Autodesk has today launched its manifesto calling on more Government support for UK small manufacturers to drive the UK to the forefront of Industry 4.0.
Backed by organisations including Lloyds Bank, Simon Kucher & Partners and UK universities, the software giant pinpoints two core principles in the document; thinking beyond productivity, and treating design and manufacture as one entity.
The manifesto titled “Enabling the Art of the Impossible: How Britain can lead the 4th Industrial Revolution” targets areas which Autodesk believes were not adequately reflected in the recent Industrial Strategy announcements.
Asif Moghal, Senior Manufacturing Industry Manager at Autodesk, commented: “If British manufacturers are to rival those in countries such as China and India, there needs to be a fundamental shift in the industry. We feel the MSR and ISWP are great steps towards achieving this; however, a number of areas within it would benefit from further refinement.”
Research has found that although 62% of manufacturers plan to undertake some form of move to ‘Industry 4.0’, only 23% of them are actively doing something about it. The manifesto states how the following recommendations can encourage that number to grow.
Home grown leadership – Autodesk is rallying for greater collaboration between Government and industry to help address the shortage in STEM skills and create a new breed of role models to drive manufacturing innovation. This involves creating National Design & Manufacturing Days for students; championing STEM skills; helping SMEs better understand the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) and developing a leadership curriculum for businesses owners.
Enable full spectrum innovation – The manifesto calls to expand the funding scope for R&D in the UK to allow more companies to develop and commercialise a broader range of product and business model innovations. A range of tax or financial incentives, as well as raising awareness for them, should also be created by Government to support this.
Skills – Autodesk says there should rather be greater support from Government for the Institute for Apprenticeships, the scaling up of existing digital catalyst programmes and making the Apprenticeship Levy easier to navigate, to help upskill current employees and the future workforce.
Connectivity – The manifesto supports accelerated investment into the UK’s digital infrastructure, including faster broadband, better security and a digital connectivity rating. Creating a secure and reliable digital backbone for businesses must be a priority for Government, so that industry can access transformative technologies and platforms that enable collaboration and break down the barriers between design and manufacturing.
Moghal continues: “Our knowledge of British manufacturing, combined with previous experience of helping the UK Government transform the construction industry, have set a good base for us to develop these recommendations. We also consulted members of the Future of British Manufacturing initiative (FOBMI), which aims to help the industry take a hands-on approach to 4IR and was founded by Autodesk and The Manufacturer, to refine them. We believe these four areas would drive a transformation for UK design and manufacturing and we welcome a conversation with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, the Made Smarter Review board and wider industry on our proposal.”
