On April 30, the Interreg North Sea project GrowIn 4.0 ended. The tools and methods developed and tested by the transnational partnership to support digital change in SMEs are available free of charge.
In the North Sea region and across Europe, digitalization is one of the most important components to support regional development and the decarbonization of industry. To support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in digitalization, especially those belonging to the carbon-intensive manufacturing industry, there is a high need for freely accessible, experience-based and efficient methods.
Over the past four and a half years, the GrowIn 4.0 project of the Interreg North Sea program has supported manufacturing SMEs on their way to Industry 4.0 by identifying approaches to transfer digital know-how. By pooling knowledge about the manufacturing industry and Industry 4.0 (i.e. digitalization), innovative methods, tools and concepts were developed and made available in all partner languages (English, Danish, Dutch/Flemish and German). Thanks to the close cooperation with local SMEs, the companies benefit from newly acquired skills and solution-oriented approaches to digital transformation.
The GrowIn 4.0 project has developed various tools and tested their suitability for practical use. The tools, which are intended to prove themselves in everyday use for SMEs even after the end of the project and whose development was supported by aconium, include “Human Resources Management (HRM) Industry 4.0” and “Industry 4.0 Return on Investment (ROI)”. The “Human Resources Management (HRM) Industry 4.0” tool aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the Industry 4.0 readiness of SMEs in terms of HR. It helps to determine which skills the company’s employees have in relation to Industry 4.0 and which gaps in relation to digitalization need to be closed or which skills need to be expanded.
The “Industry 4.0 Return on Investment” ROI tool helps companies that are not yet familiar with the concept of Industry 4.0 to visualize the potential financial impact of taking the step towards digital transformation. SMEs can consult the tool, which is available online, and in return receive a detailed report with graphical representations of their company’s return on investment, benefit-cost ratio and payback periods. The ROI tool integrates real examples of predefined common problems that SMEs face on the path to Industry 4.0 and shows possible solutions.
At the end of April 2022, the Interreg NSR project GrowIn 4.0 was concluded with a hybrid “Train the Trainer” event. The international consortium came together in Horsens, Denmark. The event, which took place partly online and partly in person on the campus of VIA University College in Horsens, introduced participants from across the North Sea region to new advisory tools and gave them tips on how they can use them to digitally transform companies and make them “future-proof”. This should help SMEs to meet changing market demands and fulfill the needs of their consumers – now and in the next five to ten years. The consulting tools presented during the full-day workshop are designed to support the digital transformation of SMEs. During the hybrid training day, participants received practical instructions from the partners on how to use the consulting tools in their professional practice.
All tools and methods identified or developed as part of GrowIn 4.0 have been tested in various SMEs in the partner countries Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, England and Germany. The tools are freely available far beyond the end of the project. You can explore the various GrowIn 4.0 tools and methods for the smart manufacturing industry here: https://northsearegion.eu/growin4/tools-and-methods-for-you-to-use/.
Background
The manufacturing industry is a very important factor for regional development in the economy of the North Sea Region (NSR). Many of these SMEs are undergoing a transformation process by digitizing production processes (Industry 4.0). There is a great need for experience-based, intelligent and efficient methods to support SMEs in this process.
The aim of the project is to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the selection and implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies, the exchange of international knowledge and strategies for the implementation of digital processes in SMEs.
The aconium supports the partnership in identifying tools and methodologies (for example Human Resources Management (HRM) “Industry 4.0” and “Industry 4.0 Return on Investment (ROI)” tools) to accelerate digitalization in SMEs, as well as in developing new business models and strategies for Industry 4.0 technologies in the manufacturing industry. The aconium mainly supports the production of reports on the training, education and recruitment of Industry 4.0 qualified personnel, as well as the testing of the developed methods related to human resources and tools to improve Industry 4.0 skills and knowledge in 15-20 SMEs.
Further information about GrowIn 4.0 can also be found on the project website: www.northsearegion.eu/growin4.