AISkills4Lean

Full Title: AI skills for enhancing lean manufacturing 4.0

Duration: 01/06/2024 - 30/11/2025

Abstract:

Due to the ongoing digital transformation and advancements in AI, it is necessary to establish a comprehensive and industry-oriented education program and a roadmap for the integration and adaptation of AI within manufacturing work systems in South-East Europe. In the context of EIT M and in cooperation with TU Wien, teaching and learning factories have been already developed and implemented training on lean and data-driven tools inter allia in the North Republic of Macedonia. AISkills4Lean aims to reinforce the existing trainings by supplementing AI and Lean 4.0 skills, through a practical and AI-based use case. The project is to customize a conversational AI (a low cost and open source voice assistant system) to enhance information accessibility within work systems and improve quality of training in learning factory context. This will be evaluated not only in the learning factory environment of the partnership in Skopje, but also in the newly developed learning factory in Bulgaria in scope of this project by involving associated SME partners. This approach offers two significant advantages. First, it provides a low-cost digitalization and solution to industries and university partners. Second, it ensures technical scalability beyond a use-case and mobility for easy deployment and using across various partners. Given its multinational context, this project can be adapted to accommodate different languages and diverse organizational needs.

Results:

The project AISkills4Lean is to provide manufacturing industries in particular SMEs in South Europe with the knowledge needed to successfully integrate Artificial Intelligence and Lean 4.0 into their manufacturing work systems. A low cost, mobile voice assistance system is being developed to increase accessibility and productivity. A particular result of this project is establishment of a new learning factory at the TU Sofia.

Success will be measured through the implementation of roadmaps, participant feedback and KPI-based assessments. In addition, the project promotes collaboration between existing and new learning factories as well as continuous knowledge sharing, which contributes to digital transformation and process optimization in the long term.

Partners:

• TU Wien, Research Unit of Production and Maintenance Management - Austria
• Centre for Research, Development and Continuing education (CIRKO) – North Republic of Macedonia
• Technical University of Sofia, Faculty of Management - Bulgaria
• Fitofarm Plus doo – North Republic of Macedonia

Contact Details:

Atieh Karbasi, M.Sc.

Email: atieh.karbasi@tuwien.ac.at