Supporting rapid manufacturing repurposing during crises
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a shortage of essential supplies and equipment, affecting both the healthcare sector and society at large. The high demand for medical resources and technologies depleted stockpiles, putting significant pressure on Europe’s manufacturing system and leading to price increases and production backlogs. In this context, many companies stepped up to support the fight against COVID-19: luxury brands shifted their production to manufacture hand sanitisers, industrial companies started producing hygienic masks, and hotels turned into quarantine centres. Overall, this highlighted the critical need for the rapid repurposing of medical supply and equipment manufacturing, as well as the necessity to increase manufacturing capacity by 40 %.
A secure network of providers and consumers
The EU-funded Eur3ka project was based on the idea that meeting sudden increases in demand should be addressed collectively and not at a national level. The project’s objective was to establish a network that delivers manufacturing as a service, offering a trusted and unique capability to respond to sudden increases in demand in a coordinated and effective manner. “We aimed to connect providers and consumers of health products in a fast and secure way to cover the demand for medical goods in moments of crisis,” explains the project coordinator Angelo Marguglio from Engineering Ingegneria Informatica. In the healthcare industry, manufacturing facilities and technology providers must offer certified solutions for both products and manufacturing capabilities. To streamline the dynamic search for products and services in a disrupted supply network, Eur3ka has generated a virtual ecosystem of providers and products/services, based on a common governance and coordination framework. This ecosystem also offers the opportunity for companies to easily join the network to expand their business potential.
Eur3ka: preparedness and action
Eur3ka adopted a comprehensive two-phase approach to prepare production for future crises: a ‘prepare before’ phase and an ‘act during’ phase. During the ‘prepare before’ phase, activities focused on proactively strengthening digital infrastructure, regulatory compliance frameworks, and crisis management protocols. According to Marguglio: “This preparation lays the foundation for the subsequent ‘act during’ phase, which requires prompt and coordinated actions based on the pre-established measures.” By utilising the digital tools and capabilities established in the preparation phase, organisations can effectively respond to crises, mitigate risks, and ensure compliance with regulatory obligations. This digital-driven approach empowers organisations to adapt to evolving crises, maintain operational continuity, and safeguard the interests of all stakeholders while upholding rigorous regulatory standards. Both the coordination platform and the Plug&Respond framework offer the opportunity to providers and end users to interconnect, offering a wide range of certified solutions and services for the health industry. This interconnection is also facilitated through the Digital Factory Alliance, an EU initiative that offers companies access to knowledge, trends and ready-to-deploy products in the digital manufacturing field, as well as an opportunity to help respond to crises when supply chains are compromised.
The Eur3ka Repurposing Data Space
Eur3ka supports the continuity of production ecosystems, their adaptation to sudden changes and the provision of certified devices in reduced time frames. The project has developed innovative technologies and methodologies to enhance data interoperability and accessibility. It has also facilitated the faster deployment of agile and resilient supply chains and established consolidated standards and data models to ease interoperability of platforms and services. “By creating a robust ecosystem and facilitating cross-country data exchange, Eur3ka has effectively contributed to the realisation of the European Data Space strategies in the manufacturing domain,” outlines Marguglio.
Keywords
Eur3ka, pandemic, production process, production repurposing, network, Digital Factory Alliance, data space
