INTRODUCTION - University of Ontario Institute of Technology



WORKING PAPER 1 CREATING ADVANCED MANUFACTURING PROFESSIONALSPrepared by:Michael A. Rostek, CD, PhDProgram Director, UOIT Futures Forum181038585725FUTURES FORUM00FUTURES FORUMTABLE OF CONTENTS TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u INTRODUCTION PAGEREF _Toc435615062 \h 3ADVANCED MANUFACTURING PAGEREF _Toc435615063 \h 4EMBRACING CHANGE – DURHAM REGION AND UOIT PAGEREF _Toc435615064 \h 6CONCLUSION PAGEREF _Toc435615065 \h 8INTRODUCTIONAdvanced Manufacturing will increase efficiency, making manufacturers’ bottom lines better, but will not mean the manufacturing jobs we have come to know…repetitive tasks will be replaced by robotics and the types of jobs that will open up from the increased use of Advanced Manufacturing will require much more education and skills.Steve Norall, Wall Street Journal, 2013While the global economy was deeply affected by the economic recession of 2007-09, economic recovery continues to be slow arguably brought on by prevailing uncertainty - changes in economic and financial policies, different views about growth prospects, productivity movements, wars, acts of terrorism, and natural disasters. However, long term growth of the global economy is still expected through to 2030 with increasing internationalization of markets for goods, capital, services and labour. Further, it is anticipated that this economic growth will be driven by population growth, improvements in productivity, and greater integration of the global economy. Within this global context, Canada continues to excel with a critical component of its competitiveness and prosperity derived from the manufacturing sector. Further, manufacturing has been a key driver of Ontario’s economy for more than 150 years. In its traditional sense, manufacturing is a labour intensive mechanical process; “…essentially the step-wise transformation of raw materials (coming from mainly natural sources such as underground mines, forests and so forth) into finished goods. Through advancements, primarily in science and technology and convergence of these technologies, we have witnessed the emergence of advanced manufacturing, a “…concept that entails both leading-edge methods of manufacturing new and existing products as well as improved approaches to designing and coordinating operations.” Indeed, today manufacturing constitutes “…a vibrant, highly innovative and technology-driven industry of the Canadian economy.” ADVANCED MANUFACTURINGArticulated as a “new industrial revolution” or the “democratization of manufacturing”, advanced manufacturing represents a shift from traditional labour-intensive processes to advanced-technology-based processes. It is defined as:…a family of activities that (a) depend on the use and coordination of information, automation, computation, software, sensing, and networking, and/or (b) make use of cutting edge materials and emerging capabilities enabled by the physical and biological sciences, for example nanotechnology, chemistry, and biology. This involves both new ways to manufacture existing products, and especially the manufacture of new products emerging from new advanced technologies.Advanced, technology-based processes create new ways to manufacture new and existing products and this change was largely engendered through the emergence of five major trends: the ubiquitous role of information technology,the reliance on modeling and simulation in the manufacturing process,the acceleration of innovation in global supply-chain management,the move toward rapid changeability of manufacturing in response to customer needs and external impediments, andthe acceptance and support of sustainable manufacturing. Without increased costs or decreased performance, the trends noted above highlight advances in manufacturing through tighter integration of R&D and production, mass customization, increased automation, and a focus on the environment.More specifically, a recent MIT study identified that research trends in support of advanced manufacturing tend to cluster into seven manufacturing areas:Nano-engineering of Materials and Surfaces,Additive Precision Manufacturing,Robotics, Automation and Adaptability, Bio-manufacturing/Pharmaceuticals,Distributed Supply Chains/Design,Next Generation Electronics, andGreen Sustainable Manufacturing.New models to enhance manufacturing research should be fostered through industry/academic opportunities as well as maximizing available private and public research funding. Within Canada certain trends have become prevalent which may provide a foundation for future industry/academia engagement: Increased Agility. The emphasis here is not just on technologies that enhance productivity and flexibility in existing large scale manufacturing processes. Within Canada large manufacturers are using multiple locations for critical operations to avoid supply chain interruptions and raise their responsiveness and dependability, adapting production volumes based on customer demand and profitability and varying production mixes [i.e. Auto: maximizing multiple plant capacity]. Mass customization capacity. While there is indeed promise with programmable manufacturing processes that do not rely on capital‐intensive tooling and fixture, mass customization is driving new investment in manufacturing facilities.Market Niches. In Canada offerings include specialized products or ability to provide a customer solution that can focus on product or services; [i.e. Auto: catering to Canadian climate], andInnovation (process, organizational, product and marketing). Technologies that are truly enablers of classes of products that do not yet currently exist. In Canada, for example, “[a]cross industries, many manufacturers have implemented advanced production technologies in their efforts to reduce total landed cost in aerospace, motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts industries.”Identification of these trends provides an expected future within the advanced manufacturing industry and a foundation for exploration of cooperation and collaboration in the immediate future. As concluded in Industry Canada’s recent Advanced Manufacturing report:The research also presents important linkages between emerging business models in manufacturing, investment in production facilities, and innovation and advanced technology adoption. These connections can help inform a continued dialogue between businesses, governments and academia.Perhaps the most significant advancements within the manufacturing sector lie within the deeper future perspective known as Industry 4.0. While still very much in its conceptual stage, the idea that manufacturing processes will become optimized and largely controlled by themselves is not that far off into the future. Characterized as a fourth revolution for automating manufacturing processes, Industry 4.0 is more intelligent making “…use of miniaturized processors, storage units, sensors, and transmitters that will be embedded in nearly all conceivable types of machines, unfinished products, and materials, as well as smart tools and new software for structuring data flows.”EMBRACING CHANGE – DURHAM REGION AND UOITManufacturing is critical to Canada's prosperity, provides high-quality, well-paying jobs, and is an important contributor to strong economic growth in Ontario. While Ontario firms have competitive advantages in some knowledge-intensive sectors, they lag competitors in innovation, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) adoption, productivity and market diversification.“A thriving manufacturing sector is vital to Ontario’s future because it drives productivity advancement, investments in research and development, and trade.” Further, it is well known that the world’s strongest economies have a significant manufacturing base. Advanced manufacturing creates jobs in design, advertising, customer service and global marketing.”Durham Region has long been a centre of traditional manufacturing in Canada, with particular strengths in the automotive (e.g. General Motors), aerospace (e.g. Messier-Dowty) and automation (e.g. Siemens) sectors. As technology and other enabling tools have become more sophisticated, Durham's manufacturers have moved to implement increasingly advanced methods, technologies and structures for developing and delivering their manufactured product to market.Durham Region is considered a peri-urban or “rurban” area and it is projected that these areas will grow faster than city centers as they provide cheaper land for housing and manufacturing. Indeed, metropolitan regions will spill over multiple jurisdictions creating mega-regions. By 2030, there will be at least 40 large bi-national and tri-national metro regions one of which could be the Durham Region. Durham Region is well known for the strength of its manufacturing sector which is continually undergoing rapid diversification. Durham is endowed with a young, skilled labour force. It has all the utilities, transportation and social infrastructure associated with modern metropolitan communities. The single most significant economic factor for the Region has been the dramatic increase in residential development.The rise of the "advanced" manufacturing sector has created opportunities related to both the strengthening and deepening of traditional manufacturing activity in the Durham Region; highlighting some of the fundamental factors that are necessary for a vibrant manufacturing industry which includes access to low-cost or high-skill labour (or both); proximity to demand; efficient transportation and logistics infrastructure; availability of inputs such as natural resources or inexpensive energy; and proximity to centres of innovation.” Although there is already acknowledgement of an increased level of skills found within the Durham Region labour force a key factor in strengthening a prosperous advanced manufacturing sector is easy access to innovation and STEM based education centres such as University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) which provides ready and easy access to knowledge, expertise and resources.Further, a key policy priority for advanced manufacturing is education and skill development and one of the key concerns for the manufacturing industry is access to talent. Indeed, McKinsey Global Institute predicts a “…potential shortage of more than 40 million high skilled workers by 2020.” While many manufacturing companies will be busy competing for talent, there will also be an increase need to access innovation centres. Some manufacturing industries have built apprenticeship programs which create an employment pipeline direct to the manufacturing company (i.e. Siemens). In this vein, UOIT as a STEM-based university is exceptionally well placed within the Durham Region to capitalize on this trend. Not only should UOIT link direct with manufacturers, they should also prepare the next generation workforce and reach into the public/private schooling system with a view to encouraging state-of-the-art co-op/apprentice programs which will see UOIT cultivate its future student population before they walk through the doors.Advanced manufacturing processes will likely be more energy and resource efficient in the future, as companies strive to integrate sustainable manufacturing techniques into their business practices to reduce costs, to decrease supply-chain risks, and to enhance product appeal to customers.CONCLUSIONUOIT is positioned within a “rurban” area with a well-regarded history as a manufacturing centre. The cities within the Durham Region must work together as “rurban” areas will exhibit greater growth than urban centres and Durham Region is not to be excluded. With the advances in ICT, manufacturing is on the verge of a renaissance and what is emerging as the fourth industrial revolution. Increased automation, fast and flexible customization, greater efficiency, less waste are some of the characteristics of advanced manufacturing. As we move forward, many of these trends will intersect and create new patterns and processes that we have yet to discover.Increased automation and greater efficiency will be coupled with fewer jobs across the manufacturing sector and those that do remain will require persons with greater knowledge and skills. Preparing the next generation innovators, researchers and workers will require new approaches which include, among others, developing state-of-the-art apprenticeship programs for 21st century manufacturing, creating opportunities and incentives for older Canadians to remain vibrant contributors in the workforce, or renewed efforts to expand STEM education and create greater opportunities to integrate into the workplace. It can be argued that UOIT may have a unique opportunity to move beyond the traditional education model in advanced manufacturing by adopting a more holistic approach that bridges academia, policy and industry in creating graduates who understand the context within which they translate their ideas and follow through to capabilities in the workplace. By adopting a comprehensive approach to advanced manufacturing curriculum, UOIT can create advanced manufacturing professionals that can Conceive – Design – Implement – Operate complex value-added advanced manufacturing products, processes, and systems in modern team-based environments. They will be able to participate in advanced manufacturing processes, contribute to the development of advanced manufacturing products, and do so while working to professional standards; in essence, UOIT will create new advanced manufacturing professionals.UOIT is Durham Region’s largest university which harnesses capabilities in education, research, process and design primarily, but not exclusively, on a STEM platform. As an agent for change, UOIT is well placed to harvest the greatest possibilities of the region for an industry that is driven by advancements in ICT , has land for development and a workforce familiar with manufacturing. However, speed and flexibility will be paramount for success in advanced manufacturing and as such work must begin today if we are to build a leadership position for tomorrow. ................
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