Using users to support the manufacturing process
Experts and researchers have shown that insight and innovation from users can help advance the manufacturing sector tremendously. The EU-funded project 'User-centred innovation for manufacturing: Roadmaps for development' (UCIM) aimed to oversee the transition to a more user-driven manufacturing paradigm. It aimed to include the whole array of stakeholders, bringing together manufacturers and users in novel ways. UCIM undertook a roadmapping foresight exercise to identify the needs of collaborative product development and gathered information on user-centred innovation used in industry. It conducted workshops that taught users in different industries, from low- to high-tech sectors, how to advance the technological, organisational and socioeconomic development in manufacturing. The project also advised policymakers on supporting the manufacturing industry, emphasising UCIM concepts to achieve sustainable and competitive manufacturing. It pinpointed specific priorities and actions that support user-centred innovation within European industry. These priorities and actions were supported by the findings of the many stakeholder workshops that the project organised, which also included challenges and issues linked to realising the project's objectives. Lastly, UCIM established a sophisticated blog-like Web platform to foster interaction and disseminate results. The platform was designed to attract an increasing number of experts and visitors interested in the topic of stakeholder-enhanced manufacturing. The end result of the project and its Web platform should lead to improved European manufacturing and more competitive industries.
