Embracing Revolution: AECOM's Guide to Industry 4.0

EMBRACING
THE
REVOLUTION
AECOM’s thought leadership magazine
Demystifying 4.0
How will boundless data and digital connectivity
shape the future of manufacturing?
People and process
Automation is changing the industrial workplace,
bringing great opportunities to create factories that
encourage collaboration and wellbeing.
Nurturing innovation
Learn about the latest funding opportunities
helping businesses take new ideas to market.
The factory of the future
Discover the benefits of process-led design in
making manufacturing facilities smarter and
more efficient.

Eugene Smethurst
Head of Process and Automation
eugene.smethurst@aecom.com
Stephen Mounsey
Engineering Manager
Process and Automation
stephen.mounsey@aecom.com
Pilar Sepulveda
Associate Process Engineer
Process and Automation
pilar.sepulveda@aecom.com
Nicola Gillen
Practice Lead
Strategy Plus
nicola.gillen@aecom.com
Guest contributors
Andrew Aitken
Chief Operating Officer
Lanner
aaitken@lanner.com
Ben Morgan
Lead
Integrated Manufacturing Group
The Sheffield University
Advanced Manufacturing
Research Centre (AMRC)
b.morgan@amrc.co.uk
More than just a buzzword, Industry 4.0
is the start of something great. In fact, it’s
already revolutionising the way things are
designed, made and sold.
From the Internet of Things to 3D printing,
manufacturing’s new digital age is giving
us lots to think and talk about: what
does Industry 4.0 really mean? How can
businesses plan to stay smart? What
will the factory of the future look like?
As we learn more about the possibilities,
opportunities and challenges of working
with more data, and greater digital
connectivity between process, product
and people, it’s clear that learning from
experience — and from others — will
drive the innovation that the future of
manufacturing depends on in the UK,
Europe and beyond.
Integrating smarter technologies and
digital systems into what we’ve already
got will be challenging — that’s why
businesses should start planning to
stay ahead.
With more demand for customised
products, the factory of the future will need
to be adaptable and more intelligent; by
putting processes and people at the heart
of new factory design, businesses can
meet this growing demand, as well as drive
greater efficiencies across production.
So much about Industry 4.0 is built on
new ideas and our ability to encourage
and embrace change. With the right help
and by knowing where to go for funding,
manufacturers are in a great place to
join the revolution and turn a new idea or
clever concept into an innovative product
or process.
At the heart of all of this, are people.
Recruitment and development of a smart
workforce will continue to be a business’s
most important asset, while more
machines will require greater meaning to
be given to spaces between and around
the shop floor.
The implications of Industry 4.0 extend
beyond the manufacturing site. The
changes will be transformational due to
their speed, global reach and ability to
affect not only production but business
management and governance.
Industry 4.0 is an opportunity. It’s also
about timing: those who welcome it
will be more likely to grow and prosper.
Businesses that embrace the changes
and adapt, will ultimately thrive and
continue to stay competitive on the
global manufacturing stage.
Frank Thiesen
Chief Executive
Resources and Industry
Europe, Middle East, India and
Africa
ForewordContributors

4
Demystifying 4.0
The Fourth Industrial Revolution has everyone
talking. But what’s it all about and how can
manufacturers set themselves up for the future?
10
A sign of things to come
We talk to Lanner, the leading process
simulation software provider, about Industry 4.0
and the challenges and opportunities ahead
for businesses.
14
The factory of the future
Demand for mass customisation means
factories will need to become smarter and more
flexible. Learn about the benefits of process-led
design in making manufacturing more efficient
and fit for the future.
20
People and process
More automation will change the way people
work. We look at ways to design factories that
encourage human connection and wellbeing.
24
Research to reality
Take a look inside The Sheffield University
Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s
Factory 2050 and learn about what tomorrow
holds for aerospace production.
30
Nurturing innovation
New ideas can revolutionise products and
processes. Learn about possible routes
to funding for manufacturing research
and development.
Contents

With increased connectivity and boundless data catapulting
manufacturing into a new digital age, process and automation
specialists Eugene Smethurst and Stephen Mounsey explain
what Industry 4.0 is all about and how businesses can plan to stay
smart.
Demystif
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ying 4.0
Iproduction lines, customer orders
ntelligent robots that talk to
one another, self-monitoring
that manage themselves and infinite
data stored in invisible clouds; far
from a scene in a futuristic film,
Industry 4.0 has the potential to
dramatically change the way things
are made, how people buy and use
services and completely transform
how factories work.
Not everyone is clear or convinced
on what Industry 4.0 is about, so
let’s start with the basics. The term
Industry 4.0, also known as the
Fourth Industrial Revolution, was
coined in Germany in 2011 and is
used to describe the increasing
digital connectivity of customer,
product, process and factory
through the use of emerging and
disruptive technologies (see table
on page 9), the Internet of Things
(IoT), cloud storage and automation.
At the heart of this new revolution
is data — and lots of it. The idea
being that by harnessing data with
emerging, intelligent technologies
and machines, manufacturers can
collect, store, analyse and share
information about their products and
the equipment that produce them,
making manufacturing more flexible,
smarter, quicker and efficient. All of
this is expected to become a reality
over the coming five to 10 years.
AECOM | INDUSTRIAL/EMBRACING THE
REVOLUTION
5

Levelling
things
out
The German government will
be investing €40 billion (£31.6
billion) in Industry 4.0 each
year until 2020 to drive
innovation and productivity
across their
manufacturing sectors, according to
PricewaterhouseCoopers figures. If
other countries invest in and adopt
greater automation, developed
economies outside of Japan, Korea
and Germany could start to compete
with low cost labour economies,
helping to level out the production
playing field between countries.
The UK government is also
allocating significant funding to help
businesses digitise manufacturing
and embrace the new Industrial
Revolution, ultimately helping
to enrich the UK and other high
value GDP economies. IT services
company Accenture estimates the
Fourth Industrial Revolution could
add up to £359 billion to the UK
economy by 2030.
Connect to
conquer
So what’s the incentive for
businesses to capture more data and
connect everything together, and
what plans should they put in place
to ensure they keep pace? The IoT,
which enables the collection and
exchange of data between a network
of computers, personal devices,
sensors and other technologies,
with minimal input from humans,
is front and centre in the
digitisation of manufacturing, and
will act as
a conduit for data storage and
sharing between customer, product
and manufacturer.
Using the IoT, businesses can track
what and how their customers are
buying, leading to faster new product
development. They can also gather
data from self-monitoring equipment
on when parts and machines will
need repairing or replacing.
Self-learning and autonomous robots
will make production lines smart
enough to learn how to build things
more quickly, massively reducing time
to market. Ultimately, manufacturers
will be able to enhance their business
operations by producing more from
less, improving their bottom line.
Siemens, the global technology
company, is a good business to
learn from. Seen as the
Industry
4.0 trailblazers, production at their
electronics factory in Amberg,
Bavaria, is already largely
automated. Machines and
computers are responsible for 75 per
cent of the value chain. Products
made in the factory control their own
assembly by using a digital product
code
to directly communicate to the
machines how they need to be built.
Securing
the future
With even more data to play with,
it’s inevitable that businesses will
need to up their cybersecurity to
prevent information about their
products and processes being
stolen, lost
or changed. The UK government’s
2014 Information Security Breaches
Survey found that 81 per cent of
large companies have reported some
form of security breach, costing each
organisation on average between
£600,000 and £1.5 million.
Businesses will need to rely more on
real-time encryption, where data is
translated into confidential code and
password-locked, to ensure their
most valuable information is safe.
Early Industry 4.0
adopters will be
the first to reap
the rewards of
a more digital,
connected future.
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Cloud control
To cope with the increasing flow of
information, some companies have
started building onsite data centres
complete with inbuilt software that
joins the dots between information,
also known as data discovery
platforms. These can also detect
and help guard against cyberattacks
through site-specific firewalls
and encryption.
However, the use of wireless
communication to transfer
information continues to rise and is
leapfrogging the use of hardwired
computer systems. It won’t be too
long before we see the widespread
use of 5th generation (5G) wireless
technologies and beyond.
Cloud storage is also gaining
popularity. By keeping data in
remote servers accessible via the
internet, businesses can store vast
amounts
of information, and instantly add
more processing power without
the need to constantly invest in
more expensive software and
computers. Cloud platforms could
also open up a whole new world
of global collaboration between
manufacturers, suppliers and
customers, leading to better product
development, and efficiencies that
link business systems to production
and ultimately the end user.
Business as
usual
Early Industry 4.0 adopters will be
the first to reap the rewards of a more
digital, connected future but there’s
currently little tangible evidence
or models to learn from. Planning
ahead is the best place to start; from
examining what infrastructure a
business needs to support Industry
4.0 technologies and empower data
management, to developing a long-
term recruitment strategy.
For Industry 4.0 to become business
as usual, manufacturers will need to
roadmap their own way forward
while learning from those who take
risks before them, develop strategies
to cope with boundless data, figure
out how best to use it and know
where and how much to invest.
One of the biggest challenges
of Industry 4.0 will be to get
people to change from the way
they’ve always done things. All
of these will affect future success
and how well manufacturers
can compete in our increasingly
global production market.
REVOLUTION
7

Planning for change
Industry 4.0 brings lots of opportunities for manufacturers to
make processes more efficient, products more personalised
and drive down costs. So where’s the best place to start?
Invest in people and skills
People will remain the most
important part of any manufacturing
business. Do your employees have
the enthusiasm to embrace the
future and foster change? Do they
have the ability to analyse data
to bring real business value and
manage those changes? Businesses
should also ask themselves how they
can help their employees adapt and
grow. Training and recruitment will be
key to success.
Roadmap your data and
technology requirements
This involves conducting a detailed
audit to understand the data and
technology that you use now, and
mapping out a strategy around
which systems you’ll need in the
future to drive Return on Investment
(RoI) and meet customer, product,
manufacturing, data capture and
employee training needs. This should
be done across manufacturing
systems and business operations.
Develop a 4.0 concept
Businesses should devise a detailed
‘what if’ scenario around their data
and technology roadmap to consider
and decide on the best Industry 4.0
options for them, including the costs
involved, expected RoI and inputs
and outputs. Ask yourself what’s
going to add the most value, drive the
greatest efficiencies and help you
remain competitive in the long term.
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Mobile internet: Increasingly
inexpensive and capable
mobile computing devices and
internet connectivity.
Automation of knowledge work:
Intelligent software systems that
perform knowledge work tasks
involving unstructured commands
and subtle judgments.
The Internet of Things: Networks of
low-cost sensors and actuators for
data collection, monitoring, decision
making and process optimisation.
Cloud technology: Use of computer
hardware and software resources
delivered over a network or
the internet.
Advanced robotics: Increasingly
capable robots with enhanced
senses, dexterity, and intelligence
used to automate tasks or
augment humans.
Autonomous and near
autonomous vehicles: Vehicles that
can navigate and operate with
reduced or no human intervention.
Next generation genomics: Fast,
low- cost gene sequencing, advanced
big data analytics and synthetic
biology.
Energy storage: Devices or systems
that store energy for later use,
including batteries.
3D printing: Additive manufacturing
techniques to create objects by
printing layers of material based on
digital models.
Advanced materials: Materials
designed to have superior
characteristics, such as strength,
weight, conductivity, or functionality.
Advanced oil and gas exploration
and recovery: Exploration and
recovery techniques that make
extraction of unconventional oil and
gas economical.
Renewable energy: Generation of
electricity from renewable sources
with reduced harm to the climate.
Disrupting the status quo
The 12 disruptive technologies
expected to shape Industry 4.0:
Source: McKinsey Global Institute Analysis
REVOLUTION
9

As the digitisation of industrial processes
gains pace, we catch up with Lanner’s
Chief Operating Officer Andrew Aitken
for his view on Industry 4.0 and
how businesses can best respond.
A sign of
INDUSTRY
PERSPECTIVE
ANDREW
AITKEN
10 aecom.com

What’s driving the
Industry 4.0 revolution?
AA
Industry 4.0 is about much more than
promoting change through technology.
The Industry 4.0 vision of connectivity and
digitisation was created in response to the
threat of disruptive market forces, such as an
aging world population and the rise of
emerging markets. Flagged by global
management consultants McKinsey &
Company several years ago, they forecast that
the next Industrial Revolution was imminent
and would impact industry on a scale 3000
times greater than the First Industrial
Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Fear is a great motivator and companies are
now concerned about the rapid changes
they’re seeing. They also see companies
around them suffering as a result of new
disruptive business models. A good example
is what’s currently happening to many banks
as a result of digital payment systems, such
as
Apple Pay, which lets users pay for goods
using
their phone — it’s a sign of things to come.
How is Industry 4.0 changing the
industrial sector?AA
Industry 4.0 is creating a buzz, a
purpose and urgency. It demands that
weconsider new ways to move towards more
connected, intelligent and agile business
models if we are to compete in tomorrow’s
markets. Industry 4.0’s arrival should be
welcomed. Many firms have been focusing on
short-term performance goals due to
uncertain global economic conditions,
forgetting about the bigger picture: Industry
4.0 is a useful beacon for these businesses to
consider where they are now and how they
should best respond.
In light of Industry 4.0, manufacturers have
started reviewing their IT infrastructures and
technologies. The decisions that businesses
make now will determine whether they are
one of the quick or the dead five years from
now. Ultimately, many of today’s successful
manufacturers need to quickly and radically
change their business models to succeed in
tomorrow’s global marketplace.
REVOLUTION
11

What are some of the big challenges
businesses face as industrial processes
become even smarter?
AA Securing and retaining industrial vendor and client
intellectual property (IP) are well-documented
challenges that will require commercial and technical
effort from businesses at the outset but these are likely to
become more manageable with time.
The biggest challenge for companies will be recruiting,
developing and retaining a truly smart workforce capable
of understanding and running complex Industry 4.0-
like business operations. The skills transition required
at all levels, particularly within senior decision-
making teams, will be challenging. Traditional
management
principles will become obsolete, with rear-view business
intelligence data becoming less relevant as decision
making becomes more agile, powered by front-view
predictive analytics.
How can businesses future-proof their
processes and facilities?
AA Senior management teams need to stick to the
basics, starting with an assessment of their current
technology and people capabilities, before setting
expectations. It’s also valuable for businesses to
compare themselves against known competitors and
industry best practices. They can then stress-test how
their business and technology strategies currently align
with Industry 4.0 by conducting a strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis and by prioritising
risks and opportunities as a driver for re-calibrating their
aspirations for the next one, three and five-year horizons.
To reduce the risk of costly mistakes in planning
major process changes, businesses can use virtual
simulation modelling software, such as Lanner’s
WITNESS, to ensure that proposed changes will
perform as expected when implemented. Virtual models
also
aid communication and collaboration with external
technology implementation specialists and employees
throughout the change process.
Most critically, businesses should recruit new talent
who have the right balance of technology and problem-
solving skills — the recruitment and development of
a smart workforce is likely to be the most formidable
Industry 4.0 asset. Through strategic and innovative
partnerships, manufacturers, technology suppliers,
research institutions and businesses can collaborate to
share ideas, expertise and data to drive best practice,
innovation and quality.
Lanner’s
WITNESS factory
simulation.
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SIMULATING RISK
With the launch of Facebook’s Oculus Rift and
Microsoft’s HoloLens to the commercial market, and
Apple’s announcement that they’re also investing in
virtual reality technology, immersive environments are
becoming the next big platform.
Virtual simulation is expected to play an
increasingly important part in the future of smart
manufacturing.
It allows businesses to create immersive replicas
of entire factories, manufacturing processes and
equipment and workspace layouts before they’re
built or modified.
Using powerful virtual simulation software, process
and automation teams can create a virtual ‘copy’ of an
assembly line, for example, to test and understand
how a new technology will impact production. This
allows businesses to reduce the risk and cost of
integrating the technology into their existing facility.
Process
simulation can also prove the benefits of process change
and predict the likely return on investment, helping
companies build the business case for continuous
process improvement so they can stay competitive in
the changing Industry 4.0 landscape.
REVOLUTION
13

Process and automation specialists Eugene Smethurst
and Stephen Mounsey talk us through the benefits of
process-led design in making manufacturing plants more
digitally connected, flexible and fit for the future.
F THE
FUTUREWtailored products are becoming just as
anting the same as everybody else is no
longer a customer’s greatest demand;
important as good quality and price. Custom-made
items have been around for some time now — Levi
Strauss has been offering bespoke jeans since 1994
while Nike’s online service lets customers design
their own trainers and bags.
Making moves
One of the biggest changes we expect to see across
manufacturing over the next decade or so is the shift
from mass production to mass customisation, with
Industry 4.0 being the perfect platform — and driver.
Businesses that make the first moves to produce
bespoke products en masse will undoubtedly face
risks, such as not fully knowing the return on investment
from new technologies. But those who act quickly
could add a premium of 30 per cent or more to their
products, according to The Economist’s Made to order:
Customisation advances in emerging markets report.
Old and new as one
Mass customisation will ultimately result in more complex
customer orders with higher specifications. Each order
will need to connect with supplier, product, production
and distribution data in real time, meaning entire supply
chains will need to be digitally networked, and equipment
intelligent and adaptable enough to switch between
designs and materials. To do this, factories will need to
be smarter and much more flexible.
One of biggest concerns for manufacturers will be how
to integrate all of this into what they’ve already got with
as little cost and disruption to production as possible.
Through optioneering, businesses can figure out how
flexible their factories are. Using design and
engineering tools, the optioneering process involves
exploring different options to ‘bolt on’ new systems or
processes to determine which ones will have the least
impact on production and which ones will bring the most
benefit.
Start as you mean to go on
Making a factory smarter is easier to do at the design
stage, primarily because you don’t have to cut into what’s
already there, so there’s no disruption to production.
Historically, the shell and process inside of factories have
been designed and built separately. But, by looking at the
key parts of a process and integrating the building design
so they work as a whole, you can drive greater
efficiencies across an entire plant.
For example, factoring the outside temperature and
building insulation into an automotive factory design could
reduce the amount of energy — and cost — required to
heat and cool the room where cars are painted.
More efficient plants have fewer process steps, or more
work done at single production stages, leading to a
reduced floor area. Using a process-led design approach,
it’s possible to streamline a process, increase the
density of operations, integrate automation and digital
connectivity, as well as factor in flexibility for the future.
REVOLUTION
15

The Gross Internal Floor Area
or internal floor space is a good
indication of a factory’s efficiency
— more efficient plants have fewer
process steps (or more work done
at a single production station), which
leads to a reduced floor area.
By reconfiguring a leading car
manufacturer’s process, we
developed plans for a new factory
that would reduce their existing
internal floor area by 38 per cent,
while also achieving the required
production rate and flexibility
for the future.
Existing process layout
BRINGING TRANSFORMATIONAL
CHANGE
Test track
Outbound
parking
Body in white
Trim and final
assembly
Paint
Parts and
delivery
After mapping out the crucial
parts of their process, such as
automation, people, production
time and parts storage, we figured
out where the processes could be
reconfigured to optimise floor space
and overall operations.
16 aecom.com

We also identified ways to digitally
connect everything, such as by
integrating smart sensors and
cloud storage, and areas where the
process and factory could be easily
expanded in the future.
Steps to factory optimisation and
digitisation included:
– Identifying where manual
processes could be replaced
with automation to increase
productivity and quality.
– Integrating automatic guided
vehicles or ‘mobile robots’
capable of quickly reconfiguring
parts of the process.
– Introducing innovative
energy sources, such as solar
panels above the factory
paint shop, where energy use
is highest (around 40 per cent
of the factory’s entire power
use), reducing energy costs.
– Increasing the number of people
at each station from two to four,
and work done per metre squared,
through split level working, as well
as parts delivery from above via a
sky conveyor system.
– Reconfiguring process layout
to reduce the number of
transfer conveyor belts needed,
optimising process time.
– Curving the process layout to
allow more parts to be delivered
directly into the production line
and the option of attaching a
supplier park in the future.
– Integrating radio frequency
identification tags, remote smart
sensors, automated machines and
cloud data storage to generate
and capture vital build, customer
product specification, production,
material and supplier data.
Stamping
Paint
AGV
systems
Off track
testing
Powertrain
Parts and delivery
Trim and final
assembly
Body in
white
Cloud
Parts orders
Material order
Value stream optimisation
Parts RFID tracking
Car performance
Maintenance records
Optimised process layout:
Integrating Industry 4.0
Engineering control,
offices, welfare
Test track
REVOLUTION
17

MODELLING THE
FUTURE: FROM DESIGN
THROUGH TO
CONSTRUCTION
Much like Industry 4.0,
building information modelling
(BIM)
is a process underpinned by
technologies, web-based data
sharing and people. BIM typically
produces 3D models that bring
together all of the information
needed to design, build, operate and
manage a construction project into
‘one version of the truth’.
Creating a 3D model integrates
the process, technologies, data
storage, mechanical and electrical,
lighting, power supply and factory
shell to figure out how to make them
work together in the most efficient
way. BIM also allows you to create
‘what if’ scenarios before a plant is
built, such as what would happen
if you bolted on new equipment.
Once the process and facility are
in operation, BIM models can be
added to and altered, helping to
drive continual improvement.

The UK government and the
private sector are recognising the
power of BIM in transforming
property and infrastructure asset
design, construction and
operation. As an industry leader
in BIM development, we’ve
produced an interactive online
tool for our staff and project
stakeholders, called the AECOM
BIM Playbook, to help guide them
on how to integrate BIM
throughout the project lifecycle.
The tool is believed to be the first
of its kind in the industry.
REVOLUTION
19

People
and processAs industrial workplaces become more
automated and virtual, manufacturers will
need to work harder to bring people together
in more meaningful ways, writes workplace
strategy and design specialist Nicola Gillen.
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His likely to lead to fewer people on
ow will Industry 4.0 change the
waypeople work? While more automation
the factory floor, the convergence of next
generation IT such as the IoT, cloud
computing, big data and predictive analytics,
are inevitably creating more positions for
highly-skilled IT and data specialists,
potentially balancing out production line job
losses.
Attract and retain
To attract more highly skilled workers
capable of analysing large amounts of data
and managing complex IT infrastructure,
manufacturers, educators and governments
will need to come together to develop and
provide training, apprenticeships and long-
term strategies to attract and retain the best
staff. The European Parliament’s Industry
4.0 Digitisation for productivity and growth
report states that by 2020, labour markets in
the EU could be short of as many as 825,000
information and communications technology
professionals, with the impact likely being
greatest in advanced manufacturing,
where big data analysts and cybersecurity
experts are required.
New conversations
For this reason, the conversation around
people and the future of manufacturing
ought to go deeper than just numbers; as
production becomes more automated, the
nature and quality of human connection will
become even more important in drawing in
and retaining the best staff.
While we are now more digitally connected
than ever, smarter, virtual technologies are
impacting our ability to communicate and
exchange ideas in meaningful ways — we
no longer have conversations like we used
to. The richness of physical place and the
role it plays in an otherwise virtual and
automated world is key to ensuring industrial
workers continue to talk, exchange ideas,
and innovate. The quality of the physical
work environment and experience is also at
the centre of wellbeing in the workplace.

Enriching space
To truly collaborate and innovate, future
factory design needs to be as much about
people as it is now about processes.
Typically, industrial spaces often have clear
boundaries around factory equipment.
While more automation will inevitably
lead to more machine-heavy areas,
there’s an
opportunity for factories of the future to ‘plug
in’ people spaces such as write up and
virtual collaboration areas, or organise
spaces for employees around automation
and shop floor technologies.
Anywhere, anytime
In our increasingly digital world, the future
of productivity and wellness is also about
reorganising work around people wherever
they are. More automation and wireless
connectivity could see engineers reading
machine outputs and monitoring the plant floor
remotely — they won’t have to be in the factory
any more. Digital connectivity and increasingly
intelligent tools and robots could give staff the
flexibility and choice to spend Monday and
Tuesday engaging with clients and colleagues
on the factory floor, Wednesday working from
home and Thursday and Friday at head office.
Industrial insights
Through strategic workplace planning and
design it’s possible to measure how and where
people work in buildings to design spaces that
increase productivity and collaboration while
making the best use of the building.
AECOM’s global Time Utilisation Study
database, which contains 25 years of data
observing and measuring hourly office
space use over time, shows that the average
workspace is only occupied 42 per cent of a
typical working day.
While the research is centred on data gathered
from offices, the same studies can be carried
out in factory workspaces, leading to spaces
where humans can feel as integral to production
as machines.
In recent years, we’ve supplemented our
own data with analysis of our clients’ existing
data. For example, security badge swipe-
data provides insights into comings and
goings, VPN login data can illuminate mobile
working habits, conference room reservation
data can identify collaborative behaviours,
and car park data can provide insights into
commuting behaviours.
By combining data, we can gain an even
deeper understanding of how our clients
work, enabling us to customise workspace
designs suited to a business’s function
and organisation.
To truly collaborate and innovate,
future factory design needs to be as
much about people as process.
22 aecom.com

THE MANUFACTURING
LANDSCAPE
Tomorrow …
Building design should be centred on people,
as well as process and logistics.
Facilities should include a broader range
of settings that match what people do,
such as spaces for virtual collaboration
and serendipitous interaction.
Change management is vital; how people
behave and adapt to new ways of working will
be just as important as the spaces where they
work. The space by itself will do little without
staff engagement within it.
The future will be about more than connecting
people with machines and machines with
machines — it will be about connecting people
with each other within and across sites,
from any location, including monitoring data
outputs from home.
Today …
Write-up, collaboration and research
and development spaces are often
not ‘connected’ to the factory floor.
Buildings are often cold, hard
and sterile with little natural light.
Equipment and factory shell
usually determine the unit of
design.
Buildings tend not to consider
design qualities such as human
scale, comfort, colour or inspiration.
REVOLUTION
23

RESEARC
H
TO
REALITY
24 aecom.com

Factory 2050 is one of the most advanced manufacturing
research facilities in the world. Home to The University of
Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre
(AMRC), the facility combines state-of-the-art digital
technologies and flexible automation, and is set to
revolutionise the way aircraft are made. Take a tour with
AMRC’s Ben Morgan as he offers his insight into future
aerospace production.
AMRC’s Factory 2050’s
glass-clad rotunda houses
reconfigurable, data-driven
assembly technologies.
Credit: Bond Bryan Architects
REVOLUTION
25

Thead of Integrated Manufacturing at Sheffield
he aerospace factory of the future will be
reconfigurable and adaptable, says Ben
Morgan,
University and Boeing’s AMRC — the team
behind Factory 2050.
“In aircraft factories, planes are traditionally constructed
in big monolithic structures. These are bespoke to the
products and rarely flexible between models. There’s
definitely a swing towards plane assemblies themselves
moving along the production line, with smaller, more
flexible manufacturing systems coming in and performing
a particular job, then moving away. This allows the same
machine to be used for many aircraft models,” says Ben.
A buoyant market
Ben and his team of engineers are installing cutting-edge
technologies, advanced robotics and flexible automation
at Factory 2050, driving research into high-variation and
mass customisation manufacturing. A global proving
ground for automated and advanced manufacturing,
the facility is a place where industry and academia
can work together to develop and test new advanced
manufacturing technologies and methodologies.
So what can we expect form aerospace manufacturing in
years to come? “It’s a very buoyant market out there,”
says Ben. “Airbus and Boeing’s single-aisle aircraft
production rates are on the increase — they’re both
manufacturing around 40 aircraft a month with the
intention to move up to about 65 over the next few years.
That’s a significant rise in production on what are
already stretched land and machinery resources.”
More data, more uptime
Ben also predicts we’ll see a lot more data generated
from aircraft in the years to come, which will
ultimately help operators make decisions about
whether their planes are fit for use or need
maintaining.
“A Rolls Royce aero engine now has so many sensors
that it produces around 20 gigabytes of data an hour.
Aero structures will also have more integrated strain,
vibrational and temperature sensors than ever before.
Sensors will also become much smaller, cheaper and
better-connected,” says Ben.
Factory 2050’s long rectangular extension will accommodate
commercially sensitive or larger footprint projects.
26 aecom.com

More intelligence?
While the future of aerospace manufacturing is set to
become increasingly automated, the widespread use of
artificial intelligence across the industry could be a little
while off yet, says Ben. “Robotics and automation have
been implemented across aircraft manufacturing for the
past 10 years. However in terms of more intelligent
systems that make decisions themselves, we’ll need a
greater level of confidence in them before they become
mainstream — but we could start to see them in them in
the next five to 10 years,” says Ben.
Challenges ahead
Looking ahead, Ben believes legacy aeroplane models
could make it trickier for aerospace businesses to become
more digitally connected: “The A320 was designed in
the 1970s so a lot of it still isn’t digitised. To have a smart,
intelligent factory you need to understand the factory
structure and the digital model of the parts moving around
it. In many industries, particularly automotive, this is
taken from granted. Legacy machines and the numerous
variations of hardware suppliers into an aerospace factory
can be a barrier to getting all the machines integrated and
talking to one another,” adds Ben.
A Rolls Royce aero
engine now has so
many sensors it
produces around 20
gigabytes of data
per hour.
Factory 2050’s extensive
use of glass and circular
design creates a light and
spacious interior.
Factory 2050’s rotunda balcony.
REVOLUTION
27

A learning curve
With Boeing and Airbus already 3D printing plane
parts, the use of new and more lightweight materials
looks to become more commonplace in both military
and commercial aircraft production. But, there’s a
way to go yet in terms of material standardisation and
quality control.
“3D-printed products aren’t as structurally sound as
forged or cast products. But, it’s a learning curve — a
pretty quick learning curve. Carbon fibre, titanium and
3D-printed products are being manufactured for planes,
and they’re stronger and lighter than they’ve ever been,
helping with fuel economy and improving the overall
quality of parts; the better the quality of parts, the more
aircraft uptime,” comments Ben.
Playing catch up
As aerospace looks to become more automated, the
industry is starting to attract highly-skilled staff from
the automotive sector. “Aerospace is catching up and
trying to learn from car makers as to how they’re doing it
(automation) so well. But automotive, food and
beverage
and other industries can learn a great deal about
traceability and quality from the aerospace industry
— the safety qualification that goes into a plane is
absolutely paramount. The way they deal with
traceability is absolutely fantastic,” says Ben.
Investing in the future
Ben’s advice to manufacturers as they start planning to
become more digitally connected, is to have a strong
strategy in place for product development. He comments
“businesses need to ensure their IT structure links very
closely to their manufacturing strategy, because smart,
digital factories will be so integrated in the future that the
two will go hand in hand.”
“They also need to take the customer and the supplier
along for the ride, and make sure they’re moving at the
same speed”, adds Ben. “Because it’s no good having
a digitised factory and still having orders faxed through.
Businesses should also start investing in training and
apprenticeship schemes to bring the right staff through
with the right skills.”
28 aecom.com

AMRC’S FACTORY
2050The University of Sheffield AMRC
with Boeing is a world-class centre
for advanced machining and
materials research for aerospace and
other high value manufacturing
sectors.
The AMRC team are carrying out
research at Factory 2050 in response
to the increasing requirement to
rapidly change product designs and
switch between making high value
components and one-off parts for
customers from diverse sectors.
Initial projects include a programme
to take aerospace manufacturing
technology into the construction
industry, explore future digital factory
technologies for building commercial
aeroplanes and investigate digitally-
assisted assembly technologies
which could help to fill a looming
skills gap in the aerospace sector.
The £43 million, 7000 square metre
building is constructed largely from
glass, and is partly funded by the
European Regional
Development Fund and the
Higher Education Funding
Council for England.
AECOM works with AMRC through
a unique innovation partnership,
combining factory design experience
with Factory 2050 research, to
deliver advanced manufacturing to
real-world industrial projects.
REVOLUTION
29

New ideas inspire better ways of doing things and
have the potential to make the future more smarter,
more efficient and sustainable. Research and
innovation specialist Pilar Sepulveda takes a look
at funding opportunities for businesses to turn a
clever concept into an innovative product or process.
Nurturing
30 aecom.com

innovationFrom 3D printing to cyber-physical
systems, innovation is the lifeblood of
manufacturing and it’s at the heart of
Industry 4.0. Great ideas can lead to
entirely new or more efficient supply
chains, bring better quality products
to market and help businesses solve
design and production problems.
But, it often takes money and lots of
support and collaboration to turn an
idea for a new product, process or
material into the next big thing.
There are many funding sources
out there, but where do you start?
Between bank loans, government
and charity grants, and all the
different application rules, the only
way to unpack the process is to
learn from your own experience,
persevere and collaborate with other
organisations to share ideas and
research. Here’s a snapshot of two
routes to getting an innovative idea
off the ground.
TIP 1
Only apply for funding for
ideas that are truly
innovative, and will promote a
step- change in
manufacturing knowledge
and development.
TIP 2
Understand how your idea
fits into the ‘bigger picture’
and the impact it can have
in the future.
REVOLUTION
31

Revolutionise
small ideas
Innovate UK
UK-based businesses that want
to develop an innovative product
or service can apply for between
£5,000 and £1 million of government
funding through Innovate UK’s
award schemes. They’re open
to all businesses, from pre-
startups and new companies to
large multi-nationals across high
value manufacturing, emerging
technologies, enabling technologies,
resource efficiency and other areas.
Funding can be used for feasibility
studies to test an idea, create
or improve a product or service
or facilitate collaboration with
other businesses and research
organisations. Williams Advanced
Engineering, who received the grant
in 2015, has developed an affordable
version of the Formula One design
technology that will soon be used
in everyday car manufacturing.
The technology is expected to
reduce a car’s CO emissions
by
2
40 per cent and significantly cut
manufacturing costs.
Under the Innovation Voucher
scheme, startup, micro-, small-
and medium-sized UK businesses
can apply for £5,000 to pay for an
external expert to help them develop
a new product, process or service.
Businesses will need to contribute 30
to 75 per cent to the total cost of an
Innovate UK project, depending on
the size of the business and scheme.
Find out more at Innovate
UK
www.innovateuk.gov.uk
Innovate UK helps
manufacturers develop
new technologies so they
can stay competitive.
TIP 4
Justify why your idea will
benefit from public funding;
is it high risk or cutting edge?
Will it generate lots of value?
Do you need the support of
a robust team?
TIP 3
Putting together a proposal
can be laborious. Ensure
everyone involved is 100 per
cent committed from the start.
32 aecom.com

Stay competitive on
the global stage
Horizon 2020
With nearly €80 billion (£63
million) in funding available to
businesses from 2014 to 2020, the
European Commission’s Horizon
2020 is
the EU’s biggest research
and innovation programme.
The initiative funds ground-breaking
research and new technology
projects to spark growth in sectors
like advanced manufacturing and
materials and biotechnology, or
respond to some of the world’s
biggest challenges, like climate
change, food security or healthcare
for ageing populations.
The Factories of the Future
Public-Private Partnership
(PPP) falls under the scheme,
which
helps manufacturers,
in particular small
to medium sized
enterprises, develop key
enabling technologies to
help them stay
competitive. In 2014, Airbus
received funding under the
PPP scheme to develop
‘mobile manipulators’, which
work on multiple tasks on the
factory floor, move around
factory staff and self-inspect
their work using cameras. Once
fully developed, the robots will be
phased into Airbus factories.
To apply for most Horizon 2020
funding, businesses must be part
of a consortium, usually made up
of at least three organisations from
different EU countries.
Find out more at Horizon 2020
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/
horizon2020
TIP 5
For applications outside of the
UK in particular, developing
collaborative relationships with
other organisations that have a
good track record of previous EU
innovation projects can help your
chances of success.
TIP 6
If your proposal isn’t funded,
learn from the experience
and build on the feedback.
The Horizon 2020 initiative
can lead to ground-breaking
research, sparking growth
in advanced manufacturing,
materials and biotechnology.

About AECOM
AECOM is built to deliver a better world. We design, build,
finance and operate infrastructure assets for governments,
businesses and organizations in more than 150 countries.
As a fully integrated firm, we connect knowledge and
experience across our global network of experts to
help clients solve their most complex challenges. From
high-performance buildings and infrastructure, to resilient
communities and environments, to stable and secure
nations, our work is transformative, differentiated and
vital.
A Fortune 500 firm, AECOM companies have annual
revenue of approximately US$18 billion. See how we deliver
what others can only imagine at aecom.com and @AECOM.
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Embracing Revolution: AECOM's Guide to Industry 4.0

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