Flexible yet comprehensive factory model Inspired by biology, scientists developed a generic virtual factory model based on evolutionary relationships. It classifies factories based on certain characteristics and relationships to other factories, providing tried and true best practices. Health © Thinkstock The manufacturing industry accounts for 25 % of the EU economy and approximately 20 % of total employment. It is under constant threat from highly automated factories in the east that invest a substantial amount of money in new capital equipment. Factory models are excellent for optimising products and processes but developing a generic model is no easy task. However, the payoff should be immense for the nearly 99 % of manufacturing companies considered as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and many larger companies as well. EU-funded scientists working on the project COPERNICO developed and applied a new classification system to fully describe a manufacturing organisation using only a few characteristics. It is based on the biological concept of cladistics and describes the evolution of companies and the processes, tools and systems employed or abandoned by them. Once a company has been classified, it can be compared to a similar one exemplifying best practices whose characteristics are contained in a project-created database. The COPERNICO virtual factory environment is a free online framework that helps the company select the tools required to move to the next level via the Modelling Tools Recommendation Tool. A company can also follow a customised route map to move forward to the next level and adapt to new challenges in production processes or product areas. End-user partners in the consortium applied the tool to real industrial situations at two SMEs, Footprint Sheffield and Temco, and one large company, Electrolux. Results were quite promising. Temco has now moved production of six parts back to Europe from the Far East with decreased costs and improved efficiency. The specialist toolmaker Footprint Sheffield used the tool to redesign its factory and streamline production, gaining 500 productive hours a year to introduce new products. Electrolux has increased throughput and decreased part travel times. Widespread implementation promises substantial savings in time and money when developing new product procedures and processes, ramping up production quickly without expensive revalidation and certification. COPERNICO thus stands to have important and lasting impact on the competitiveness of EU manufacturers. Keywords Factory model, virtual factory, manufacturing, classification system, cladistics
