SIRI was created as a means of quantifying the progress of a manufacturer as they seek to become a factory of the future. The assessment is not specific to any industry and is applicable to companies of any size from SMEs up to Primes. The insights it can provide to innovation drivers such as Daire are invaluable and are based on two key exercises conducted on the company’s premises:

1. Evaluating the maturity level of the smart manufacturing technologies currently in place
2. Identifying the areas to prioritise going forward for maximum rewards

During this process it is vital to show the business as it is in this very moment, not what it is hoping to be or working towards. This present snapshot is then compared against benchmarks for the chosen industry, in the case of TMG this was Transportation due to the group’s rich history of supplying the aviation and space industries.

Based on the feedback from TMG’s own SIRI assessment it is clear that, while there is a lot of work to be done, the foundations for improvement are strong. Strategy and governance were highlighted as particularly strong areas which bodes well for any changes implemented going forward as having a solid pillar to build upon is crucial when making any big changes in a business.

Also noted was that several areas for improving are remediable with already existing technology which leaves implementation as the only remaining hurdle. However as anyone who has tried this will know, implementing new technologies into a workplace is rarely straightforward. Thankfully part of the SIRI process is creating a roadmap for this entire process to avoid the pitfalls that frequently occur and allow TMG to improve in the target areas, namely shop floor connectivity and intelligence.

The SIRI assessment is not intended to be a one-off procedure instead it is a continuous means of improvement and iteration mirroring the actual progress which will occur in the business. Work of this nature is not a foreign concept to Daire O’Dubhthaigh as he is currently completing his PhD with Queen’s University Belfast on the development of an implementation strategy for smart manufacturing projects such as this one in SMEs. As someone intimately familiar with the concepts of Industry 4.0, Daire found the SIRI process extremely rewarding:

“The SIRI assessment surpassed our expectations, providing invaluable direction and alignment for our digital transformation strategy. It has significantly bolstered the momentum of our future digitalisation plans. During the debrief, we received enlightening recommendations about solutions that were not initially on our radar. We also received insights that we anticipated and had already discussed before SIRI such as vertical integration and enterprise intelligence. Personally, this validation of existing ideas was the most valuable aspect of the SIRI assessment. The recommendations have shaped our digitalisation plans and the confirmation of existing ideas instils confidence, both for the company and myself that we are on the right path.”

From completing this assessment it is clear that both sister companies in the Technical Metals Group stand to gain an immense amount from making the jump to being a factory of tomorrow and the future of TMG is certainly in good hands.