QRM4.0 supports SMEs to shorten their lead times

Reducing lead times allows companies to grow by bringing their products to the market more rapidly and increases profitability by reducing costs, enhancing delivery performance and improving quality. The Interreg project QRM4.0 will support SMEs in their quick response manufacturing journey by enabling them to roll-out digital technologies through coaching, training and the sharing of expertise and best practices.

Challenge

The shift from mass production to the production of complex customized products with high added-value in very small batches, forces manufacturing SMEs to transform their production. Customers expect fast delivery times and highly customized products. This forces SMEs to transform their production processes to a new way of manufacturing.

Speeding up manufacturing requires the combination of innovative digital technologies (Industry 4.0) and human-centred process innovation (Quick Response Manufacturing – QRM) to deeply involve the employees. This project will help SME’s by combining insights and tools from the fields of Quick Response Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 to transform production towards ultra-short production lead times.

Goal and approach

The goal of the project is to  support manufacturing SMEs in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine in this process by:

• Informing and inspiring: knowledge on quick response manufacturing (how to form self-steering teams, involve operators in the production innovation process) and innovative digital technologies (how to connect production machines, extract and visualise production data in a dashboard) to reduce the production lead time, is transferred to the SMEs through practical technology sheets, inspiring testimonials, company visits to innovation leaders, practical demonstrators and hands-on workshops.
• Training, coaching and support: manufacturing SMEs can start an individual use case (supported by a subsidized voucher) to digitise their production, with training and coaching from the project partnership.
• Exchanging best practices: a learning network on lead time reduction allows manufacturing SMEs and IT solution providers to share their experiences, learn from one another and evaluate opportunities to professionally collaborate.

You can find more information about the project on the project page of the consortium.

Financing

The Euregio-Meuse-Rhine (EMR) Interreg programme is part of the European Cohesion Policy and is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The total project budget is EUR 3.64 million, of which EUR 1.68 million comes from the ERDF Fund.) Provincie Limburg (BE) is supporting this project as well through its co-financing of Sirris and POM Limburg (268.000 EUR)

Provincie Limburg (NL) and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs also support this project through their co-financing.