Overcoming the barriers to Industry 4.0 adoption
To launch its Irish facility, industrial metrology specialist The Sempre Group is hosting a virtual roundtable on digitalising Irish manufacturing. On February 14, 2022, at 11:00 am, The Sempre Group will host a panel with Andrew Lynch, chief information officer of Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), Catherine Collins, head of First Polymer Skillnet and Pauline O’Flanagan, head of engineering industries Ireland for IBEC. In the webinar these experts from manufacturing and academia will discuss how we can overcome common barriers to Industry 4.0. Register for the roundtable for free here.
At the event, thought leaders from academia and industry will join a roundtable panel that explores the role of metrology in digitalisation to enable Irish manufacturers to further their digitalisation journeys.
“While Industry 4.0 is a topic that manufacturers have been aware of for a long time, few manufacturers have fully digitalised the manufacturing process,” explained Jason McGlynn, commercial manager at The Sempre Group. “This is particularly true when looking at quality, which is often treated as a separate entity in manufacturing and therefore neglected in plans to digitalise. During the roundtable we aim to change the narrative and demonstrate how metrology enables manufacturers to make improvements at every step of production.”
The discussion, facilitated by McGlynn, will explore topics such as the steps to digitalising the manufacturing process, digitalising quality management and how these changes will impact the workforce. McGlynn will be joined on the panel by Andrew Lynch, chief information officer of Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), Catherine Collins, head of First Polymer Skillnet and Pauline O’Flanagan, head of engineering industries Ireland for IBEC.
Lynch chairs the European Industry 4.E Lighthouse Initiative (LIASE) in ECSEL, EU Joint Undertaking in Digital Transformation, as well as the ManuFuture ETP Working Group (State Aid Strategies – Research & Innovation). Andrew is also on the board of directors of the Irish Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre of Excellence (AMTEC), the FutureCAST Innovation Centre (Ireland NW) and sits on the national advisory board for the Digital Manufacturing Futures Centre (AIM).
Collins has held various technical roles in process and polymer engineering before joining IBEC to work with First Polymer Training Skillnet In 2001. Collins is a member of the Institute of Materials Committee (IOM3 Polymer South), the Midland Regional Skills Forum, QQI’s Consultative Forum and represents Polymer Technology Ireland (Ibec) on various industry working groups.
O’Flanagan has held leadership positions in Medtech research and manufacturing for 15 years. In her role at Ibec, O’Flanagan represents the interests of engineering business sectors in Ireland. O’Flanagan is also a member of groups such as Orgalim, representing European Technology Industries, the Lean Business Ireland Leadership Team and Solas, Skills to Advance Micro-Qualifications Oversight Team.
“By collaborating with innovators in industry and academia, we can better understand the needs of manufacturers in the area and supply the quality management equipment and services needed to give manufacturers that competitive edge in the global market,” concluded McGlynn.
