Manufacturing accelerator about to hit top gear in former car factory
Sponsored content: Australia’s first industrial-scale advanced manufacturing accelerator is being established on a site that defined a previous golden era of automotive manufacturing in South Australia.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a painful reminder of how important robust manufacturing supply chains are during a period of crisis.
As we make our way through the crisis, we must elevate modernisation and diversification of Australian manufacturing to one of our highest strategic priorities. In the end this will be foundational for a healthy and prosperous society in the 21st century.
One proven strategy for modernising manufacturing is the establishment of a national network of large-scale manufacturing accelerators like the Industry Catapult centres in the UK. Inspired by the success of these facilities Flinders University is establishing the Line Zero — Factory of the Future at the Tonsley Innovation District – where the Chrysler Valiant and Mitsubishi 380 sedans were once made.
There are now more people working at the site than there were when it was a functioning automotive factory.
It’s an impressive site, foundational for the growth of the next generation of manufacturing companies and a skilled workforce.
One of the major drivers of the current wave of industrial transformation is the $90bn investment in shipbuilding by the Australian Government.
Flinders has worked hard to leverage the potential benefits that can flow from this for manufacturing as a whole in Australia.
One strategy being deployed in South Australia is the Line Zero — Factory of the Future — a major research and training partnership with BAE Systems Maritime Australia, the Innovative Manufacturing CRC (IMCRC), Cisco and the South Australian Government.
It is the first industrial-scale Factory of the Future facility in Australia, demonstrating the transformative potential of advanced manufacturing technologies when they are deployed in a human-centred way. Successful industrial transformation in the digital age requires us to break down disciplinary boundaries in our universities and work more collaboratively with industry. Many of the barriers that we face to accelerating the uptake and diffusion of advanced technologies are human and organisational, but we can overcome them when we bring engineers, scientists and social scientists together with industry.
Joint research is already underway on human factors that influence the uptake of advanced manufacturing technologies and processes.
The purpose of the research is to support the development of world-class digital shipbuilding in Australia as part of the $35bn Hunter Class Future Frigate program.
Hundreds of Australian companies will benefit from the presence of this major shipbuilding program as it ramps up over the next few years.
How do we translate great ideas into commercially and socially beneficial outcomes? We’ve never lacked great ideas – the challenge has been to commercialise and realise public value from more of them. Facilities like the Factory of the Future will accelerate our efforts to modernise Australian manufacturing, in line with world leaders like Germany and the UK.
It’s exciting that the Line Zero facility will combine a research and development facility with training.
Laboratory-based projects will move quickly into a facility where industrial-scale tests and trials can be undertaken to help de-risk and accelerate human centred technology adoption in the workplace.
The vision for Line Zero is already attracting national and international attention. In addition to defence, we are working closely with a range of industry sectors - exploring how food and wine production, medical technologies, energy and mining can exploit the benefits of advanced manufacturing and digital technologies.
To ensure Australia is at the cutting edge of modernising manufacturing, Flinders is working with best-of-breed research and development facilities in the world including the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Sheffield, UK — the world’s leading advanced manufacturing accelerator funded by the UK Government’s Industry Catapult Program – and the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre. There is much to be gained from global collaborations like these.
What we know from economic history is that nations with a strong manufacturing sector are best positioned to ensure a high standard of living and rewarding jobs in the 21st century.
Investments in world class manufacturing modernisation accelerators like the Line Zero — Factory of the Future will help ensure this for Australia.
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Professor John Spoehr is director, Australian Industrial Transformation Institute,
Flinders University
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