The MANUFACTURING Sector
OPEN DEI will be an essential pillar of the implementation of EU digitisation policies by addressing in particular the “support” to the currently ongoing Large-Scale Pilots (LSPs) and platform projects financed by the European Commission under the Digitising European Industries (DEI) Focus Area working in different strategic sectors: one of them is the manufacturing domain.
Description
Manufacturing represents about 15% of total EU value added and accounts for 2 million companies and 33 million direct jobs. A key sector in the European market but not anymore the provider of plenty of unskilled jobs that used to be in the past.
European manufacturing competitiveness needs a continuous development and implementation of large-scale experimentation pilots, reference architecture and open data platform to drive and coordinate global standards development for Industry 4.0.
OPEN DEI will give support and enhance the impact of the Innovation Actions that, under the framework of the Digital Transformation, are addressing the following challenge:
Agile Value Networks for lot size 1 production: to design / manufacture customized products through more dynamic solutions
Excellence in manufacturing: Data driven products and services to implement Zero Defect Manufacturing in Industry 4.0
The human factor: designing the future workplace enhancing the collaboration between humans and autonomous systems
Sustainable Value Networks: applying the principles of circular economy to manufacturing processes
A further common challenge is the shift from classic production jobs towards higher value-added types of jobs, OPEN DEI will support this shift with the preparation of a catalogue of skills and training activities for the digital reskilling and upskilling of European manufacturing workforce.

OPEN DEI Next Steps
First step is to start working with the Innovation Actions already running to collect requirements / needs and first results, with a focus on the reference architecture and pilots, and transfer them to OPEN DEI for cross-domain awareness channels. OPEN DEI will soon produce some questionnaires and templates to be circulated to the relevant projects in the four Digital Transformation domains as well as look for cross-domain collaborations and dissemination events.
OPEN DEI Projects
Manufacturing
QU4LITY
QU4LITY will demonstrate an open SME-friendly shared data-driven ZDM product and service model for Factory 4.0 through 5 strategic ZDM lighthouse equipment pilots and 9 production lighthouse facility pilots. QU4LITY will also demonstrate how European industry can build ZDM strategies and competitive advantages (increasing efficiency, reducing scrap, avoiding defect propagation) through an orchestrated open platforms ecosystem and digital enablers across all phases of product and process lifecycle (engineering, planning, operation and production) building upon the QU4LITY autonomous quality model to meet the Industry 4.0 ZDM challenges.
Manufacturing
ZDMP
Zero Defect Manufacturing Platform
The ZDMP project combines state of the art technological approaches based on commercial grade standard or open-source or previous-project software with an innovative integration concept based on proven and integrating technologies. It provides Process and Product Quality support on top of a platform layer. These all can utilise ZDMP core services which can also be used to build ZD Apps which are placed on the ZD Marketplace. The ultimate aim is to establish a sustainable business and technological approach.
Manufacturing
European Factory Platform
European Connected Factory Platform for Agile Manufacturing
The European Factory Platform project realises a federated smart factory ecosystem by primarily interlinking 4 smart factory platforms, from the FoF-11-2016 cluster, through an open and interoperable Data Spine. The federation of the 4 base platforms is complemented by industrial platforms, collaboration tools and smart factory systems, specifically selected to support connected factories in lot-size-one manufacturing. The federated European Factory Platform delivers enhanced value and reduces the barrier to innovation by providing seamless access to services and solutions that are currently dispersed. In parallel the platform provides the necessary infrastructure, tools and support for novel service creation and validations by third parties. The creation of the European smart factory ecosystem is supported by offering technical and financial support to companies who are interested in using the European Factory Platform to enhance their businesses.
Manufacturing
Connected Factories
Pathways to Digitalisation of Manufacturing
The ConnectedFactories project establishes a structured overview of available and upcoming technological approaches and best practices with regard to the digitalisation of Manufacturing. The project identifies present and future needs, as well as challenges, of the Manufacturing industries. The project explores pathways to the digital integration and interoperability of Manufacturing systems and processes and the benefits this will bring.
The ConnectedFactories 1 project has produced the baseline versions of three pathways to the digitalisation of manufacturing:
- Autonomous Smart Factories
- Hyperconnected Factories
- Collaborative Product-Service Factories
The ConnectedFactories 2 project (started on 1 December 2019) focuses on:
- Creating a common understanding of key enablers and cross-cutting factors for the development and deployment of digital technologies and digital platforms for Manufacturing
- Deepening pathways by taking into account legacy systems, industrial requirements and challenges
- Situating inspiring research and industrial state-of-the-art cases, key enablers and cross-cutting factors along these pathways
- Matching of skills transfer offering with skills demand across Europe
- Engaging with the research and industrial actors in both European and local fora or ecosystems, bringing together manufacturing companies, technology and component suppliers, etc.
- Creating a broad awareness about the pathways, key enablers and cross-cutting factors, and about inspiring cases for SMEs
- Stimulating visibility and impact of Digital Platform projects
Manufacturing
KYKLOS 4.0
An Advanced Circular and Agile Manufacturing Ecosystem based on rapid reconfigurable manufacturing process and individualized consumer preferences
KYKLOS 4.0 aims to develop an innovative Circular Manufacturing ecosystem based on novel CPS and AI based technologies, enhanced with novel production mechanisms and algorithms, targeting on personalised products with extended life cycle and promoting energy efficient and low material consumption intra-factory production processes, resulting reduced greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants.
KYKLOS 4.0 will demonstrate, in a realistic, measurable, and replicable way the transformative effects that CPS (Circular Production System), PLM (Product Life Management), LCA (Life Cycle Analysis), AR (Augmented Reality) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) technologies and methodologies will have to the Circular Manufacturing Framework. To this end, KYKLOS 4.0 will:
- perform large-scale piloting in 7 pilots to demonstrate the technical, environmental and economic viability of KYKLOS 4.0 Ecosystem to reshape intra-factory processes and services;
- show KYKLOS 4.0 value in terms of operational efficiency improvements by at least 15%;
- deliver resources reusable solutions (second use of material, part and components reuse) for the whole manufacturing sectors;
- ensure scalability for future scale of novel CM (Circular Manufacturing) technologies and services at least at the level of year 2024;
- engage over 100 key European industry actors, (through Open Calls and workshops);
- transfer knowledge and technology to increase use of KYKLOS 4.0 Ecosystem to at least 50%;
- strengthen the position of EU CM technologies providers and sector fostering a market share of up to 12%;
- pursue a strong plan for sustainability by incubating at least 3 post-project replication sites;
- mobilize additional sector investments of at least 6 times the EC contribution.
The unique constellation and complementarity of KYKLOS 4.0 partners allows driving innovation of CM technologies and services along the whole manufacturing value chain. KYKLOS 4.0 will deliver innovation along three key value dimensions for CM:
- operational efficiency with minimum environmental impact, significantly improving overall mass customisation performance and help deliver green manufacturing performance targets;
- consumers experience, delivering better services for consumers needs and wants, which is of particular importance for companies in liberalized consumerized CM markets, where entry barriers for new players and margins are decreasing;
- new business models revolving around monetizing available technologies in new ways.
KYKLOS 4.0 will demonstrate, in a realistic, measurable, and replicable way the transformative effects that KYKLOS 4.0 Ecosystem will have to the CM market, thereby fostering significant increase in the uptake of KYKLOS 4.0 solutions
Manufacturing
DigiPrime
Digital Platform for Circular Economy in Cross-sectorial Sustainable Value Networks
Digital technology plays a big role in our transition to a circular economy, which aims to make optimum use of resources within industries. Investing in innovation is good for the protection of the environment, and it also contributes to Europe’s competitiveness. The EU-funded DigiPrime project will develop the concept of a circular economy digital platform in order to create circular business models based on the data-enhanced recovery and reuse of functions and materials. Specifically, it will create and operate a federated model of digital platforms for cross-sector business in the circular economy. DigiPrime will be validated through several cross-sectoral pilots, further detailed in 20 use cases covering different European industrial sectors (automotive, renewable energy, electronics, textile, construction), and by additional pilots in new sectors, funded through an open call mechanism.
Manufacturing
Shop4CF
Smart Human Oriented Platform for Connected Factories
Europe’s factories are getting smarter, optimising production processes and enabling a more sustainable and competitive industry. Finding the right balance between cost-effective automation and repetitive tasks and involving workers in areas such as adaptability, creativity and agility is the ultimate aim. In accordance with the highly connected factory model, a lot of data is being generated within the factory – by the embedded sensors and connected production equipment. All this information is useful in improving processes. The EU-funded SHOP4CF project will develop a platform on an open architecture that can support humans in production activities and provide basic implementation as a free, open-source solution. It will rely on pilots acting as the testing facilities and seeds for adoption of the platform.