Inclusive Manufacturing: What it means and How It Can Accelerate Growth of .... motorised rice puffing (Muri) machine (Figure 2)that is used in a rural setting to ...
RITES Journal, Research, Review and Retrospective
Inclusive Manufacturing: What it means and How It Can Accelerate Growth of India BALDEV RAJ DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES, BENGALURU, INDIA
RAJKUMAR ROY DIRECTOR OF MANUFACTURING, CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY, UK
V BHUJANGA RAO ISRO CHAIR PROFESSOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES, BENGALURU, INDIA
AMARESH CHAKRABARTI PROFESSOR AND CHAIRMAN, CENTRE FOR PRODUCT DESIGN & MANUFACTURING, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, BENGALURU, INDIA
B RAVI INSTITUTE CHAIR PROFESSOR, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, POWAI, INDIA
MANOJ K TIWARI PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, KHARAGPUR, INDIA
PVM RAO PROFESSOR AND HEAD, DEPARTMENT OF DESIGN, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, DELHI, INDIA
MUKESH KUMAR UNIVERSITY LECTURER IN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, INSTITUTE FOR MANUFACTURING, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, UK
MURALIDHAR LAKKANNA SECRETARY, INCLUSIVE MANUFACTURING FORUM, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES, BENGALURU, INDIA
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ABSTRACT Inclusive Manufacturing is a new paradigm concept, where all parts of the lifecycle of a manufactured product is made accessible to people from all strata of the society, so as to accelerate sustainable development and dignified well‐being for all. Inclusive Manufacturing aims at empowering people, especially those who are spatially, temporally, physically, economically and culturally disadvantaged, to actively participate in the conception, creation, distribution, transaction, use and retirement of products and systems. This paper discusses the key features of Inclusive Manufacturing, some of its key areas of application, and six major thematic areas are significant for supporting Inclusive Manufacturing. The paper also provides a brief discussion on how each thematic area could support Inclusive Manufacturing, some of its key enablers and drivers that need to be integrated to make this possible, and suggests several major policy directions. 1. Introduction The vision of manufacturing has gone through a paradigm shift. In its traditional definition, manufacturing was viewed as the production process in which raw materials are transformed into physical products through processes involving people and other resources[1]. In the subsequent definition, physical production was at the centre of a wider manufacturing value chain[2].The present era of manufacturing is marked by highly agile, networked enterprises that use information and analytics as skilfully as they employ talent and machinery to deliver products and services to diverse global markets[3]. With ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’ and other initiatives, India aims to become the third largest manufacturing hub in the world, with the goal of creating 100 million jobs by 2022. This needs major investment in R&D and training with the aim of developing sustainable technology and re‐skilling of people. Digital manufacturing and Industry 4.0 are directions of global resurgence of several manufacturing centres of excellence in which advanced countries like Germany, USA and UK have invested heavily. A major challenge that countries like India need to address is: How to achieve economic growth that is aligned with creation of jobs and empowerment of people, across all spatial, temporal, physical, economic and cultural boundaries of the society? Inclusive Manufacturing promises to be one possible solution, as discussed in this paper. This paper discusses the key features of inclusive manufacturing, some of its key areas of application, and six major thematic areas that should play a significant role in supporting Inclusive Manufacturing. The paper also provides a brief discussion on how each thematic area could support Inclusive Manufacturing, and some of the key enablers and drivers that need to be integrated to make this possible. The paper is largely based on the deliberations from and report on the Inclusive Manufacturing Forum – IMF 2017 [4]. 2. Inclusive Manufacturing
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Inclusive Manufacturing (IM) is a new and next paradigm concept, where manufacturing, in its broader definition, is made accessible to people from all strata of the society, so as to accelerate sustainable development and dignified well‐being for all. There are three major dimensions of IM as depicted in Figure 1:
It should enable participation of people from all strata of the society, especially those who have been marginalized so far, including rural, poor, under‐privileged, specially‐abled, women and senior citizens. It should provide people access to all parts of the technology/product/solution lifecycle. It should use technology of all kinds as appropriate, including high technology, which should be environmentally friendly and efficient, reducing drudgery while creating new jobs and incomes.
IM should provide dignified well‐being and sustainable development for all, by democratizing and distributing manufacturing, empowering local production with local resources and marketing links as shown in Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4 and Figure 5. The focus of any interventions should be people, and not products. IM should lead to higher income as well as pride and dignity for all. IM should use its dimensions to:
Figure 1 Inclusive Manufacturing Cube
Support a large and heterogeneous population; creating jobs for millions; so as to generate and(re‐)distribute wealth; make manufacturing socially relevant; and develop a knowledge economy In line with the UN Millennium goals: for prosperity, health, sanitation, water, infra, energy, etc. Focus on continuous expansion of all forms of, including gender and inter‐generational, equity.
3. Key Application Areas Some of the major application areas for IM are the following: Precision farming (soil health monitoring), water management, crop yield), value‐added agriculture (making plates, bowls, ropes, etc.), food processing (making fruit juice, puffed rice, etc.);
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Textiles, pottery, rural appliances, craft and small scale manufacturing; Affordable healthcare, focusing on early diagnosis and prevention of diseases; Affordable energy (alternative energy, rural stoves, lighting, heating, cooling etc.); and Water and sanitation.
4. Major Thematic Areas for IM Six thematic areas are seen to be of critical importance to IM. These are: design, manufacturing, digital supply chain, quality and validation, transition of academic research to industry, and education. A brief description of each is provided below. Design is planning to identify and transform “existing situations to preferred ones” [5]. Design, therefore, involves both problem finding and problem solving, and is a generic trait that distinguishes and underlies evolutionary success of humans and other intelligent organisms and their communities in their survival and growth. Design thinking, along with its creative, systematic and human‐centric processes, methods and tools, is expected to play a central role in conception of new, disruptive IM lifecycles. As discussed earlier, manufacturing, in its broader, modern interpretation, encompasses all processes through which a product or system undergoes during its lifecycle, including those that transform materials into the product. Consequently, the ambit of manufacturing has expanded backward, in the creation of materials with which making can happen, as well as forward, in the distribution, maintenance, repair, and after‐use processes with which the product or system is moved sustainably from cradle to cradle. Therefore, manufacturing is critical to the success of IM. Supply chain is the framework that supports the manufacturing lifecycle. It is the connectedness of the supply chain that is critical for success of any area of manufacturing, including that of IM. Digital supply chain, which provides digital connectivity among the elements of the supply chain, has the potential for fast, affordable and ubiquitous connectivity that promises to overcome spatial, temporal, and cultural barriers better than a physical supply chain. This is particularly significant for IM, the prime mandate of which is provide access to the product lifecycle, for all, despite and beyond the above barriers. Quality its and validation are essential for any manufacturing lifecycle, including that for IM. According to modern definitions, quality is synonymous with stakeholder satisfaction. Being able to identify the aspects that constitute quality and being able to assess these are critical for ascertaining how good a product or system is, and what its areas of improvements are. Democratising assessment of quality is crucial for IM, which must be possible to be identified and assessed by a wider variety of people than currently possible. Research takes place primarily in academia, while implementation through industrial practice. However, there are discernible gaps between the two: the fruits of research require substantial, non‐ trivial translation before these become ready for implementation in practice. The processes and enablers for transition of ideas from academia to industry will, therefore, play a significant role for IM,
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which will require major linkages for engagement to be formed, not only between academia and industry, but also with policy and societal entities. Education, at all levels, will play a significant role. One reason is the variety of stakeholders involved: people from all strata of the society with all their differences in location, age, culture and so on; another is the different roles for which education is to be imparted; yet another is the challenge of providing the education to an enormous population with substantially less resources. 5. Key Drivers and Enablers of IM Some of the major enablers and drivers for IM are summarised below. 5.1. Inclusive Innovation is a key driver Inclusive Innovation is a key driver, which should be enabled by domain immersion. Academics and researchers currently have little incentives to engage with end‐users and take up immediately practical problems. Extreme affordable engineering from ground up is necessary, not merely making cheaper versions of existing products. Many champions and change‐agents are needed to breakthrough these mind sets. Achieving goals of IM requires exploring every aspect of product life cycle and manufacturing value‐chain, and planning and deploying optimum ways of transforming raw materials into goods by integration of people, processes, systems and enterprises, so as to deliver value to society. An example of inclusive innovation for IM is the empowerment brought by a motorised rice puffing (Muri) machine (Figure 2)that is used in a rural setting to reduce drudgery while increasing productivity at uniform quality to 45‐50 kg/hr, by using only 30 kg of biomass to produce 100 kg of rice[6]. 5.2. Technology enablers Technology enablers include open designs, mobile/micro factories, tele‐services, digital‐platforms to connect design, manufacturing and supply chain, and digital/online market‐places, in particular last mile connectivity. Further technology enablers include additive manufacturing, Internet of Things, smart phones, GPS and GIS, which can spur inclusive innovation in rural areas for local applications. However, automation should be judicious – it should aim at eliminating drudgery, not jobs!
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Figure 2: Motorised rice puffing (Muri) machine[6] 5.3. Quality and the process for its validation in products IM products are often produced, especially in resource‐strapped settings, by people with relatively less technical knowledge as in Figure 5. This raises questions related to quality and the processes for its validation of products. Quality influences the value of a product at every level: starting from raw material to displays at shops. There is a need to develop processes with which quality can be produced and validated at every level, in the context of IM, where quality measures must be simple, easy to use, easy to adopt and understandable by the workers in terms of the Dos and Don’ts in a simple but effective manner. An example of incorporating quality to deliver IM is the motorised potter's wheel in Figure 33[7]that ensures constant wheel speed and renders consistency in quality and productivity.
Figure 3: Motorized Potter's wheel[7] 5.4. Design is a key enabler
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Design is a key enabler for IM, since it is the engine for innovation, where major decisions about manufacturing are taken affordably. It is important to communicate the importance of design, especially to MSMEs that can act as the change provider. The power of the generic process of design thinking (i.e. the iterative and synergistic process to identify problems, develop ideas, consolidate ideas and test them for selection), along with key elements of a designer (empathy, user immersion, dreaming, getting hands dirty, failing fast and learning from the failure) etc. should be taught in a scalable manner. Tools and techniques used in formal design should be adapted for informal sectors, made available, and mentored on using free, open‐source platforms. A successful example of the power of design is in NARI's lanstove, which combines the functions of cooking and lighting in one device(Figure 44), while being efficient at both the functions[8].
Figure 4: NARI Lanstove for rural household[8] 5.5. Education is a key Enabler Education is a key intervention to spur IM. Education should encourage engineering and other students to immerse in real world environments (preferably rural areas) to identify grand challenges facing the society, and co‐create solutions involving all stakeholders. Universities should also provide physical, financial and intellectual resources to implement potentials solutions in the field. Introducing successful case studies of IM should be a part of curricula. People in rural areas should have access to appropriate training content (e.g. with videos in regional languages) related to manufacturing, testing and managing of intellectual property rights and business. 5.6. Sustainability is a key Driver Sustainability, including environmental sustainability, is a key driver of IM, which, among others, implies preventing waste, minimizing use of resources (e.g. materials, energy, water, etc.), and maximising use of renewable resources. Digital tools and platforms for product lifecycle engineering and management are a key enabler. Consumerism and unchecked growth are enemies of sustainability. Science must be combined with spirituality and service to ensure sustainability. Charity is neither scalable nor sustainable. 5.7. Research is a Key Enabler
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Research to develop processes/business models with the dual goal of financial sustainability and social impact should be taken up. Innovations where value created benefits primarily the society rather than private individuals & organizations need to be supported. Given that many good ideas and actions are available as exemplars for IM, it deserves analysis and introspection as to why progress is slow to meet basic needs. There is a need to understand what stakeholders want. Hence, the Voice of the Customer needs to be better understood. There is a need to conduct studies that compare social‐economic impact of alternative models to promote IM. We must study how to scale up, focusing on low‐hanging fruits. An example of successful scale‐up is the development of the cage fishing concept that has demonstrably facilitated alternative livelihood for 1253 tribal families that were displaced by the construction of the Dimbhe dam[9], see Figure 5.
Figure 5: Cage Fishing for in‐Land Communities[9]. 5.8. Need for Supporting design‐led manufacturing innovation and entrepreneurship Design‐led manufacturing innovation and entrepreneurship needs to be supported, so as to connect prototypes from entrepreneurs to manufacturing capabilities, and incentivize entrepreneurs to set up manufacturing, e.g. via IM Incubators. Design‐led innovation can be strengthened by making design and designs open‐source for widest use, transferring not only solution, but also how to solve; this should lead to democratisation of design education, include that for children, grass‐root innovators as well as traditional engineers who have little training in design thinking. Design thinking should be used to design inclusive programme/policy, and train people on how to design for sustainability and manufacturability. 5.9. Need to Empower Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises MSMEs, start‐ups and non‐profit organisations engaged in IM normally do not have seamless access to resources available at educational institutions. Since a large part of IM happens in unorganized sector, there is a clear engagement gap between this sector and educational institutions that needs to be addressed, e.g. by setting up mentoring support for IM, including initiatives for skill building and vocational training for non‐formal sectors.
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Digital supply chain platforms need to be developed particularly for supporting MSMEs, where all parts of the supply chain are supported, e.g. through MSMEs in design, manufacturing, packaging &logistics. 5.10. Need to Support Networking and Ecosystem for IM There is a need for supporting networking among stakeholders, and sharing and dissemination of knowledge. An ecosystem for IM community, including a dynamically growing web‐portal, which shares and grows collective knowledge is needed. This would provide the stakeholders to share success stories from around the world, increase co‐ordination of knowledge that is currently fragmented, for inputting needs and choosing solutions, for classification of types of manufacturing across locations, and for connecting people with similar or complementary needs and expertise, creating possibilities for training, innovation and entrepreneurship. 5.11. Foundation for IM A formal body may be needed to carry out the activities of IM at the global level, e.g. a Foundation for IM. The foundation should have corporates, NGOs, academia and public organisations as key members. Many local education institutes could be act as resources to support the activities of the foundation, by translating results from R&D into local meanings, and attaching manufacturing units into local universities and colleges to connect IM to conventional education in institutions. 6. Policy Directions It is worth pursuing a policy framework in which manufacturers and entrepreneurs are developed to satisfy new and next paradigm change relevant in IM. IM has clear possibilities of providing second income to small farmers and enhanced wealth to crafts people, thus, retaining the next generation of youth in villages by giving them better quality of life and satisfaction. Mitigation of migration to cities is sustainable and a highly desirable solution in the context of India as it can prevent the otherwise enormous pressure on infrastructure and employment generation needs in cities. IM could work with school curricula to include ‘product development and manufacturing’ as a subject, and engage with all BRICS and other developed and emerging countries to strengthen and propagate the movement. Setting up many dedicated enabling centres in India and abroad to champion Inclusive Manufacturing through linked research, education, product development and entrepreneurship would be an effective pathway with this fusion of technologies for which time has come as it shall be a catalyst and right push to achieve sustainable development goals. Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge contributions of all presenters, participants, organisers and sponsors of IMF 2017, and of IMF and its website (http://nias.res.in/inclusivemanufacturing/). IMF(inclusive Manufacturing Forum) is a platform for supporting national and international intellectual dialogues on IM. IMF 2017was an international workshop, conducted jointly by National
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Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, India, and Cranfield University UK, that brought together over one hundred invited participants, including fifty thought leaders from engineering, social sciences, the rural sector and the government to deliberate and debate on the nature, enablers, drivers of and directions for IM. References [1] E. M. Porter (1985)“Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance”, New York Free Press, London. [2] P. Marsh (2012), “The New Industrial Revolution: Consumers, Globalisation and the End of Mass Production”, Yale University Press. [3] J. Manyika, J. Sinclair, R. Dobbs, G. Strube, L. Rassey, J. Mischke, J. Remes, C. Roxburgh, K. George, D. O'Halloran and S. Ramaswamy (2013) “Manufacturing the future: the next era of global growth and innovation”, McKinsey Global Institute. [4] B. Raj, R. Roy, B. V. Rao, A. Chakrabarti, B. Ravi and M. K. Tiwari (6‐8 April 2017), "Inclusive Manufacturing Forum 2017 report", NIAS Bengaluru. [5] H. A. Simon (1996)“The Sciences of the Artificial”, 3ed., MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. [6] P. Bhadoria (2017) "Technological Interventions for rural development," in Inclusive Manufacturing Forum, Bengaluru. [7] P. Bahdoria (2017) "Pottery Wheel for Smaller and larger products," in Inclusive Manufacturing Forum, Bengaluru. [8] A. K. Rajvanshi (2017) "Inclusive Innovation," in Inclusive Manufacturing Forum, Bengaluru. [9] K. Bapat (2017) "RuTAG & Technology delivery to rural areas," in Inclusive Manufacturing Forum, Bengaluru.
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