IN4.0 Group's Impact report for the AI Foundry programme, run in 2021. The report details the impact IN4 had on the businesses they worked with.
IN4.0 GM AI Foundry Industrial Accelerator Impact Report Cohort 1
01.06.2021 to 30.07.2021
Date: 09/08/2021
Contents
Foreword .................................................................................................................... 3
About The Programme ............................................................................................... 4
Our Cohort ................................................................................................................. 6
Feedback ................................................................................................................... 7
The Team ................................................................................................................... 9
Customer Journey (Current Map)............................................................................. 11
Conclusion – Cohort 2.............................................................................................. 12
Foreword
The GM AI Foundry Industrial Accelerator has provided a unique opportunity for manufacturing
and engineering SMEs in the Greater Manchester region to acquire a solid knowledge base
and upskill mid to senior-level managers in the fields of Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence
(AI), Internet of Things (IoT) by developing a Use Case that suit their business’ needs, with
the help of numerous experts from IN4.0 Group and their partners.
The GM AI Foundry Industrial Accelerator consisted of 5 days of session delivering from the
IN4.0 Group Tech Team and selected partners, in addition to 1 day reserved for a celebration
and networking event at HOST Salford.
The GM AI Foundry Industrial Accelerator offered an unparalleled set of sessions delivered
by experts in the fields of AI, Machine Learning & IoT, hosting speakers not only from the
IN4.0 Group Cyber & Tech Team but also by prestigious organisations and businesses such
as AWS, Lancashire University & Crystal Doors.
Furthermore, the SMEs had the chance to develop individual Use Cases to suit their business
needs, based on 3 distinct Proofs of Concept (PoCs): Machine Condition and Monitoring,
Supply chain digitalisation, and process automation using IoT.
The SMEs were provided with technological equipment and step-by-step digital guides on the
PoCs, thus being able to get a better grasp of the concepts presented and understand the
importance of the aforementioned technologies. Lastly, all the SMEs received continuous
support from the IN4.0 via 1-2-1 calls, visits at HOST and emails.
Ultimately, two of the cornerstones of the GM AI Foundry Accelerator Programme was the
engagement and communication between the participating SMEs and with HOST/IN4.0
Group, through which long-term, sustainable relationships could be established. There have
been delegates that eventually came on board with HOST or even built collaboration routes
between them and with all participating organisations (such as Lancaster University).
About The Programme
Total Contact Hours: 29 hours. 1-2-1 Support Hours: 2 to 3 hours per SME. Onboarding support: 1 to 2 hours.
The GM AI Programme was delivered to 12 SMEs (11 claimed through Lancaster University and 1 SME paid for the programme).
Recruitment pipeline
Recruitment sources:
Rochdale Development Agency
• •
IN4.0 Contacts
• Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce
Timeline of delivery & Curriculum
Delivery Date
Topic
Person in-charge
IN4.0 Leadership Team
Programme induction and overview
IN4.0 Tech Team
Looking at the future of Industry 4.0 technology
Richard Hagan
Sustainable thinking for manufacturing
01/06/2021
Natasha Moorhouse / MMU
Manchester Metropolitan University - Digital Survey
AWS Innovation Team
Amazon's Approach to Innovation
IN4.0 Ops Team + Mary
Feedback, next steps, wrap up
Intro to Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine Learning (ML) Process automation and implication on manufacturing
Sufian / AWS
Kaushal / AWS
Samuel Walsh (Lancaster University)
08/06/2021
Introduction to Additive Manufacturing
Introduction to Cyber Security - Importance of awareness
David Taylor
IN4.0 Ops Team + Mary
Feedback, next steps, wrap up
Exploring Digital Architectures (Fundamental building blocks)
Sufian
Kaushal
Demonstration of onboarding IoT devices in AWS
15/06/2021
Sufian
Development of Machine Condition Monitoring PoC
Sufian
Demonstration of PoC architectures
IN4.0 Ops Team + Mary
Feedback, next steps, wrap up
Arun, Ashrit
Importance of Data Analytics and AI
Machine Condition Monitoring & Anomaly Detection (PoC)
Sufian
Georgios
Technical Q&A
22/06/2021
SME
Founder Story - A Case Study (Industry Evolution)
Sufian/Ashrit
Supply chain digitisation
Kaushal
Process automation (PoC)
Sufian
Machine Learning: The next steps with data
IN4.0 - Industry/AWS/Min, Samuel Walsh (Lancaster University)
Panel discussion: Relevance of Machine Learning in Manufacturing
06/07/2021
Sufian
Journey of building edge intelligence
Dimitrios, AWS
Technology Roadmapping (PoC to Scale)
IN4.0 Ops Team + Mary
Feedback, next steps, wrap up
Celebration: Wrapping up the experience, presenting ideas, summary, discussions
IN4.0
30/07/2021
Our Cohort
S.No Delegate Name Organisation Name Sector
Region
1
Tony Kehoe
NEG (Paid)
Manufacturing
Wigan
2
Clare Cassidy
Buggy Tunes
Engineering
Wigan
3
Tom Mathew
Dunsters Farm
Logistics
Bury
and Tom Curtin
4
Mohammed
MSM
Manufacturing
Middleton
Qasim
5
Andy Barrow
Trust Renewables
Engineering
Rochdale
6
Steven
Viscgo
Healthcare
Manchester
Bookbinder
7
Gary Conner
Wardwiz
Software and IT
Salford
8
Matthew
1860 Gel Ltd
Engineering
Rochdale
Donnelly
9
Zaim Naqvi
Torque VR
Software and IT
Salford
10
Ben Horn
Crystal Doors
Construction
Rochdale
11
Simon Bodil
Simkiss
Manufacturing
Middleton
12
Paul Dixon
Molesworths
Legal
Rochdale
Feedback
Below are the cumulative scores calculated based on the feedback provided by the delegates of the 1 st Cohort
The facilities were appropriate for the session
This was a well organised session
87%
80%
The speaker/s were knowledgeable
This session was clearly presented
93%
84%
The session was delivered at a suitable pace
The session was well structured
83%
79%
The supporting technologies, materials and resources used were effective
The session was relevant to my business
81%
80%
Had sufficient opportunities to seek and receive clarifications
I was kept interested and engaged
83%
88%
Knowldge Growth Difference
10 12 14 16 18 20
0 2 4 6 8
1 3 5 7 9 11131517192123252729313335373941434547495153
Please rate your knowledge of this topic AFTER this session:
Please rate your knowledge of this topic BEFORE this session:
Feedback Comments
“ Learned how other companies approach ideas for the future of their businesses ”.
“ An eye opener in term of this area. Hope to utilise within our own business and with clients ”.
“ The Working backwards mentality from AWS has made me think about how the business could progress. Also, it was good to hear the questions from the other delegates on the course ” . “ The session had a lot of different speakers and provided a lot of different ways of thinking about innovation and helping provide a structure or blueprint to build a roadmap for our business ” . “ I have been encouraged by the mindset of the GMAI team and the alignment with the vision for Dunsters Farm. Ideas have already started to flow, and we have some that can even be implemented straight away ” . “ I have learned a good amount of information on how other companies operate and how AI can be used to improve how the business operates and how it can be used to help achieve a business’s goals ” . “ Increased understanding of how topics covered in the session can have a positive impact on our clients' businesses ” . “ Interesting intro to IoT and ML but got quite detailed quite quick and I definitely need to revisit. Process Automation session really useful and aligned with our thinking. AM interesting but I dont think relevant to our business, at least not now. Cyber Security good overview ”.
“ I have learned about new technology, IoT, AWS services, different manufacturing techniques and ways to secure my business from a Cyber attack ” .
“ I understand the possibilities and roughly what programming the IOT devices looks like. Written instructions are being sent so we can practice before next week's sessions. Thank you, I appreciate it's very difficult using Teams ” .
“ This session has helped me understand what needs to be in place to establish communications between devices and how complex the data transformation is ” .
“ Yes, it was very interesting and I kept up with a lot of it but think I was in the minority. It still lacked context. Clearly seems to be from a more detailed course and the challenge is clearly making this work in a shorter format and remotely ” .
“ It has given me new ideas particularly for analysing data on remote sites ” .
“ Broader understanding. Technical aspects not really gone in as yet to do the work with the help of the manuals. As a business owner, I am more interested in the high-level applications and potential to transform business rather than technical detail at this stage ” .
The Team
The GM AI Foundry Industrial Accelerator offered an unparalleled set of sessions delivered
by experts in the fields of AI, Machine Learning & IoT, hosting speakers not only from the
IN4.0 Group Cyber & Tech Team but also by prestigious organisations and businesses such
as AWS, Lancashire University & Crystal Doors.
IN4.0 Group & HOST Salford
Ashrit Cheepirishetti Digital Programme Lead at IN4.0 Group.
Arun Kumar Manoharan Digital Transformation Manager at IN4.0 Group.
Sufian Kaki Aslam IoT Solutions Architect at IN4.0 Group.
Dr. Kaushal Jani Senior Project Engineer at IN4.0 Group.
Georgios Evangelinos Junior Data Engineer at IN4.0 Group.
David Taylor Head of HOST Cyber.
External Partners
Richard Hagan Crystal Doors, Founder & Managing Director
Rob Hodges AWS, Head of Digital Innovation Programme in the UK.
Mary Mason Lancaster University, Project Administrator – AI Foundry
Samuel Walsh Lancaster University, Project Engineer
Dimitrios Spiliopoulos EMEA, Senior IoT Go-To-Market Manager
Customer Journey (Current Map) Following the success of the programme, they key outcome we have achieved is to provide
support to the delegates in continuing their digital transformation journey. In addition to
positioning all SMEs for the Innovation Programme, scheduled to launch in November 2021,
key outcomes we have achieved are as follows
• One SME has taken Premium Club Membership at HOST.
• 2 enquiries so far to make use of HOST Space and HOST Social.
• We are in conversation with 4 SMEs in further project development.
• 3 SMEs have collaborated with us to promote our programmes to their respective
networks and have volunteered to support us in marketing campaigns for Cohort 2.
• Introduction given to potential participants for Cohort 2.
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