to address the typical problems of Italian companies. The numbers are consistent. In the last 5 years, the Ministry has supported around 280 projects involving over 2,500 students from most of the foundations currently engaged in higher technical training. The projects that this year won the awards assigned to the most innovative initiatives testify to the ability of young people to develop innovative products and processes consistent with the demands of businesses. In a country characterized by a worrying demography, projects such as ITS 4.0 aim to enhance the contribution of energy and liveliness of the new generations. Betting on the involvement of young talents, providing them with adequate tools for managing innovation, is certainly one of the few policies that can guarantee the growth and competitiveness of the country.
* Ca ‘Foscari University of Venice