Using the SEPT Learning Factory for the Implementation of Industry 4.0: case of SMEs

The paper describes how a Learning Factory (LF) was used in the process of implementing Industry 4.0 concepts in a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME). A possible conceptual framework would have different implementation approaches in large enterprises and in SMEs. Many SMEs lack the awareness and needed resources to assess the adoption of modern technologies in production operations. One of the major challenges is the lack of personnel with multidisciplinary capabilities and skills and with the appropriate background for implementing Industry 4.0 and IoT/IIoT technologies. The paper presents the case of an SME that was willing to implement these technologies and has provided an industrial environment to students. Students used their design thinking knowledge and their hands-on skills learned in labs, co-op placements and in a LF to define process and product specifications; apply their creativity to suggest several solutions; prototype and test a solution in the LF; carry out financial and environmental assessments; and implement the selected solution at the industrial site of the SME. The LF played a central role in the entire process. It provided a safe and controlled environment where students learned the theory and practice of Industry 4.0 without fear of causing loss of time or resources to a company. The LF was used as a place for developing a cyber model, preparing a physical prototype, and testing the selected solution. The solution that was deployed in the real manufacturing plant provided by the SME enabled students to put into practice their knowledge on cyber-physical systems learned in an academic environment.