INESC TEC organises FAIM 2013
More than 200 experts from all over the world met in Porto for three days (between 26 and 28 July) to discuss the future of the manufacturing industry.
31st July 2013
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE DISCUSSED THE FUTURE OF THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
Sustainability was the main theme of the 23rd edition of the International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM), organised by INESC TEC’s Manufacturing Systems Engineering Unit (UESP).The conference welcomed world renowned experts in the field such as Engelbert Westkamper, of the Fraunhofer Institute (Germany), responsible for defining industrial policies in Germany and all over Europe.
Discussing
sustainability and the future of the manufacturing industry
The theme of the 2013 FAIM was “The Challenge of Sustainability in Competitive Manufacturing Systems”. All presentations from various experts in the fields of automation and manufacturing engineering focused on sustainable competitiveness of manufacturing systems in the future, and on improving management and manufacturing technologies. In the various sessions, participants introduced innovative work in this area, including work on simulation, social media, industrial networks, digital manufacturing systems, quality management and new technologies (RFID, Cloud Computing, among others).
The presentations of the keynote speakers were some of the highlights of the conference “not only due to their objectivity, but also because of their relevance, as they strongly focused on the needs and trends of the European industry and on the role of industry as a driving agent of economy”, states António Almeida, a researcher at UESP and member of the organising committee.
Some of the keynote speakers included Engelbert Westkamper, one of the main decision-makers in the manufacturing industries of Germany and Europe, who presented the main strategic lines for the sector until 2030. The director of INESC Porto, José Carlos Caldeira, and Lihui Wang (of the Royal Institute of Technology, in Sweden), were also speakers and they discussed the role that clusters play in increasing competitiveness in the manufacturing industry, and the challenges of increasing sustainability, respectively.
The conference included workshops on Robotics, LEAN methods and the European project ADVENTURE
Some of the themes included implementing robotic technologies and LEAN methodologies (which are based on optimising production flow by increasing efficiency and work productivity); investing in energy efficiency in the manufacturing industry; the importance of using robotics to create intelligent factories; planning and managing production in a factory in a way that is energy efficient.
The European project ADVENTURE (Adaptive Virtual Enterprise Manufacturing Environment) was also addressed at a workshop which took place as part of the 2013 edition of FAIM. The goal of this project is to simplify the way manufacturing processes are established, managed, adapted and monitored in collaborative networks. This is done by developing solutions that will make it possible for partners to exchange information. At the workshop participants discussed how industry sees the application of concepts, while companies AIDIMA and Critical Software presented solutions. Some of the functionalities of the prototypes which have already been implemented were also demonstrated at the workshop.
These workshops were organised together with the Universities of Coimbra and Porto and the University of Derby. According to António Almeida, “many people attended these sessions, and for that reason we believe that we not only proposed a new concept within the FAIM conferences, but also encouraged new moments for scientific sharing strongly focused on critical themes for the current industry”.
INESC TEC researchers receive Best Paper Award
The conference also awarded the best papers submitted. Michael Donauer, a researcher at UESP, received a Best Paper Award for the paper “Nonconformity Root Causes Analysis Through a Pattern Identification Approach”, co-written with researchers Américo Azevedo (also from UESP) and Paulo Peças (from IST).
The FAIM is the main international forum to disseminate the most relevant research, theory and practices in all fields od Automation and Manufacturing. The event was organised by INESC TEC, more specifically by the UESP researchers Américo Azevedo (FEUP) and António Almeida.
Have your say
Engelbert Westkamper, Fraunhofer Institute
“The 2013 FAIM conference was a strong contribution to the most recent developments in the Manufacturing Industry and Flexible Automation. The conference confirms the success of the research and its application in industry. New topics such as energy efficiency and process capacity continue intelligently integrating de open control and innovation systems, applying equipment and practical solutions. As part of the conference we had fruitful discussions on the relevance of manufacturing technologies for different industrial sectors. The 2013 FAIM was very well organised and the social programme in the beautiful city of Porto was excellent for all participants”.
Américo Azevedo, UESP/ INESC TEC
"In this international event we wanted to show that Portugal was innovative and sustainable, and for that we developed a programme to promote the national institutions involved. Now that the event is over, I can say without a doubt that we have achieved all our goals. Many people attended this event and the quality of the scientific work presented was excellent. The 2013 FAIM contributed decisively to the scientific and technical advance of the domain addressed at the conference. It was also successful in promoting new contacts, particularly in the context of the activity at INESC Porto. I also think it is important to highlight that the INESC Porto team was very professional throughout the entire event!"
The INESC
TEC researchers mentioned in this article are associated with the
following partner institutions: FEUP, INESC Porto.