A Roadmap for unlocking future growth opportunities for Australia
NOVEMBER 2016
CSIRO FUTURES
CSIRO Futures is the strategic advisory and foresight
arm of Australia’s national science agency.
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CSIRO Futures is the strategy and innovation advisory business of Australia’s national science agency. We work with senior decision makers in Australia’s largest companies – and government – to help them translate science into strategy and plan for an uncertain future. We build on CSIRO’s deep research expertise to help our clients create sustainable growth and competitive advantage by harnessing science, technology and innovation.
CSIRO Manufacturing plays a leading role as Australian manufacturing shifts focus from heavy industry to high tech products based on sustainable and advanced processes. We harness our science and engineering skills, equipment and international connections to keep Australian manufacturers globally competitive.
We are grateful for the time and input of industry representatives consulted throughout this project and the many researchers who provided invaluable review and feedback on this report.
We would also like to thank the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the Manufacturing Business Unit Advisory Committee for their input.
© 2016 CSIRO. To the extent permitted by law, all rights are reserved and no part of this publication covered by copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means except with the written permission of CSIRO.
One hundred years ago, Prime Minister Billy Hughes imagined a national science agency that would “lead the manufacturer into green pastures by solving for him problems that seemed to him insoluble” and “open up a thousand new avenues for capital and labour”. A century later, today’s CSIRO is still focused on the excellent science that drives breakthrough innovation, and gives our businesses and industries the edge in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. And today, just as Hughes imagined, we’re still working closely with industry to align our science with their needs.
We renewed this commitment in our Strategy 2020, which sets out our vision to be Australia’s Innovation Catalyst through deep collaboration for the benefit of Australia. ‘Customer First’ is the first pillar of our strategy, and we’ve prioritised the way we work side-by-side with our customers and partners to tackle the big challenges facing their industries. We’re committed to responding with agility and creativity to find the right solutions for unique projects, and spending more time understanding the specific requirements of industries and businesses. This customer-centric approach doesn’t just extend to how we work with our partners; it is also reflected in our broader research agenda.
CSIRO conceptualises the major trends shaping Australia’s future, including the Australia 2030 Report, Our Future World: Global Megatrends report, and the Australian National Outlook. We believe Advanced Manufacturing has a bright and bold future in this country. This Industry Roadmap report identifies a range of opportunities that could secure the future competitiveness and success of manufacturing in Australia. But building this future relies on a collaborative approach from the research, education, government, industry and investor communities. CSIRO is committed to continuing to channel resources into this effort, including bringing our world-class science and solutions to the table.
Responding to the disruption facing every part of the Australian landscape requires nothing short of deep collaboration. We look forward to working closely with the Industry Growth Centres as they further map out their roads to success. Together, we can apply world-class scientific and technological expertise to our unique Australian challenges and chart a course for long term sustainable prosperity for our nation.
Dr Larry Marshall
CSIRO Chief Executive
It is my pleasure to jointly endorse the CSIRO Roadmap for Advanced Manufacturing. Working together with the CSIRO demonstrates that our sector can achieve greater outcomes when we collaborate as encouraged and combine our talents to advance manufacturing in Australia.
In 2015, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) was formed as part of the Federal Government’s Industry and Innovation Agenda. Our primary focus is to ensure we build a relevant, viable and globally competitive manufacturing sector. This will steer how we meet and respond to the extraordinary transformation underway in manufacturing not only here at home, but across the globe.
We know that manufacturing is changing, and fast. We now live and transact in a global marketplace where consumers enjoy an unprecedented abundance of choice, and where the relentless pace of technological change continues to push the boundaries of how our goods and services are made and experienced.
Our manufacturing sector has the potential to seize upon a larger portion of these new opportunities and markets. However, in order to do so, we must equally realise that in many ways our current methods of manufacturing may not be taking advantage of the full value of our local resources to gain that competitive edge, and closely held beliefs on what makes us competitive may also need to change.
The AMGC’s Sector Competitiveness Plan (SCP) and this Roadmap complement one another in helping Australian manufacturers position for growth and sustainability, with the SCP providing detailed international competitiveness benchmarking analysis. Our report reveals compelling evidence that we can solve fundamental challenges if we agree as a nation to align behind a well-chosen number, yet highly effective set of initiatives. Applying a stronger emphasis on commercialising our ingenuity, looking to overseas markets for exports versus relying solely on a domestic market, and most importantly learning to better collaborate across the full spectrum of industry and research organisations.
Our partnership with the CSIRO has produced two manufacturing collaboration hubs in Victoria with more hubs across Australia to be established in 2017. Together, we aim to utilise these hubs as way for firms to showcase their technology leadership in producing solutions suitable to link into global supply chains. This is one example of collaboration that can make a significant impact beyond our borders and back here to our national economy.
I trust that you will find the contents of this report of great use as it contains the many essential factors needed for raising our global competitiveness.
Dr Jens Goennemann
Managing Director
Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre Ltd
Over the next 20 years, Australia’s manufacturing industry will transform into a highly integrated, collaborative and export-focused ecosystem that provides high-value customised solutions within global value chains.
Australian manufacturing can and must be a thriving component of Australia’s economy through the application of advanced manufacturing technologies, systems and processes. The sector will focus on pre-production (design, R&D) and post-production (after-sales services) value-adding, sustainable manufacturing and low volume, high margin customised manufacturing.
The development and adoption of digitally connected technologies is important for all growth opportunities, as is the significant shift towards a more collaborative mentality. At the centre of this vision is an ecosystem where businesses, research, education and customers work together, embracing volatility and the opportunities that emerge from it.
Manufacturing markets across the world are being transformed by both demand and supply side drivers. The megatrends depicted in Figure 1 represent long term shifts in the sector that are creating new business models, social structures and cultural paradigms. To inform strategic decision making today, Australian manufacturers and their supporting ecosystem (industry bodies, suppliers, research, education, investors and governments) must consider what the global manufacturing landscape will look like over the coming decades.
Figure 1 – Global manufacturing megatrends
MADE TO MEASURE
Advances in technology and greater consumer expectations are causing a shift from mass production of goods to bespoke solutions
SERVICE EXPANSION
Manufacturers are expanding their role in the value chain from making ‘widgets’ to developing tightly integrated service-product bundles
SMART AND CONNECTED
Advances in data capture and analytics are optimising operations across the manufacturing value chain and the factory floor
SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS
Resource scarcity and increasingly valued environmental and social credentials are encouraging manufacturers to look for more efficient and sustainable processes and operating models
SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSFORMATIONS
Specialisation is promoting greater collaboration in some markets while technological advancements are enabling the vertical integration of others
Australia’s role in this evolving global landscape will be dependent on the comparative advantages and disadvantages of manufacturers and their supportive ecosystem. Globalisation, digitalisation and the increased demand for more bespoke and complex solutions are causing Australia’s long-standing disadvantages such as high labour costs, geographical remoteness and a small domestic market to be less important. However, manufacturers are also failing to capitalise on the full potential of Australia’s advantages.
In considering Australia’s competitive position in this rapidly changing global market, three broad opportunity themes have been identified. These themes are not mutually exclusive and strategic growth opportunities exist for manufacturers under each, with the largest falling across all three.
Strategic growth opportunities for Australia’s manufacturing sector will be underpinned and supported by significant technological innovation from public and private research communities. In an increasingly competitive global landscape, continual improvement and investment in R&D is the only way to remain competitive. The following technologies support product differentiation through superior and customised attributes; efficiency improvements across production floors and value chains; and real-time monitoring for data driven decision making.
Table 1 – Enabling science and technology summary
Now |
In the future |
|
|---|---|---|
Sensors and data analytics |
Predominantly used during production (remote monitoring of single attributes such as temperature or flow rates). |
Applied across the value chain, including predictive maintenance, logistical tracking for operational efficiencies, quality control and service offering (when integrated into end product). |
Advanced |
Reactive use to address specific product limitations e.g. enhanced durability, weight, look and feel. |
Proactive integration at early design phase to offer multiple novel attributes e.g. biocompatibility, biodegradability, energy efficiency and self-repairing. |
Smart robotics and automation |
Replace workers for tasks that are complex, high precision, repetitive, dull or hazardous e.g. handling operations and robotic welding. |
Assistive robots that work collaboratively with humans and each other, with improved sensing, awareness and decision-making capabilities that allow full autonomy and self-learning behaviour. |
Additive manufacturing (3D printing) |
Prototyping and one-off production runs of customised high-value complex metal componentry and low-value consumer products, with high capital costs stalling wider spread adoption. |
Reduced capital costs will allow greater adoption of the technology for production of complete complex products and associated advanced business models such as customer-led design processes and just-in-time production. |
Augmented and virtual reality |
Predominantly restricted to gaming and consumer electronic markets, with limited use in the manufacturing sector. |
Used to overlay product designs with end-use environments, optimise machine settings in the virtual world, facilitate remote collaboration and train or guide workers through complex/dangerous tasks. |
In order to pursue the strategic growth opportunities and realise the full potential of their enabling science and technology areas, Australian manufacturers must proactively transform the way they run their businesses, investing in new knowledge and practices. Positioning for sustainable growth will require business changes both internally (new skillsets, cultures and operating systems) and externally (participation in global value chains and collaboration models).
Table 2 – Enabling actions summary
Global value chains (GVCs) |
Skills, training and the workforce |
Collaboration and culture |
|---|---|---|
Business actions |
||
|
|
|
Ecosystem actions |
||
|
|
|
Improving Australia’s place in the global manufacturing sector requires bold innovation leadership and investment now. If Australian businesses do not act today – both individually and collaboratively – they risk losing access to emerging markets and new sources of competitive advantage to international competitors. Together, the Australian manufacturing ecosystem has the potential to unlock a new wave of growth; one that builds on Australia’s high-value adding activities in R&D, design and after-sales services. Future success will be determined by the decisions made from here forward and the quality of the science, technology and business conversations that underpin them.
Globally, the manufacturing sector is changing rapidly, driven by changing trends and emerging technologies.
These changes are causing the weaknesses that have previously hindered Australian manufacturing – high labour costs, geographical remoteness and a small domestic market – to be less impactful in the future. Advanced manufacturing processes and systems are bringing Australia closer to the rest of the world and opening up markets where the nation has comparative cost advantages.
Investment in science and technology will be core to unlocking new and emerging opportunities, as will a greater focus on global markets, improved recruitment and retention of high-skilled employees and increased collaboration with other businesses and the research community.
Australian manufacturing can and must be a thriving component of Australia’s economy through the application of advanced manufacturing technologies, systems and processes.
Over the next 20 years, Australia’s manufacturing industry will transform into a highly integrated, collaborative and export-focused ecosystem that provides high-value customised solutions within global value chains.
Under this vision, Australian manufacturers will be more customer and export-focussed, deeply integrating within global value chains. The sector will place greater focus on pre-production (design, R&D) and post-production (after-sales services) value-adding, and sustainable and high margin customised manufacturing (see Figure 2).
While the nation will retain its traditional strengths such as food product, machinery and equipment manufacturing, the majority of manufacturing growth will come from increased global value chain operations in aerospace and defence; transport; pharmaceuticals and medical technologies; scientific instruments; and mining equipment, technology and services.
The development and adoption of digitally connected technologies is important for all growth opportunities, as is the significant shift towards a more collaborative mentality. At the centre of this vision is an ecosystem where businesses, research, education and customers work together, often in co-located clusters to allow for improved transfer of knowledge. These interactions enhance the number and impact of technology breakthroughs and increase the rate at which these innovations are commercialised.
Rather than aiming to grow into large businesses, Australian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) shift from the micro to medium scale, operating within niche markets that supply to multinational organisations as well as being exporters in their own right. Retaining their agility and adaptability allows Australian SMEs to continually meet changing customer demands. While the global manufacturing market continues to transform, Australian manufacturers – both big and small – will learn to embrace the volatility and build resilience into their strategic planning. This rate of change is no longer feared, but instead seen as an unlimited supply of emerging opportunities.
Figure 2 – Vision for Australian manufacturing: shift in focus towards pre- and post-production value adding
This Roadmap seeks to support Australian manufacturing in its transition to a high-value and export-focused sector by understanding current and emerging trends, ascertaining market opportunities and challenges, and identifying key business and R&D enablers. To achieve this, CSIRO has worked closely with businesses to develop this Roadmap which is intended as a bridge between high-level sector strategies and specific technology roadmaps.
A strong manufacturing sector is central to unlocking national economic prosperity through its influence on infrastructure development, job creation, R&D, productivity, export earnings, and flow on impacts to other sectors.1,2 As parts of the sector continue to experience contraction, it is more important than any other time in Australia’s history that manufacturers seek out and pursue innovative opportunities to meet the changing needs of their current and emerging customers. This will involve focussing on a selection of key opportunities that play to Australia’s national strengths.
Due to the breadth of sectors and industries impacted by manufacturing, this report highlights three major opportunity themes (rather than specific opportunities) for Australia’s manufacturing sector. These themes are strongly linked to Australia’s comparative advantages and the business drivers, potential disruptors and technology developments of manufacturing globally.
To capitalise on these opportunity themes, businesses and the supporting manufacturing ecosystem (industry bodies, suppliers, research, education, investors and government) need to invest in a variety of science, technology and business enablers. This report discusses these enablers and recommends actions that are designed to best position Australian manufacturing for the long-term opportunities identified.
Figure 3 – Report structure
2. A CHANGING GLOBAL LANDSCAPE
How is global
manufacturing
changing?
3. AUSTRALIA’S COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
What are Australia’s strengths and weaknesses in the global landscape?
4. OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH
Where can Australia prosper?
5. ENABLING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
What technologies can help unlock these opportunities and create competitive advantage?
6. ENABLING BUSINESS CHANGES
What business changes are required to realise these opportunities?
7. PRIORITY ACTIONS
What short-term actions can support these enablers?
This industry-led document targets a range of stakeholders, with the aim of encouraging businesses to work cohesively with the entire manufacturing ecosystem to address challenges and act on identified enablers.
Chapter |
Key audience and purpose |
|---|---|
Chapter 2 – |
|
Chapter 3 – Australia’s competitive landscape |
|
Chapter 4 – Opportunities for growth |
|
Chapter 5 – |
|
Chapter 6 – |
|
Chapter 7 – Conclusion |
|
The development of this Roadmap was industry-led with Australian manufacturers – both local and global – providing direction and input across all chapters (see A.1 for a list of contributing parties). Industry consultation consisted of three elements:
Three workshops were held to bring together businesses from a range of manufacturing industries and discuss the future opportunities and needs of the sector over a 20 year time horizon. A small number of government, education and research community representatives were also present to provide diverse perspectives while still allowing manufacturers to drive the conversations.
One-on-one interviews were held with additional manufacturing businesses to supplement, test and refine the workshop outputs.
A survey was distributed amongst businesses and industry bodies to identify Australia’s manufacturing comparative advantages and disadvantages.
This report defines advanced manufacturing as the set of technology based offerings, systems and processes that will be used to transition the current manufacturing sector into one that is centred on adding value across entire supply chains. Advanced manufacturers are companies that rapidly create or adopt these technologies.
Figure 4 outlines the current manufacturing supply chain and a selection of the many diverse sectors that manufacturing industries support. Additional complexity occurs when delving into each sector’s unique supply chain, feedback loops and intermediary goods. Advanced manufacturers can be found performing activities from the initial research and development stage through to after sale services and increasingly end of life management.
Advanced manufacturing can be applied equally to traditional manufacturing industries and those that are being continually discovered through the expansion and evolution of the sector. For example, an expansion of the current supply chain into product disposal or re-use would see a range of advanced manufacturing products, systems and products be heavily utilised.
Figure 4 – Simplified current manufacturing supply chain
Australian manufacturing has an important multiplier effect on the Australian economy, stimulating jobs, investments and sales in other downstream sectors.3 It has been estimated that, as a general rule, every $1 generated from manufacturing flows through to an additional $1.25 expenditure in the rest of the economy.4 However this figure could be significantly improved.
The Australian manufacturing sector has been in a state of transition for many decades. Over the past 30 years, Australian manufacturers have been challenged by lower tariffs, low cost competitors from emerging economies and rapidly changing technologies. Being so closely integrated with a wide variety of sectors, manufacturers are required to constantly adapt to changes in other Australian sectors – such as Australia’s economic base shifting from agriculture to mining and now to services.
Australia’s manufacturing sector is made up of a disproportionate number of small firms, with 87% employing between 1 and 19 staff.5 Most of these SMEs do not operate on a global scale, but many have the potential.
These challenges, coupled with the lack of a clear and unified direction for future growth, have resulted in a sustained contraction of many manufacturing industries that has led to a decline in share of GDP (8.5% to 6.1% in the 10 years to 2014-15) and employment which fell by over 120,000, the most of all Australian sectors over the same period.6 In absolute terms, output today is around the same level it was just over a decade ago.7
These metrics have been brought to the attention of the general public through the exit of recognised multinational automotive manufacturers, causing significant reputational damage to Australian manufacturing.
However these trends are not unique to Australia. Most advanced economies have experienced similar declines – although perhaps not as severely as Australia8 – and many of these statistics do not capture the blurring boundaries between manufacturing and the sectors it supports.
What is less well publicised is the rise of high value-adding advanced manufacturers, who are poised to build on Australia’s comparative advantages and increase the sectors contribution to economic growth and global trade.9 The adoption of advanced manufacturing offerings, systems and processes could see Australian businesses enter and create new manufacturing industries. Companies that invest in these new and innovative directions today will position themselves to lead the sector into a period of sustainable competitiveness.
Australia’s Manufacturing Sector in 2014–15
Australia’s largest manufacturing industries include:
Manufacturer’s expenditure on research and development reached $4.84 billion in 2013–14
Source: ABS (8104.0, 8165.0, 5206, 5368), CSIRO Analysis.
Manufacturing markets across the world are being transformed by both demand and supply side drivers.
On the demand side, emerging economies in Asia and other developing regions are rapidly expanding the size of the consumer pool, adding an additional 1.8 billion people by 2025.10 At the same time, consumers in developed economies are demanding new products at increasing speed. While much of the consumer demand relates to software (apps and internet connectivity), these services can only evolve so far without new and advanced hardware being developed.
Continuing to meet the evolving demands of developed economies while addressing the differing needs of new consumers in developing economies is adding significant complexity to the sector.11
On the supply side, advances in technologies such as additive manufacturing (3D printing), smart materials, sensors and automation are allowing the development of new products and services with superior qualities. The digital connectedness of humans and machines across factory floors, supply chains, products and services is changing the way manufacturing businesses shape their operations, utilise staff, collaborate and continually improve their offerings.
As access to technology continues to grow globally and developing countries leapfrog intermediary technology stages to compete with developed providers, first-mover technology advantages are becoming short lived if not supported by strong intellectual property. This is creating a constant need for business evolution and providing new forms of differentiation and value adding.
To inform strategic decision making today, Australian manufacturers, the research community and governments must consider what the global manufacturing landscape will look like over the coming decades.
A megatrend is defined as a substantial shift in social, economic, environmental, technological or geopolitical conditions that may reshape the way a sector operates in the long-run.12 Megatrends occur at the intersection of many trends; they are not mutually exclusive and the trends that make up one megatrend can influence or contribute to another.
CSIRO has identified five megatrends evident in global manufacturing that will have significant impact on the sector over the next 20 years. These were developed by applying CSIRO’s Global Megatrends13 to the manufacturing sector and refining the output with both research and business communities.
MADE TO MEASURE
Advances in technology and greater consumer expectations are causing a shift from mass production of goods to bespoke solutions
SERVICE EXPANSION
Manufacturers are expanding their role in the value chain from making ‘widgets’ to developing tightly integrated service-product bundles
SMART AND CONNECTED
Advances in data capture and analytics are optimising operations across the manufacturing value chain and the factory floor
SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS
Resource scarcity and increasingly valued environmental and social credentials are encouraging manufacturers to look for more efficient and sustainable processes and operating models
SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSFORMATIONS
Specialisation is promoting greater collaboration in some markets while technological advancements are enabling the vertical integration of others
Advances in technology and greater consumer expectations are causing a shift from mass production of goods to bespoke solutions.
Customers are increasingly demanding bespoke solutions that meet their unique needs in place of more generic products. This demand is boosted by rising income growth in developing regions as well as the billions of people transitioning out of poverty and into middle income classes in BRICS economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
At the same time, additive manufacturing tools, new materials and computer-controlled processes are becoming rapidly more available to manufacturing businesses. This is allowing the growing customer demands to be met through the development of highly customised outputs for individuals and niche markets. In extreme cases, products of one for markets of one.14 For many markets, this is seeing a sharp move away from the more traditional ‘assembly line’ form of production.
Advances in ICT are allowing direct customer input into the design phase of their bespoke solutions, lowering the costs and cycle-times of these processes to more closely match those of standardisation and mass production.15 The Made to Measure megatrend will also see more manufacturers build to order rather than build to stock, reducing the need for intermediaries that create value by holding inventory.16
Manufacturers are expanding their role in the value chain from making ‘widgets’ to developing tightly integrated service-product bundles.
Customer demands are shifting away from products and towards services and experiences. At the same time, global connectedness continues to grow rapidly. This is allowing people, businesses and governments to obtain information, perform transactions and interact with each other, and machines, through virtual platforms.
These drivers are causing manufacturers to shift from a product-focused business model to a client-centric model.17 In order to better understand the needs of their customers, meet more of their needs and maintain the relationship for longer, manufacturing companies are taking greater control of operations further down the supply chain (closer to the customer). The Service Expansion megatrend is shifting the activities and profit base of manufacturers towards the provision of ongoing services for the products that the company supplies.18
Also driving this megatrend is an increasing proportion of customers who do not want the financial and environmental burden of product ownership. Companies like Uber and Airbnb have reconceptualised physical products as services through collaborative consumption, shifting the economics of usage from product to service, and changing to platform based business models.19
Now sectors are beginning to see established corporate businesses adjust to the shift. For example, large automakers are launching their own car sharing platforms such as Ford2Go, DriveNow (BMW) and Park24 (Toyota). These collaborative models incorporate access to products (cars) with ancillary services such as parking, servicing and tolls. Business models based around this shared use of assets incentivises manufacturers to provide more robust products – aligning the incentives of producers and users – and allows the creation of new service based revenue streams.20
Advances in data capture and analytics are optimising operations across the manufacturing value chain and the factory floor.
Global manufacturing is being disrupted by the Internet of Things (IoT)21 – often referred to as the ‘Industrial Internet’ (US) or ‘Industrie 4.0’ (Germany/Europe) when applied to industry. The Internet of Things is a concept that has been evolving for over a decade as the number of electronic devices and the number of connections between devices, humans and machines, increases. The convergence of technologies like sensors, automation, intelligent robotics, embedded electronics and their internet connectivity is enabling the integration of data across manufacturing functions and supply chains.22
On the factory floor, smart equipment, machinery and control systems are becoming increasingly interconnected and constantly measuring and calibrating themselves to maximise efficiency. The next 20 years will see a range of cognitive systems being used in manufacturing that can adapt and learn from operating experience. Intelligent robotics are becoming more affordable and their agility provides manufacturers with competitive advantage through better quality assurance, management of resources, and reduced costs.23
An increasing number of manufacturers are also using embedded sensors and devices in their products to monitor performance, diagnose issues and unlock additional smart service possibilities – an intersection with the Service Expansion megatrend.
Resource scarcity and increasingly valued environmental and social credentials are encouraging manufacturers to look for more efficient and sustainable processes and operating models.
The next 20 years will see the world population grow by hundreds of millions of people and the continued rapid industrialisation of emerging economies. These factors will see demand grow for key manufacturing inputs such as energy, minerals and water – all of which have limited supply in the natural world.
Global water demand from manufacturing is forecast to increase 400% between 2000 and 2050.24 Manufacturing industries also use around 30% of global energy with demand expected to grow by 40% to 83% through to 2050.25
With growing concerns around the known and unknown consequences of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change on natural systems, manufacturers are also experiencing pressure from their customers who are increasingly demanding products that are made sustainably and that operate sustainably – using less energy and fewer materials.26 Increasingly, manufacturers will shift towards lifecycle cost management to improve value chain efficiency and meet customer demands for sustainable operations.
Specialisation is promoting greater collaboration in some markets while technological advancements are enabling the vertical integration of others.
Greater demand for customised products is making it increasingly difficult for manufacturers to meet every need of all of their customers – limiting the pace of the Service Expansion megatrend. This is causing many manufacturers to focus on specialised niches, with the number of both niches and players growing over time. This fragmentation is primarily occurring, and will continue to occur, across markets with high levels of digitisation that are based around small, non-complex products, largely due to the reduced transport costs along the supply chain.27
The specialisation of these markets is creating a greater need and appetite for collaboration as each organisation only provides part of the final solution. Advances in digital technology and connectivity are allowing businesses to organise activities between firms and locations – each specialising in, and adding value to, a different part of the supply chain. Research can be conducted in one place, engineering in another, and manufacturing in a third.28
The globalisation of supply chains and open source software are also driving collaborative design and development processes, with open source software/design providing access to new ideas for design possibilities and new information on how products are used.29
In markets based around more complex products, technologies such as 3D printing are causing the opposite effect. Here, supply chains are being disrupted and condensed by the integration of multiple stages. Such technology allows a single company to design, prototype and manufacture a product in close proximity to the end user.
While Australia’s competitive position can change as a result of national decisions and sectoral disruptions, the identified advantages and disadvantages discussed in this section are likely to be relevant to strategic planning over the next 20 years.
Advantages can be lost if not continually invested in, while disadvantages can become advantages by being prioritised and addressed. Opportunities that leverage Australia’s comparative advantages and minimise disadvantages will be more defendable and sustainable.
The following comparative advantages and disadvantages were identified by Australian businesses through the industry workshops and survey (see 1.3).
High education levels (vocational and higher education) and access to world-class research institutions are becoming increasingly important as advances in manufacturing techniques and processes require a more skilled and educated workforce. Tertiary level education rates in Australia have grown each year since 2001 and are well above the OECD average (37% vs 30%).30,31 This is a relatively untapped advantage at present, as many of the best graduates choose career pathways outside of manufacturing and close to half the current manufacturing workforce is without a post-school qualification.32
Globally, Australia is recognised as having a notable competitive strength in the access to, and quality of, its education system – ranked 9th for higher education and training.33 This is evident in the number of tertiary education and research institutions that perform well above world standard in fields of research relevant to manufacturing (see Table 3).34 Further, CSIRO ranks in the top 1% of the world’s scientific institutions in 15 research fields.35
Workshop participants noted that many of Australia’s brightest graduates – specifically in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields – move into research organisations that support businesses through R&D. Australia’s research community was considered to be excellent at problem solving for industry, with strong expertise in a range of areas including energy, advanced materials and additive manufacturing.
Table 3 – Performance of Australian Universities in fields of research applicable to manufacturing (2015)
Field of research |
Number of Australian universities with: |
|
|---|---|---|
Performance above world standard |
Performance well above world standard |
|
Mathematical Sciences |
11 |
7 |
Physical Sciences |
4 |
11 |
Chemical Sciences |
13 |
6 |
Earth Sciences |
14 |
1 |
Environmental Sciences |
17 |
9 |
Biological Sciences |
15 |
4 |
Information and Computing Sciences |
5 |
4 |
Engineering |
14 |
5 |
Technology |
6 |
3 |
Medical and Health Sciences |
18 |
8 |
Built Environment and Design |
3 |
0 |
Source: Australian Research Council 2016
In saturated markets, or markets where quality is prioritised over cost, Australia can differentiate itself by leveraging its strong reputation for quality and standards. In the Reputation Institute’s 2016 rankings, Australia was rated the fourth most reputable country globally.36
From food quality and safety to the operational reliability of heavy machinery, Australia’s quality assurance protocols, business transparency and reputation for delivering a high standard of product are valuable and recognised attributes in the global marketplace. This provides partners and customers with the confidence that the goods and services developed by Australian manufacturers are safe and reliable.
Being flexible and nimble in a rapidly changing sector is critical to sustaining success. While the pace of change within larger businesses can be impeded by their size, SMEs can be more agile and have strong innovation potential if linked into global markets. Further, larger businesses typically develop solutions to their problems internally whereas SMEs require connections and pooling of knowledge and resources to generate scale or specialise in niches of larger value chains (micro-multinationals). Having existing connections and a culture of collaboration will be critical as global customers demand more bespoke solutions.
Many Australian advanced manufacturers are SMEs rather than large-scale enterprises.37 In 2015, around 87% of the 83,000+ manufacturing businesses in Australia employed between 1 and 19 employees.38 More importantly, in contrast to large firms these SMEs are innovative by OECD standards, ranking 5th out of 29 OECD countries in business innovation.39 While much of this potential is yet to be realised, Australia has around 1,000 to 1,500 successful micro-multinationals across industries such as defence electronics, medical devices, renewables and precision engineering.40
With China and India emerging as economic powerhouses, new export markets, trade relations and business models will emerge for Australia. By 2022, China’s middle class alone is expected to rise from 300 million to 630 million, accounting for 45% of China’s population and consuming goods and services worth an estimated US$3.4 trillion (24% of GDP).41
Australia’s geographic proximity, time zone, free trade agreements and strong business and cultural ties will assist in capitalising on these opportunities. The higher rates of immigration between the two continents has resulted in a diverse set of Asian language skills being present in Australian organisations, with around 2.1 million Australian’s speaking an Asian language. These strong ties to Asia see international manufacturers look to Australia as a gateway into emerging and booming Asian markets.
Other Australian comparative advantages identified by industry in workshops and the survey include:
Much has been written and discussed about the comparative disadvantages of Australian manufacturing in the global context. These discussions typically focus on three areas:
These characteristics will not disappear in the next 20 years and justify the need for Australian businesses to transition their strategic competitive positions towards providing value through differentiation rather than cost and to identify areas where Australian production costs are competitive. For example, Australia has a wage cost advantage for high-skill workers in aerospace and medical technologies – around 40% below the US.42
The digitisation of manufacturing and the shift towards bespoke solutions are causing all three disadvantages to become less important. Opportunities for growth can be identified where these disadvantages are less relevant or segments of the market where they act as advantages. For example, Australia’s isolation offers advantages in terms of pests and disease control for agriculture and food manufacturing.
In order to strengthen Australia’s competitive position in global manufacturing, businesses, governments and research organisations also need to focus on addressing comparative disadvantages that can be influenced. The following comparative disadvantages represent characteristics of Australian manufacturing that are more susceptible to change than the three highlighted above.
With a history of continuous contraction in traditional manufacturing industries and transformation across the entire sector, the majority of Australian manufacturers are finding it difficult to escape a survival mentality. Businesses are feeling the need to focus on the short-term as a priority to ensure they will exist in the long-term. Industry workshop participants noted that a complacent ‘set in our way’ culture and more conservative approaches to investment are further compounding the lack of strategic planning and action for long-term sustainability and growth.
Australian manufacturers fear competition rather than thrive on it. Further, many businesses view their competitors as other local manufacturers, demonstrating a lack of awareness of the global marketplace. This is resulting in a reluctance to participate in business-to-business collaboration – a critical factor for innovation and growth for businesses with small domestic markets.
Numerous organisations have been established at the national, state and regional level by both governments and industry to develop plans and initiatives to strengthen various manufacturing industries. While this support and buy-in for manufacturing within Australia is critical for its future, these organisations have largely been developed independently and often have overlapping objectives and industry audiences, forcing competition for the same pool of funds.
Australia lacks a more streamlined and consistent bi-partisan national agenda under which these organisations can be streamlined and structured. This includes the need for greater alignment across research, business and government regarding priority industries and associated funding. Best practice examples include Germany and Japan, where governments establish and support research and education sectors that are more tightly integrated with manufacturing businesses, collaborating to develop innovative solutions to specific industry needs. Both nations have higher spending on R&D than Australia.43
Australian manufacturing businesses and researchers are excellent at solving problems but poor at commercialising these innovative solutions. In the 2016 global innovation rankings conducted by Cornell University, INSEAD and WIPO, Australia ranked 11th for Innovation Input but 27th for Innovation Output, highlighting Australia’s poor performance in translating input into output.44
Two key drivers sit behind this disadvantage. The first is a relatively small pool of seed funding and capital. While larger businesses can leverage profits or accumulate higher debt, Australia’s large share of SMEs are stifled by a lack of investment in early-stage businesses and ideas.
The second driver is a misalignment in incentives between business and research organisations. While business KPIs focus on revenue and profit, the research community is heavily incentivised by publications rather than interactions with businesses or commercialisation. This misalignment discourages collaboration and prevents Australian manufacturing from realising the full commercialisation potential of Australian innovation.
Australian manufacturers do not capitalise on the full value of staff development, an issue consistently raised in all industry workshops and many survey responses. However, analysis has shown that – particularly for micro businesses – Australia invests above the OECD average proportion of gross value added into firm-specific on-the-job training.45 Further investigation is required to determine whether this contradiction is due to manufacturing being at the low end of this national data, or because the investments made in training are not generating value.
Evolving manufacturing business models, technologies and processes are rapidly impacting required skillsets, however many businesses noted that they require more structured and up-to-date training avenues for maintaining world-class practices and capabilities within their workforce. On-the-job experience based training and capability expansion is essential in adapting to the changing demands on manufacturers as well as in ensuring high retention rates of quality STEM graduates.
Other Australian comparative disadvantages identified by industry in workshops and the survey include:
The rapidly changing market and technology environment creates an impetus for change, resulting in manufacturing companies and nations that are willing to deploy new innovations to ensure survival in the future.
In considering Australia’s competitive position in this rapidly changing global market, three broad opportunity themes have been identified – Customised high-margin solutions; Sustainable manufacturing; and Selling services. Strategic growth opportunities exist for manufacturers under each of these themes, with the largest falling across all three.
This section provides example opportunities and case studies under each theme discussion to highlight their relevance to the many industries that make up, and are influenced by, manufacturing. Where businesses or industries are not leaders in their field, they need to pursue opportunities under these themes by being ‘fast followers’ through the adoption of technologies and approaches from overseas.48
Table 4 – Summary of opportunity themes
Opportunity theme |
|
|---|---|
Customised high-margin solutions |
|
Sustainable manufacturing |
|
Selling services |
|
Rising income growth in developing regions coupled with the increasing expectations of customers in developed economies is creating demand for more specialised and customised product offerings. This demand is driven further by consumer awareness and technology availability and maturity.
Manufacturing customised solutions provides businesses with greater opportunities for product differentiation and increased service bundling (see Selling services opportunity theme). Integrating customers into the design of these products can offer increased loyalty, deeper consumer insights and a stronger value proposition.49
Customised high value manufacturing creates opportunities for larger profit margins across the entire value chain; from research and development to after-sale services and end-of-life management. These solutions are typically manufactured for markets where quality factors (reliability, strength, durability, low weight, in-built sensors, low defect or failure rate) are valued over cost.
It has been estimated that 71% of consumers interested in personalised products and services would be willing to pay a price premium, with one in five of these consumers willing to pay a premium of 20%.50
These solutions are high-skill, technology and R&D intensive; enabled by emerging state-of-the-art manufacturing and digital technologies, and usually require companies to invest and maintain expert knowledge in domains that underpin their products and services.51 This investment in domain knowledge can produce other benefits, including enhanced absorptive capacity and improved identification of new market opportunities.
An estimated one million Australians suffer from sleep apnoea, which can lead to high blood pressure, stroke, irregular heartbeats, heart attacks and diabetes. Traditional treatments can be problematic for patients, with issues such as chronic jaw pain, teeth loosening, teeth wear, ongoing adjustment or nasal obstruction.
Using a 3D scanner to map a patient’s mouth, Australian medical device company Oventus, with help from CSIRO, can now print a mouthpiece which prevents dangerous pauses in breath during sleep. Printed from lightweight titanium and coated with a medical grade plastic, the breakthrough O2Vent device is customised for each patient. The novel ‘duckbill’ design allows air to flow through to the back of the throat, avoiding obstructions from the nose, the back of the mouth and tongue.
The Oventus O2Vent is effective as a standalone technology or can be connected to a continuous positive airway pressure machine for more advanced treatment. Attracting a price premium due to its customised fit, the device retails for around $1,700 with rebates available from private health insurers.
Australia is a high-cost country, especially for manufacturing. Wages, property, energy and transport costs are comparatively high and are continuing to increase. Between 2004 and 2014, Australian manufacturing wages increased by 48%. Along with decreasing productivity and high exchange rates, Australian manufacturing is the least cost competitive of the world’s 25 leading exporting economies.53
While these factors make it difficult for Australia to compete against low-cost economies in low-margin commoditised markets, the nation has a cost advantage when it comes to complex and high value solutions that require innovation and advanced skills – around 40% cheaper than the US in aerospace and medical technology manufacturing.54 Further, customisation decreases the importance of scale economies, helping to address the limitations of Australia’s small domestic market.
Ranked 5th in the OECD for innovation,55 Australia’s large proportion of SMEs are well suited to rapidly adapting to changing and divergent customer demands for increased customisation. SMEs can also specialise in niches for high-value products, manufacturing highly specialised and integrated products and componentry for target markets where Australia has a natural advantage, such as mining, food and agriculture and defence. Through servicing the small domestic market, Australian manufacturers are experienced in profitably manufacturing low volume, niche products.56
Carbon Revolution pioneered the commercial production of carbon composite car wheels which are made from a single piece of material. Until recently the wheels have been sold as an after-market product for high-end cars, costing US$15,000 per set. However in 2015 Ford Motor Company announced a deal that involved Carbon Revolution supplying wheels for their high performance Mustang Shelby GT350R, making them the first company in the world to supply mass-produced carbon fibre wheels on standard equipment for a major automaker.
The business has invested heavily in in-house research and development capabilities as well as collaborations with local research organisations to exceed original equipment manufacturer standards for their products. This has resulted in wheels that weigh up to 50% less than conventional aluminium equivalents and reduced carbon emissions by up to 6%. Looking forward, Carbon Revolution is now investigating opportunities in aerospace and industrial markets.
High-margin customisation presents opportunities across a range of industries. In medical technologies and pharmaceuticals for example, quality is often prioritised over cost as personalised devices and medicines require high levels of reliability, durability and bio-compatibility. These products are typically at the smaller end of the size spectrum, reducing the cost of exporting goods from Australia’s geographically remote location. Likewise, in defence and aerospace, failure rates must be negligible and premiums can be charged for high quality and extensive testing of customised products.
There may also be opportunities in Australian industries that are undergoing contraction. While a lot of heavy industry is moving offshore, investment can make sense when targeting niche heavy industry such as components for the Australian Future Submarine Program.
Table 5 lists a selection of opportunities for Australian manufacturers to produce customised high-margin solutions across a time horizon.58 These examples demonstrate the breadth of opportunities across manufacturing industries as well as how the nature and application of these opportunities are likely to change over time.
Table 5 – Industry opportunities for customised high-margin solutions
Short term |
Medium term |
Long term |
|---|---|---|
DESIGN SERVICES |
||
|
|
|
SUPERIOR COMPONENTRY |
||
|
|
|
NOVEL PRODUCTS |
||
|
|
|
The need for sustainable practices and technologies in manufacturing is being driven by both demand and supply side pressures. These include competition for critical and increasingly scarce manufacturing resources such as water, raw materials and energy; declining productivity; increasing requirements for accountability and transparency of operations; consumer preferences; and a growing operational impact of social licence.
Manufacturing industries have the potential to become a driving force for realising a sustainable society. A recent global study found that 59% of executives believe that sustainability initiatives are improving their growth and profits, spurring global investment in innovative sustainable products and processes.59 Opportunities for creating value in sustainable manufacturing span the entire supply chain and product lifecycle, including production processes, products and end-of-life disposal/recycling of products.
Sustainable processes can include reducing costs, resources and emissions through cleaner energy sources and leaner processing techniques; smarter design using innovative technologies such as advanced and high performance materials and 3D printing; and maximising efficiency across value chains. Doubling energy productivity within Australian manufacturing by 2030 could reduce the cost of the sector’s energy use by $5 billion per annum.60
On the product side, demand is increasing for products that contribute to reducing a customer’s environmental footprint during use, such as electric vehicle technologies, water-efficient products, energy-saving consumer products, and solar and wind energy products. While demand is present, these product opportunities are often heavily reliant on government off-sets and investment in supporting infrastructure.
Demand for sustainably manufactured products is likely to increase over the coming years, becoming an important social licence issue. A range of indices and sustainability scales will be developed over the short term that allow consumers and businesses to easily understand the sustainability of products and value chains to make informed decisions. Examples that already exist include Walmart’s Sustainability Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
Opportunities will also emerge for businesses that embrace the circular economy concept, taking responsibility for whole-of-life impacts. Businesses can achieve step-change improvements to resource efficiency through waste reduction, recycling, remanufacturing and reuse. Although waste intensity61 in the manufacturing industry has increased 31% between 1996-97 and 2013-14, there are signs of growth in the reuse and recycling of manufacturing waste. The value of waste products (waste materials with a positive value, e.g. scrap metal) supplied to the Australian economy increased 18% in the year to 2010-11 to reach $5.4 billion; of which manufacturing accounted for approximately 14% ($741 million).62 In addition to reducing the costs associated with wastage, participating in a closed-loop economy can offer manufacturers exposure to new and potentially untapped value chain partners.
The global ‘green market’ (the market for low-carbon products) has been estimated to be worth over US$5 trillion and is expected to grow.63 At present, the price difference between sustainably manufactured goods and more traditional options is large enough to discourage many from switching, however, this gap will close significantly in the next decade through technology improvements. Failure to adapt to increased transparency and stricter government imposed requirements for sustainability could result in reputational damage and missed opportunities within these emerging markets.
Australian businesses are feeling the pressure of sustainable manufacturing drivers more so than many other countries, providing an incentive to be first movers. Australia’s high education levels facilitate greater awareness of sustainability issues which translates into higher levels of domestic demand for sustainably manufactured products.
Accounting for approximately 20% of Australia’s energy consumption,64 manufacturing is Australia’s largest industrial consumer of electricity and most energy intensive sector.65,66 With electricity prices increasing over 60% for manufacturing businesses over the 10 years to June 2013,67 companies that become more energy efficient stand to reduce costs, increase productivity and gain competitive advantage.
In addition to addressing Australia’s resource intensity challenges, this opportunity theme is also supported by national comparative advantages. Australia’s large land area, abundance of renewable energy sources and strong agricultural sector positions the nation well for opportunities in sustainable food and water technologies and renewables such as wind, hydro and solar. Australia’s expertise in mineral extraction techniques and technologies can also be leveraged in the melting and re-purposing of discarded or end-of-life metal products.
Waste timber in the form of pallets takes up costly space either in the landfill bin or on-site storage areas for almost all manufacturers. In 2014FY Australia generated over 500,000 tonnes of timber waste with around 340,000 tonnes ending in landfill.
Waste Converters / Smart Recycling buy and sell second-hand pallets and manufacture reusable pallets, skids, crates and boxes. Through the re-use and re-manufacture of timber pallets, they assist over 2,000 local organisations to reduce their landfill costs and carbon footprint. Timber that is unsuitable for packaging or resale is mulched to produce a variety of quality landscaping mulches.
This business provides customers with a cheaper source of pallets, reduces their energy and landfill costs and creates a sustainable recycling loop. It is estimated that every 1 tonne of softwood pallet repaired and re-used (~40 pallets) results in a reduction of 0.7 tonnes of CO2 emissions and 1 tonne diverted from landfill.
Producing food in the context of a rapidly growing global population and increasingly limited arable land and fresh water supplies causes many challenges for sustainable food production. Sundrop Farms is pioneering sustainable desert horticulture in Australia with its 20 hectare installation in Port Augusta. In a first-of-a-kind system, tomatoes are being produced on a large scale using only seawater and sunlight for power, water, heating and cooling.
A ten-year contract with Coles supermarkets to supply 15,000 tonnes of truss tomatoes per annum has provided the basis for securing $100 million in finance from venture capital firm KKR, enabling the expansion from pilot facility to a fully operational 20-hectare farm. The initial project has been supported by the SA Government and Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Sundrop now plans to set up similar operations in arid regions around the world.
Sustainable manufacturing presents opportunities across a range of industries, particularly those with high water, waste and energy intensity. For example, the most energy intensive manufacturing industries in Australia are the primary metal/metal product manufacturing and food product manufacturing industries. These two industries account for 59% and 10% of the total manufacturing sector’s electricity consumption respectively, yet represent 2.6% and 12.8% of the total number of manufacturing businesses in Australia.71
A kilogram reduction in weight of a short-haul aircraft can equate to a saving of 80 metric tons of CO2 per year.72Opportunities exist within all industries to find more efficient and sustainable material flow systems. For example, waste from one process, business or industry could be used as input to another, older products (or their components) can be used for lower value purposes, and raw materials can be extracted to create new products.
Table 6 lists a selection of industry opportunities for Australia to gain from sustainable manufacturing applications across a time horizon.73 These examples demonstrate the breadth of opportunities across manufacturing industries as well as how the nature and application of these opportunities are likely to change over time.
Table 6 – Industry opportunities for sustainable manufacturing
Short term |
Medium term |
Long term |
|---|---|---|
BUSINESS MODELS AND PROCESSES |
||
|
|
|
PRODUCTS |
||
|
|
|
Customer preferences – both intermediary and end users – are shifting away from tangible products and towards services and experiences. Growth in services is being driven by ageing key consumer groups in developed economies demanding healthcare services and rising incomes in emerging economies (as the share of household consumption spent on services increases with per capita income).74
Globally the average service-providing manufacturer receives over 30% of sales as services,75 with expansion into services offerings seen as core to growth by 86% of global manufacturers, largely due to the significantly higher profitability of service based offerings.76 Service integration allows manufacturers to create a direct relationship with customers. This increases the chance of loyalty and upselling by being able to better understand customer needs and by offering a differentiated or customised product-service bundle which is harder to imitate.
Providing services requires different selling methods and business models to conventional manufacturing but delivers businesses with additional revenue that has traditionally been captured by other value chain participants such as retailers. This shift will require manufacturers to develop their customer interface skills as well as back-end systems that support service-based offerings, such as cloud-based customer relationship management systems.
In 2012, the Detmold Group was approached by a multinational food company who were seeking a high quality end-to-end packaging solution that could be delivered in a short timeframe. From this request, Detmold’s centre for R&D, concept creation and rapid prototyping in packaging (LaunchPad) was born.
With studios in Australia and China, the LaunchPad team provides rapid integrated product development services, such as design, prototyping, sample making, materials engineering, artwork and printing. The Detmold Group has invested heavily in equipment and software, including digital printers capable of instant printing on its full range of packaging materials, and flatbed cutting machines that can deliver client samples on actual production materials minutes after design concepts are completed.
This process allows a business’s lead time to commercialisation to reduce from over 12 months to just one day. Detmold has seen 50% growth since the introduction of LaunchPad and a four-fold increase in new clients.
The long-term contracts associated with services provide greater financial stability through more predictable and ongoing revenues and costs. Where new products typically require expensive re-tooling and investment in untried technologies, new services often avoid these costs and so have a lower risk profile for pursuing economic growth.78
The simplest method of entering the services market is to offer a service that complements an existing product offering, such as maintenance, support, and installation. This is a relatively cheap option for manufacturers to develop the skills, processes and systems required to be successful in this growing market.
More sophisticated models could include collaborative consumption or the integration of services at the design stage of a product. The most extreme example of the latter is where customers are only buying the product as a way of accessing the service. In this instance, the product might even be a loss leader for the service.
With commoditised goods markets being dominated by large and low-cost economies, the services market is particularly crucial for manufacturers in high-cost nations like Australia. Diversifying into the services market is one solution to the pressure felt by local manufacturers to differentiate in order to participate in global value chains.
Australia’s fast moving and innovative SMEs are another advantage for this opportunity theme. Australian SME manufacturers ranked 5th in the OECD for innovation, while Australian SME service sector businesses ranked 7th.79
Manufacturers are well positioned to leverage Australia’s large pool of services skills, with the services sector accounting for 60% of GDP and around 80% of jobs.80 The service sector also has experience in selling abroad, with service exports accounting for almost 20% of total exports and growing at a rate of 3.2% annually over the five years to 2014.81 Not only do businesses have the potential to leverage these skills, but the large services market in Australia also generates the required demand to drive technological innovations that support service provision.
Finally, Australia’s high level of education positions the sector well for succeeding in service markets which require a higher-skilled workforce.
ANCA’s multi-axis grinding machines are enhanced with integrated solutions for automation, part measurement and quality control and machine status monitoring and reporting.
ANCA is currently delivering a solution to Japan to be integrated into a customer’s unmanned, factory wide automated production system. ANCA machines are fed parts from a separate conveyor line – reading a linked RFID (radio-frequency identification) chip on the part. Using that data, the ANCA machine accesses the factory is enterprise resource planning system to retrieve tool information specific to the customer’s purchase order and automatically generates the required grinding program.
In-built measurement systems on the machine ensure part dimensions are maintained in tolerance and corrections applied as required. This allows ANCA’s customer to produce bespoke tools in batch sizes of one, all the while running unmanned. By integrating machines into highly automated production systems, customers can realise significant cost reductions while also reducing lead times to their customers.
The customer plans to take advantage of ANCA’s newly developed machine Management Suite. This will allow remote, real time production monitoring of the machines, as well as machine data collection that can be used for future process enhancement or predictive maintenance activities.
Adding or integrating services to products presents opportunities for all manufacturers. Service provision is most progressed in industries where Australian manufacturers have a strong reputation for quality, authenticity and uniqueness. Businesses have already begun to extend this trust to their services in aerospace, defence and medical technologies.
For decades, aircraft engine manufacturers like Rolls Royce and General Electric have been offering performance-based service and logistics agreements to customers. These services involve a fixed warranty and operational fee for the hours engines are running, meaning that in addition to making the product, the manufacturer takes care of installation, after-sales maintenance, repair, overhaul and overall service and parts management.82 Customers value a trusted supplier taking over responsibility and risk for these tasks and manufacturers can increase profit margins by improving their efficiency.
Looking to the future, a number of technology developments will enable new service offerings, including increased uptake and application of sensors, smart devices, additive manufacturing, big data analytics and cloud computing.83 For example, the collection, analysis and interpretation of longitudinal medical data through implanted sensors will allow for superior data-driven decision-making compared to current ‘snapshot’ diagnostics.
Table 7 lists a selection of industry opportunities for Australia to gain from selling services – both domestically and abroad – across a time horizon.84 These examples are non-exhaustive however demonstrate the breadth of opportunities across manufacturing industries as well as how the nature and application of these opportunities are likely to change over time.
Table 7 – Industry opportunities for selling services
Short term |
Medium term |
Long term |
|---|---|---|
MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR SERVICES |
||
|
|
|
WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT SERVICES |
||
|
|
|
HEALTH AND BIOSECURITY SERVICES |
||
|
|
|
Strategic growth opportunities for Australia’s manufacturing sector will be underpinned and supported by significant technological innovation from public and private research communities. Sustained growth in the sector will require proactive investment and translation of enabling science and technology.
In order to acquire the benefits associated with these long-term technology breakthroughs, businesses need to plan and invest today. Significant competitive advantage can be gained through the fast and efficient adoption of new technologies,85 with investment in R&D central to maintaining a strong position in global value chains, growing exports and ensuring sector growth.86
Looking forward 20 years, it is difficult to understand the vast changes that will occur in technology; many of today’s nascent technologies and ideas will be further developed, however, there will also be completely unforeseen and radical changes. One certainty is the importance of IoT devices and systems in driving breakthroughs and applications across all fields of research. The broader suite of digitally connected technologies has been estimated to generate productivity gains of 5-8% on average over the next 5 to 10 years after considering the cost of materials, with industrial component manufacturers who invest in these technologies estimated to experience up to a 30% improvement.87
Convergence of technologies through innovative combinations will transform industries and generate growth greater than the sum of their parts.88 Examples include the convergence of fast DNA sequencing and analytics to allow for more precise decisions regarding patient health, and enhanced computing power and robotics to accelerate the automation of manual work. New disruptive technologies will also come from outside the manufacturing sector.
This chapter aims to raise business – particularly SME – awareness of key enabling science and technology areas for the future of manufacturing in Australia. Each discussion includes a list of research priorities that describe the challenges that the research community is currently focussed on and is expected to address or overcome in the next decade. Businesses can use the list to better understand current technological barriers, benchmark their own preparedness based on their current experience or investments in each area, and consider how upcoming advances could support their operations, create new IP and unlock new opportunities.
These technologies are applicable across many diverse industries, are typically combined in their application and represent a selection of enablers rather than an exhaustive list.
Table 8 – Enabling science and technology summary
Now |
In the future |
|
|---|---|---|
Sensors and data analytics |
Predominantly used during production (remote monitoring of single attributes such as temperature or flow rates). |
Applied across the value chain, including predictive maintenance, logistical tracking for operational efficiencies, quality control and service offering (when integrated into end product). |
Advanced |
Reactive use to address specific product limitations e.g. enhanced durability, weight, look and feel. |
Proactive integration at early design phase to offer multiple novel attributes e.g. biocompatibility, biodegradability, energy efficiency and self-repairing. |
Smart robotics and automation |
Replace workers for tasks that are complex, high precision, repetitive, dull or hazardous e.g. handling operations and robotic welding. |
Assistive robots that work collaboratively with humans and each other, with improved sensing, awareness and decision-making capabilities that allow full autonomy and self-learning behaviour. |
Additive manufacturing (3D printing) |
Prototyping and one-off production runs of customised high-value complex metal componentry and low-value consumer products, with high capital costs stalling wider spread adoption. |
Reduced capital costs will allow greater adoption of the technology for production of complete complex products and associated advanced business models such as customer-led design processes and just-in-time production. |
Augmented and virtual reality |
Predominantly restricted to gaming and consumer electronic markets, with limited use in the manufacturing sector. |
Used to overlay product designs with end-use environments, optimise machine settings in the virtual world, facilitate remote collaboration and train or guide workers through complex/dangerous tasks. |
Sensors measure or detect properties of the environment they are in and can be configured in many different ways – standalone, integrated or embedded into products or materials, combined with other sensors, wearable or implantable.
Sensors can detect a vast and growing number of different properties including physical attributes of products (temperature, pressure, flow rates), locations and usage patterns.89 This enables real time monitoring, diagnostics, tracking, control and even automated responses through IoT connectivity.
While sensors will facilitate an explosion in the amount of data captured, these advances are relatively useless if not accompanied by equal or greater improvements in networking infrastructure and data analytics. The latter will allow informed and automated decision making to create efficiencies across value chains and factory floors, as well as improving safety, quality control, traceability and product provenance.
Data analytics can improve the operational efficiency of the entire manufacturing process, enabling activities such as real time productivity monitoring, predictive maintenance and supply chain optimisation. It is estimated that a big data/advanced analytics approach to manufacturing can result in a 20 to 25% increase in production volume and up to 45% reduction in downtime.90
Opportunity theme |
Role of Sensors and data analytics |
|---|---|
Customised high-margin solutions |
|
Sustainable manufacturing |
|
Selling services |
|
Sensors are becoming cheaper, smaller, lighter and less energy hungry. With the continued digitisation of the manufacturing sector and advances in materials development, it is expected that one trillion sensors will be connected to the internet by 2025.91
Globally, the market for sensors in the manufacturing sector is estimated at US$8.7 billion in 2016, with rapid growth expected over the following decade as manufacturers invest in factory upgrades.92 Recognised as an area of opportunity, the ‘Prime Minister’s Industry 4.0 Taskforce’ was established in early 2016 to help drive common standards for the industrial internet and define ways that Australian industrial innovation can be more connected, and be a more competitive participant in the future of global manufacturing.93
Advanced materials are new or modified materials that have been engineered to provide superior performance across one or more desired characteristics, including weight; strength; formability; conductivity and self-healing properties.
Whether fully replacing existing components, or being added as coatings or surface technologies, the use of advanced materials can assist with product differentiation by enabling the creation of customised solutions or by adding additional functionality to existing solutions.
Advanced materials play a significant role in the development and application of most novel science and technology areas, including those discussed in this chapter. The convergence of advanced materials with these technologies can unlock a number of opportunities, including 3D printed biocompatible and biodegradable products; renewable energy storage solutions; and robots that can operate in extreme environments.
Opportunity theme |
Role of advanced materials |
|---|---|
Customised high-margin solutions |
|
Sustainable manufacturing |
|
Selling services |
|
R&D for advanced materials is strongly tied to specific industry problems rather than focussing on broader engineering challenges. With much of the science already possible, and near infinite in application, the key role of the research community is to identify which combination of techniques is the best to use for any given problem, develop or improve methods for manufacturing, and guide businesses through the adoption of new materials and processes.
While other technology areas will experience a reduction in unit costs over the next 20 years, the focus for advanced materials is instead on expanding the type and number of attributes that materials can possess without a change in price.
Innovations in materials over the next 20 years will help address some of the key challenges society faces: increasing energy and water use, decreasing health and nutrition, and the need for better environmental stewardship and practices. Key markets for advanced materials include agriculture, infrastructure, electronics, energy, healthcare and mobility.94
Smart robotics and automation involves the design, construction and operation of robots and the computer systems that control them. Traditional forms of these technologies combine the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science, however, the next 20 years will see further integration with fields such as material sciences, nanotechnology and energy harvesting and storage.
Industrial robots for manufacturing are used to improve productivity and operational flexibility (allowing businesses to run 24-hour production), costs, safety and efficiency by completing tasks that are complex, high precision, repetitive, dull or hazardous. Smart robots can be used to provide assistance to workers or entirely replace them, allowing workers to move to higher-skilled tasks. Examples include autonomous self-guiding vehicles, lightweight robots, tele-supervised robots and collaborative robots (cobots).95
In addition to enabling autonomous robots, automation technologies can be used in manufacturing to provide process control; improved safety, quality and operational efficiencies; and energy and asset management functions. These improvements along the production process can allow Australian manufacturers to become economically competitive with low labour cost countries.
Finally, the adoption of robotic solutions can facilitate the on-shoring of Australian jobs. These solutions can replace tasks that were previously outsourced overseas and often require local support and control.
Opportunity theme |
Role of robotics and automation |
|---|---|
Customised high-margin solutions |
|
Sustainable manufacturing |
|
Selling services |
|
Robotics is expected to become as ubiquitous over the next decades as computer technology is today.96 In 2014, it was estimated that 1.5 million industrial robots were operational globally,97 with automated manufacturing functions constituting approximately 10% of all functions.98 One of the fastest growing segments is mobile robots – with autonomous self-guiding vehicles expected to grow at an annual rate of 70% by 2020.99
The key manufacturing industries globally that utilise robotics are the automotive and electronics industries, with the most popular applications being handling operations and robotic welding. Adoption is expected to spread throughout other manufacturing industries as robotics converges with other technologies such as data analytics, sensors and machine learning.
In addition to replacing lower-skilled jobs, robotics and automation are increasing demand for judgement, creativity and problem solving skills, as well as more skilled roles in the deployment, operation and maintenance of robots. Cobots are expected to see rapid market growth over the short term, creating shared workplaces in which a human’s intelligence, flexibility and reasoning is combined with the strength, endurance and precision of a robot to increase productivity and responsiveness.100
Additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) is a computer-driven process of manufacturing three dimensional products from a digital model by laying down successive layers of a material.
This process allows a reduction in lead times and product development cycle times, reduced waste, and unlocks a myriad of customisation and product differentiation opportunities. Additive manufacturing enables the production of complex, high precision and intricate shapes, providing flexibility in design and customisation. This creates the potential for a range of new products that are not possible with traditional manufacturing techniques, with applications across almost all end user sectors. While the initial capital outlay for additive manufacturing machines and input materials can be considerable, these costs are likely to reduce in the next few years and it is estimated that employing these technologies can result in up to 70% cost savings on prototyping by reducing the requirements for tooling.103,104
Opportunity theme |
Role of additive manufacturing |
|---|---|
Customised high-margin solutions |
|
Sustainable manufacturing |
|
Selling services |
|
It is estimated that in 2015 there were between 100 and 150 polymer-based industrial systems and approximately six installed metal-based industrial systems installed in Australia.105 While additive manufacturing of plastics is cheaper and more widely adopted in industry globally, these low barriers to entry have created significant competition and low margins. There is no clear rationale for Australia to be competing in plastics, however the nation’s abundant mineral resources and advanced engineering capabilities form a competitive advantage for the development of metal-based additive manufacturing technologies.
Australia is one of few countries with the potential for domestic capabilities in all stages of the metals additive manufacturing value chain, including: ore extraction, metal manufacture, powder manipulation, consolidation, product design and testing, and production. Australia would face competition from low cost countries for the final production stage, however may be able to retain this value-adding stage on-shore if it were tightly integrated with the preceding steps.
Along with new products, additive manufacturing will facilitate the emergence of new business models, a highly skilled and adaptable workforce and increased multidisciplinary collaboration. Hyperlocal manufacturing with printers located near customers is expected to disrupt current manufacturing hubs,106 and excellence will require greater levels of collaboration across a diverse range of skills – design and creative thinking, software (e.g. CAD), engineering and materials science – in all of which Australia has strengths.
As the price of additive manufacturing decreases over time, it is expected that technology improvements will enable larger product runs, growing from runs of one to ten, to hundreds then thousands, taking market share from casting processes and expanding applications beyond the current manufacturing industries within aerospace, automotive and medical technologies.
Augmented Reality (AR) is the engagement of a user with superimposed computer-generated content over a live view of the physical world, while Virtual Reality (VR) is an artificial, computer generated interactive environment.107, 108
Augmented Reality (AR), and to a lesser extent Virtual Reality (VR), are emerging as exciting technologies in the manufacturing sector, with the potential to drive productivity, quality and safety improvements on the factory floor, and increase customer engagement and service provision during product design.
AR can be used to overlay product designs with their end-use environments, guide workers through complex or dangerous processes through field-of-view instructions, and facilitate remote collaboration or control of remotely controlled machinery. The technology provides increased situational awareness, informed decision making, cost and process optimisation and improved safety outcomes.109
As VR restricts 100% of a person’s ‘real world’ vision, it is limited in application on the factory floor due to safety issues, however can be used for training simulations and data visualisation applications in the product design phase.
Opportunity theme |
Role of augmented and virtual reality |
|---|---|
Customised high-margin solutions |
|
Sustainable manufacturing |
|
Selling services |
|
Gaming and consumer electronic markets are the key drivers of developments and research priorities for AR and VR and are continuing to push costs downward. The global market for AR is expected to substantially increase over the next five years, estimated to reach nearly US$120 billion by 2020, with a faster growing set of applications than VR.110
While the use of these technologies in the manufacturing sector is currently minimal, it is expected that uptake will reach a critical mass over the medium term (3 – 10 years), with the development of breakthrough systems and content. This is likely to impact the design of both products and factories, with visual markers built-in to allow AR maintenance further down the track.
In order to fully realise the strategic growth opportunities and their enabling science and technology areas, Australian manufacturers must proactively transform the way they run their businesses, investing in new knowledge and practices.
Positioning for sustainable growth will require business changes both internally (new skillsets, cultures and operating systems) and externally (participation in global value chains and collaboration models).
Many of the challenges and enablers discussed in this chapter have been known for some time but have been difficult to get right. There is no single or fast acting solution to tackling these challenges. The recommended actions in this section seek to generate incremental progress towards the vision for Australia’s manufacturing sector. Actions have been separated into ‘business actions’ (those which manufacturers should proactively lead) and ‘ecosystem actions’ (those to be led by industry bodies, suppliers, research, education, investors and governments, in consultation with businesses).
With a relatively small domestic market and increasingly globalised manufacturing value chains, Australian manufacturers need to shift their thinking from local to global customers and competitors when strategic planning. Participation in global value chains (GVCs) has been linked with increased innovation; R&D and skills development; collaboration; sophisticated management, financing and technology systems; and productivity premiums.112 Global interactions also provide businesses with critical exposure to new technologies, processes and skills.
Despite these benefits, Australian manufacturing is typically not well linked into GVCs, ranking below the OECD median in the OECD’s global value chain participation index.113 The vast majority of advanced economies saw an increase in the share of imported content in their exports from 1995 to 2011 (backward linkages), indicating a stronger integration into global value chains, while Australia remained relatively constant.114,115
The nation performs more strongly when it comes to forward linkages – the export of domestically produced goods and services – specifically parts and componentry rather than goods that are produced wholly within Australia. Specific industries where the nation has an advantage in parts and componentry production include aircraft parts, parts of earth moving and mineral processing machines, and specialised automotive parts.116
Currently, Australia’s strongest participation in global value chains (above world median) is in the manufacturing of food and basic metals,117 which draw on Australia’s historical strengths in agriculture and mining. Without the strong global reputation for quality that these sectors have built, it will be critical for emerging industries and businesses to build trust with global partners. Attracting multinational companies to operate in Australia is an important enabler for these businesses, both as a signalling factor to other international companies and to facilitate the development of cluster-related activities and specialised support services.118
Trust is built through providing quality and on-time products and services. For businesses still attempting to enter GVCs, this reliability can be demonstrated by approaching potential partners in person, listening to their needs, revising product prototypes accordingly and quickly presenting more tailored solutions.
Businesses can also enter GVCs by offering free product trials. If the customer is satisfied with the solution they can be invoiced, and if not, no payment is required. Even if a sale or longer term contract does not eventuate, the business will still gain valuable experience in a GVC which can help further refine their offering.
Finally, digital interoperability with global partners is crucial. This will require joint efforts across research, government and business. Many European countries already have national strategies for unlocking digital connectivity based opportunities - Industrie 4.0 in Germany, the Factory of the Future in France and Italy, Smart industry in Sweden, and Catapult centres in the UK.119,120 In March 2016, Germany and the US-based Industrial Internet Consortium, announced they would work together to set the global course for digitalisation standards.121 Linking Australian industry with these efforts will not only open up opportunities in these large international markets but will also address Australia’s own domestic interoperability challenges. The Prime Minister’s Industry 4.0 Taskforce has been established to ensure Australian connectivity to global standards in this area.
Australian manufacturing boasts a talent pool of engineers, technicians and designers that are supported by world-class research capabilities. These strengths will remain relevant over the next 20 years as Australian business models shift focus towards the start (design, prototyping) and end (logistics, after-sale services) of manufacturing value chains.
Autonomous machines and additive manufacturing are reducing the labour intensity of manufacturing, significantly lowering the number of low-skilled roles. As this trend continues, capabilities that are more difficult to automate such as the deeply human characteristics of ethics, creativity and intuition will be more important and highly valued. In manufacturing, these attributes will be required by high-skilled knowledge based experts and decision-makers in performing system planning, engineering, exception handling, commercial activities, coordination and orchestration.122
Australian manufacturers need to further target the development or acquisition of skills in the following areas:
Digital literacy needs to go beyond strong computer, coding, mechatronics and data management skills to include expertise in smart data systems, communications and data interpretation.124
These leaders need to be supported by strategically minded managers who can help businesses transition to new business models; improve productivity and innovation; and invest more time into long term planning. It is also important for these managers to be mobile – getting out of the businesses to see first-hand the way that other businesses and research institutes are approaching solutions.
These interpersonal skills will also be critical in enabling stronger levels of business-to-business and business-to-research collaboration. Relationship building is essential to identifying appropriate collaboration partners and should be paired with strong IP and commercialisation expertise to ensure fair agreements are made across global value chains.
Australian manufacturers often lack clarity around how to best utilise STEM capabilities, with design, modelling and prototyping being under-represented in their business operations - reducing the potential demand for STEM skills.
On the supply side, Australia ranks well below the OECD average when it comes to the number of STEM graduates as a proportion of total graduates.127,128 Supply is further stifled by manufacturing’s outdated reputation of being centred upon dull assembly lines. Only half of bachelor degree science graduates (including mathematics) seeking full-time work had found it four months after completing their degree (17% below the average for all graduates).129 This figure is significantly improved for engineering graduates (around 75%) but still below what is expected of an advanced manufacturing ecosystem. Stronger linkages need to be developed between graduates and manufacturers to prevent demand for STEM capabilities outweighing supply and forcing Australian businesses to look offshore for these skills.
These skills will need to be applied to continually converging and diverging industries. Many jobs will require workers to have a broader interdisciplinary skillset, combining deep scientific expertise, software and data skills with softer skills in leadership, creative problem solving, communication and collaboration.130
There is also a risk that Australia loses critical skills through the closure of industries (e.g. the automotive production industry). While many of these workers possess skills that can be transferred to higher value-adding tasks in related industries, closures can also mean a loss of critical mass in demand for certain capabilities, resulting in downstream impacts on other sectors. For example, the diminished local demand for OEM expertise is causing medical technology businesses to source these skills offshore – reducing the transfer of tacit knowledge and incremental innovation associated with local collaboration.
Australia can retain at-risk skillsets by investing in emerging markets that demand similar capabilities. For example, the carbon fibre industry could leverage Australia’s existing knowledge of car manufacturing processes and automation to boost the production of carbon fibre composite automotive parts.
Despite Australia having a strong education system that produces quality graduates – particularly in STEM fields – around 45% of the manufacturing workforce do not hold any post-school qualifications, compared to 39% for all industries.131 This discrepancy will need to be addressed as demand for more skilled labour increases.
Businesses also need to place greater importance on diversity to ensure an adaptive and innovative workforce. Businesses with gender-diverse management teams outperform peers’ earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by 15% and businesses with ethnically diverse management teams outperform peers’ EBITDA by 35%.132
Despite the benefits of diversity being widely accepted, Australian manufacturing has proved slow in transitioning away from a male dominated workforce. Males make up around 73% of the manufacturing workforce, compared with around 54% for all industries.133 Anecdotally, Australian businesses fare better when it comes to ethnic diversity.
Business sentiments frequently refer to an over-representation of older workers in the workforce, which were argued to be contributing to the persisting risk/change-averse culture and limiting the supply of newer ways of thinking. However the data does not strongly support this, with the median age in the manufacturing sector being only two years older than the average.134 With younger professionals and graduates being more attracted to pre- and post-production activities such as design, this minor age difference could be evened out by an increased focus on these activities in the future.
Australian manufacturing will need to undergo substantial cultural change in order to realise sustainable growth. Analysis by the Australian Office of the Chief Economist shows that only 16% of Australian businesses have a high performance innovation culture, where innovation is part of the strategy and businesses are outward orientated.135 To improve manufacturing culture, there is a need to enhance the speed at which businesses are moving away from traditional siloed, protectionist and risk-averse attitudes and towards open, creative and networked interaction. Obtaining the benefits associated with advances in technology and innovation can only be obtained if businesses are prepared to be less conservative and embrace change.
Collaboration across the value chain and with research organisations and government will be more important than ever before. Most businesses cannot access all the information required to be competitive, so the depth and quality of a company’s networks and interactions is critical to its competitiveness.136 Further, improved collaboration is required to unlock opportunities around industrial ecology.
At present, many collaboration models are overly formal and deter businesses through complex high-cost arrangements. Further, more effort needs to be placed on promoting successful collaboration arrangements and helping manufacturers identify collaboration models that best fit their needs. ‘Time to outcome’ and ‘IP ownership’ are two variables that are useful to consider when planning collaboration (see Figure 5).
Similar to having a portfolio of innovation projects, collaboration efforts can also be evaluated as a portfolio using the framework. This allows innovation projects/programs to be regularly reviewed to determine the most appropriate collaboration model(s) and identify opportunities to move a project between different modes depending on objectives and progress.137
Figure 5 – Collaboration framework138
In the long-term, sophisticated manufacturing industries will operate within local and global networks that share data, resources and processes. This will unlock significant opportunities for those involved by being able to identify innovative solutions faster through pooled knowledge and experience. A business’s absorptive capacity – its ability to identify, assimilate and apply external knowledge for commercial benefit – plays a critical role in collaborative innovation, inter-organisational relationships and comparative advantage.139
Australia’s strong fear of competition – particularly from local competitors – needs to be overcome in order to successfully operate in future global markets. In the short-term, focussing on pre-competitive business-to-business collaboration would help demonstrate the benefits of collaboration while keeping IP risks minimal. This could be as simple as aggregated purchasing for inputs across businesses to achieve purchasing power and small unit costs. Another enabling collaboration model is the joint-investment in shared capital to minimise the costs of depreciation as systems and equipment are being replaced at a higher rate than ever before.
In the long-term, as customers demand more tailored and rapidly delivered solutions, the co-location of value chains could provide an advantage in just-in-time manufacturing and provide greater opportunities for knowledge sharing.
Lack of connectivity not only restricts underground communications, but also the ability to communicate vital information between the surface and mines. The current standard practice is to have access points along the mine wall to boost the Wi-Fi signal and to lay fibre optic cabling. Both of these practices are prone to failure due to the Wi-Fi signal being lost or weak, and fibre optic cabling can easily be cut during mining operations.
Nautitech and Northern Light Technologies (NLT) were brought together by a mining company to solve this problem and developed a breakthrough system for underground communication. The solution combines Nautitech’s high-bandwidth power line modem with NLT’s Wi-Fi communication system that withstands harsh mining environments to create Wi-Fi hotspots around continuous miners and other equipment.
By using portable equipment without wires, vital coverage is provided in areas where it is needed most and allows contractor monitoring, increased worker safety, fleet optimisation, machine performance monitoring, autonomous mining and productivity improvements.
The businesses developed, allocated and agreed well defined and independent engineering task lists and met for several information sharing meetings. As neither business’s product could solve the issue independently, they agreed on the price of their other’s kit and cross-promoted the products. The prevented issues of IP ownership and opened up additional marketing avenues.
Australia ranks the lowest across OECD countries in terms of collaboration between industry and research.141 Only a small proportion of Australian manufacturers have a strong awareness and understanding of the breadth of capabilities that lie within the research community. Even fewer have structures in place to take advantage of these world-class problem solving skills and instead rely on limited in-house R&D functions.
At the same time, a more customer focused research community would help to ensure that research projects are aligned to addressing industry’s greatest needs and target activities that can be commercialised. Even basic/fundamental research, while having a reduced focus on commercial outcomes, can assist businesses by showcasing projects and allowing businesses to identify the commercial possibilities that the research may unlock.
Collaborative hubs or clusters of aligned capabilities encourage organic knowledge sharing and reduces the costs of collaboration. Bringing multiple businesses and research teams together geographically allows each party to see and hear first-hand the problems and solutions being worked on. Researchers can offer novel solutions to the business problems they observe and businesses can identify markets for the technology being developed by researchers. Clustering is also attractive to multinational businesses as it presents a single site for collaboration. This is already happening in some industries, such as South Australia’s aerospace cluster that brings together the Defence Teaming Centre, the Department of State Development and the local defence industry to help connect SMEs with global defence companies.
These clusters facilitate the flow of personnel between business and research in both directions. Secondments allow individuals to be fully integrated into the day-to-day operations of their potential collaboration partners. This fosters the identification, discussion and solving of problems in real time through pooled knowledge and experience.
While businesses and research institutes should proactively engage in collaboration for these mutual benefits, government has a role to play in supporting these activities. This report does not seek to discuss regulatory or policy environment requirements, noting that the need for more targeted (sector-specific) R&D incentives, reducing the compliance costs of initiatives relative to benefits and improved clarity around the scope of eligible activities are covered in other reports.142,143
Each of the enabling business changes discussed need to be key components of individual business strategies. Navigating long-term change requires manufacturers to constantly assess the way they run their businesses – ensuring that scarce resources (labour, capital) are appropriately allocated, that business decisions are underpinned with strong underlying market and technology assumptions and that innovation is proactively applied.
The narrative presented in this report can be continuously applied at a company level to inform strategic decision making. Global manufacturing megatrends, opportunities for growth, and enabling science, technology and business changes can be tailored for individual businesses using the Explore, Choose and Plan steps of the framework depicted in Figure 6. Scenario planning and input for the Create step have been excluded from this report as application is highly company specific, however additional information can be found in CSIRO’s Australia 2030 report.
Figure 6 – CSIRO Futures strategic planning framework
Explore - Future Landscape
Choose - Future Strategy
Plan - Future Investments
Create - Future Change
Continual monitoring and assessment of strategies and projects
The following table summarises the key themes from the enabling business changes chapter. Actions have been separated into business actions (those which manufacturers should proactively lead) and ecosystem actions (those to be led by industry bodies, suppliers, research, education, investors and governments, in consultation with businesses).
Table 9 – Enabling actions summary
Global value chains (GVCs) |
Skills, training and the workforce |
Collaboration and culture |
|---|---|---|
Business actions |
||
|
|
|
Ecosystem actions |
||
|
|
|
Most of the actions listed above require a collaborative effort across at least two sector stakeholder groups. In order to accelerate or improve the impact of these actions, a number of considerations must be contemplated by these groups to identify the most efficient and effective implementation approach. These considerations include:
Transforming Australia’s manufacturing sector is not a short-term process, with many industries having experienced significant challenges for decades. Regardless of the actions of the sector over the next few years, positioning Australian manufacturing for sustainable competitiveness is a long-term play. A consistent and supportive policy environment is required over the next decade to provide businesses with stability and allow them to execute long-term strategies.
Relationship building and solution development takes time. Industry is acutely aware of its pain points, but require greater connection with research to understand what science and technology exists that could form solutions. These connections are equally important for the research community, not just to ensure projects are aligned to industry needs, but also because businesses can assist research in identifying markets for technologies under development.
In the long-term, as manufacturers begin to capture the economic benefits of their investment in novel technologies (e.g. cost efficiencies or premiums charged for enhanced quality), it is important that these funds are reinvested into new forms of innovation rather than ‘banked’. In an increasingly competitive global landscape, continual improvement and investment in R&D is the only way to remain competitive.
A&I Coatings Pty Ltd
Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre
Agri Fibre Industries Pty Ltd
Air Radiators Pty Ltd
Ausbiotech
Austeng Pty Ltd
Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council
Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited (AMTIL)
Australian National University
Baraja Pty Ltd
Boeing Australia Holdings Pty Ltd
Bosch (Aust) Pty Ltd
Boundary Bend Olives Pty Ltd
Cap-XX Pty Ltd
Carbon Revolution Pty Ltd
Ceramisphere Pty Ltd
Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
Dow Chemical (Australia) Pty Ltd
Economic and Industry Development, Department of State Development (QLD)
Fledge Innovation Labs
Free Engineer
Future First Holdings Pty Ltd
Geelong City Council
Geelong Manufacturing Council
HAYS Specialist Recruitment (Australia) Pty Ltd
Industrial Control Technology Pty Ltd
Industry Capability Network (ICN)
Integra Systems Pty Ltd
IXL Group Pty Ltd
Josie’s Transport Group Pty Ltd
Manufacturing Skills Australia
Marand Precision Engineering Pty Ltd
Medina Engineering Pty Ltd
MiniFAB Australia Pty Ltd
Nautitech Mining Systems Pty Ltd
NSW Business Chamber
NSW Department of Industry
Pallion Group Pty Ltd
Plastics and Chemicals Industry Association (PACIA)
Private Individuals
Qenos Pty Ltd
Quickstep Technologies Pty Ltd
Rail Manufacturing CRC
Red Team Research
RedFern Applied
Regional Development Australia Sydney
Regional Development Victoria
Romar Engineering Pty Ltd
Silanna Semiconductor Pty Ltd
South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance Inc
Sutton Tools Pty Ltd
Textor Technologies Pty Ltd
Tiller Design Pty Ltd
Titomic Pty Ltd
University of New South Wales
Weir Minerals Australia Ltd
The following reports provide deeper insights into some of the specific manufacturing trends and concepts covered in this Roadmap:
This report is the first of a series of roadmaps that are being developed by CSIRO. Upcoming reports will include:
Many of the activities recommended in this report require investment in R&D. The table below lists national and state based funding schemes available to Australian SMEs and start-ups that support innovation and commercialisation.144
Program |
Project |
Eligibility / Notes |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Name |
State |
Value |
SME Contribution |
|
Innovation Connections |
All |
< $50k |
1:1 cash |
|
CSIRO SIEF STEM+ Business |
All |
< $105k p.a. |
1:1 cash |
|
Accelerating Commercialisation |
All |
< $1 mil |
1:1 |
|
ICon Proof of Technology grant |
ACT |
$5k-30k |
1:1 cash and/or in-kind |
|
ICon Accelerating Innovation grant |
ACT |
$5k-10k |
1:1 cash and/or in-kind |
|
TechVouchers |
NSW |
< $15k |
1:1 cash |
|
BISI Innovation Voucher |
NT |
< $25k |
40% |
|
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships |
QLD |
< $50k |
1/3 cash |
|
Innovation Voucher program |
SA |
$10k -$50k |
1:2 or 1:1 |
|
Business Transformation Voucher |
SA |
< $50k |
1:1 cash |
|
BioSA Industry Development program |
SA |
$50k-250k repayable |
|
|
SBDF Start-up business grant |
SA |
< $20k |
1:1 cash |
|
SBDF Business Expansion grant |
SA |
$10k-100k |
1:1 cash |
|
Innovation Vouchers |
WA |
< $20k |
At least 20% |
|
1 Deloitte (2016). 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, London.
2 Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy (2012). Manufacturing Works - A Strategy for driving high value manufacturing in South Australia, Government of South Australia, Adelaide.
3 Australian Business Foundation (2011). Manufacturing Futures, NSW Business Chamber, Sydney.
4 Australian Industry Group (2006). Manufacturing Futures – Achieving Global Fitness.
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8 Reserve Bank of Australia (2016). Bulletin – June Quarter 2016.
9 Withers, G. et al (2015). Australia’s Comparative Advantage, report for the Australian Council of Learned Academies. Melbourne.
10 Manyka, J. et al (2012). Manufacturing the future: the next era of global growth and innovation. McKinsey Global Institute.
11 Adams, N. et al (2014). Equipping Australian Manufacturing for the Information Age. iManufacturing – Is Australia ready? CSIRO, Australia.
12 Hajkowicz, S. (2015). Global Megatrends – Seven Patterns of Change Shaping Our Future, CSIRO Publishing, Canberra.
13 CSIRO Futures (2016). Australia 2030: Navigating our uncertain future, CSIRO, Canberra.
14 Adams, N. et al (2014). Equipping Australian Manufacturing for the Information Age iManufacturing – Is Australia Ready? CSIRO, Australia.
15 Foresight (2013). The Future of Manufacturing: A new era of opportunity and challenge for the UK Project Report, Government Office for Science, London.
16 Hagel, J. et al (2015). The Future of Manufacturing: Making things in a changing world, Deloitte University Press.
17 KPMG (2014). Industrial Manufacturing – Megatrends Research. KPMG Europe LLP.
18 Adams, N. et al (2014). Equipping Australian Manufacturing for the Information Age. iManufacturing – Is Australia ready? CSIRO, Australia.
19 Hagel, J. et al (2015). The Future of Manufacturing: Making things in a changing world, Deloitte University Press.
20 Foresight (2013). The Future of Manufacturing: A new era of opportunity and challenge for the UK Project Report, Government Office for Science, London.
21 Chui, M. et al (2010). The Internet of Things, McKinsey Quarterly, McKinsey&Company.
22 King, S. et al (2014). Make for Asia – The emerging Asian middle class and opportunities for Australian manufacturing, CSIRO, Australia.
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24 OECD (2012). OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050: The consequences of inaction, Highlights. Organisation for economic co-operation and development, Paris.
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27 Hagel, J. et al (2015). The Future of Manufacturing: Making things in a changing world, Deloitte University Press.
28 World Economic Forum (2012). The Future of Manufacturing - Opportunities to drive economic growth, Geneva.
29 Foresight (2013). The Future of Manufacturing: A new era of opportunity and challenge for the UK Project Report, Government Office for Science, London.
30 Hajkowicz, S. et al (2016). Tomorrow’s Digitally Enabled Workforce: Megatrends and scenarios for jobs and employment in Australia over the coming twenty years, CSIRO, Brisbane.
31 OECD (2015). Australian Manufacturing in the Global Economy, Study for the Australian Government, Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.
32 Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency (2014). Manufacturing Workforce Study, Australian Government.
33 Schwab, K. et al (2016). The Global Competitiveness Report 2016–2017, World Economic Forum, Geneva.
34 Australian Research Council (2015). State of Australian University Research 2015–16: Volume 1 ERA National Report, Australian Government. [Online] Available from: http://era2015.arc.gov.au/ Accessed 18/10/2016
35 Australian Trade Commission (2016). Why Australia – Benchmark Report 2016, Australian Government.
36 Reputation Institute (2016). 2016 Country RepTrak – the most reputable countries in the world.
37 Withers, G. et al (2015). Australia’s Comparative Advantage, report for the Australian Council of Learned Academies. Melbourne.
38 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016). 8165.0 - Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, Jun 2011 to Jun 2015, Canberra. [Online] Available from: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8165.0 Accessed 18/10/2016
39 Hendrickson, L. et al (2014). Australian Innovation System Report 2014, Department of Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
40 KPMG (2015). Future state: Australian manufacturing and smart specialisation.
41 Australian Trade Commission (2015). Northern Australia: Emerging opportunities in an advanced economy, Australian Government
42 Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre analysis.
43 OECD (2016). Gross domestic spending on R&D (indicator). doi: 10.1787/d8b068b4-en [Online] Available from https://data.oecd.org/rd/gross-domestic-spending-on-r-d.htm, Accessed on 18/10/2016.
44 Cornell University, INSEAD and WIPO (2016). The Global Innovation Index 2016 – Winning with Global Innovation, Ithaca, Fontainebleau, and Geneva.
45 OECD (2015). OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2015: Innovation for growth and society, OECD Publishing, Paris.
46 Akamai (2013). Volume 6, Number 3 - The State of the Internet 3rd Quarter, 2013 Report, Cambridge.
47 Akamai (2016). Volume 9, Number 2 – Akamai’s State of the Internet Q2 2016 Report, Cambridge.
48 Bell, J. et al (2014). The role of science, research and technology in lifting Australian productivity. Report for the Australian Council of learned Academies, Melbourne.
49 Deloitte (2015). The Deloitte Consumer Review - Made-to-order: The rise of mass personalisation. Deloitte LLP, London.
50 Deloitte (2015) Press Release: Making it personal – One in three consumers wants personalised products, [Online] Available from: http://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/press-releases/articles/one-in-three-consumers-wants-personalised-products.html Accessed 18/10/2016
51 Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy (2012). Manufacturing Works - A Strategy for driving high value manufacturing in South Australia, Government of South Australia, Adelaide.
52 http://www.csiro.au/en/Research/MF/Areas/Metals/Lab22/Mouthguard
53 Sirkin, H. et al (2014). The Shifting Economics of Global Manufacturing, The Boston Consulting Group, Boston.
54 Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre analysis.
55 Hendrickson, L. et al (2014). Australian Innovation System Report 2014, Department of Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
56 Future Manufacturing Industry Innovation Council (2011). Trends in manufacturing to 2020: A foresighting discussion paper. Canberra.
57 Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council Website, Carbon Revolution, [Online] Available from: http://aamc.org.au/portfolio-items/carbon-revolution/ Accessed 18/10/2016
58 Time horizons should be viewed as a guide only, with factors such as business maturity and existing capabilities impacting how quickly a business could act on any given opportunity.
59 Rigby, D. et al (2015). Management Tools & Trends 2015, Bain & Company.
60 Australian Alliance to Save Energy (2014). Re-energising Australian Manufacturing – Doubling energy productivity by 2030 to improve the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector, November 2014, Concepts for discussion, Draft version 1.0.
61 Waste intensity is measured in waste (tonnes) generated per million dollars of gross value added (GVA). Waste intensity is a measure of waste generation arising from economic production. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 4655.0 - Australian Environmental-Economic Accounts, 2016 – Glossary.
62 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016). 4655.0 - Australian Environmental-Economic Accounts, 2016, Canberra. [Online] Available from: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4655.0 Accessed 18/10/2016
63 OECD (2011). OECD Sustainable Manufacturing Toolkit – Start-up Guide, [Online] Available from: http://www.oecd.org/innovation/green/toolkit/48704993.pdf Accessed 18/10/2016
64 Department of Industry and Science (2015). 2015 Australian energy update, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
65 Energy intensity: gigajoules (GJ) of energy consumed per millions of dollars of Industry Gross Value Added.
66 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016). 4604.0 - Energy Account, Australia, 2013-14, Canberra. [Online] Available from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4604.0 Accessed 18/10/2016
67 Swoboda, K. (2013). Energy prices—the story behind rising costs, Parliament of Australia, [Online] Available from: http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook44p/EnergyPrices Accessed 18/10/2016
68 More information about this case study can be found at https://aspire.csiro.au/case-studies/timber-and-pallet-recycling.
69 Straight, K. (2016). Sundrop Farms pioneering solar-powered greenhouse to grow food without fresh water, ABC News. Available from: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-01/sundrop-farms-opens-solar-greenhouse-using-no-fresh-water/7892866> Accessed 12/10/2016
70 Vorrath, S. (2016). World-first solar tower powered tomato farm opens in Port Augusta, Renew economy. Available from: http://reneweconomy.com.au/2016/world-first-solar-tower-powered-tomato-farm-opens-port-augusta-41643 Accessed 7/10/2016
71 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016). 8165.0 - Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, Jun 2011 to Jun 2015, Data Cube: Survival of Businesses by Main State by Subdivision by Turnover Size Ranges, June 2011 - June 2015, Canberra.
72 Air France Case Study (2011). In a world first, Air France organizes lowest CO2 emissions flight. [Online] Available from: http://www.safug.org/assets/docs/case-studies/air-france1.pdf Accessed 18/10/2016
73 Time horizons should be viewed as a guide only, with factors such as business maturity and existing capabilities impacting how quickly a business could act on any given opportunity.
74 Dobbs, R. et al (2016). Urban World: The global consumers to watch, McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey & Company.
75 Visnjic, I. and Van Looy, B. (2012). Servitization: Disentangling the Impact of Service Business Model Innovation on the Performance of Manufacturing Firms. ESADE Business School Research Paper No. 230.
76 Macaulay, J. et al (2015). The Digital Manufacturer – Resolving the Service Dilemma, Cisco, San Jose.
77 Food Innovation Australia Limited (2016). Celebrating Australian Food and Agribusiness innovations.
78 KordaMentha (2013). Australian manufacturing – redefining manufacturing, Publication No. 13-03.
79 Hendrickson, L., et al (2014). Australian Innovation System Report 2014, Department of Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
80 Office of the Chief Economist (2015). Australian Industry Report 2015, Department of Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
81 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Website, The importance of services trade to Australia, [Online] Available from: http://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/international-organisations/wto/pages/the-importance-of-services-trade-to-australia.aspx Accessed 18/10/2016
82 Deloitte Research (2006). The Service Revolution in Global Manufacturing Industries, Deloitte Development LLC.
83 Rehse, O. et al (2016). Tapping into the Transformative Power of Service 4.0, BCG Perspectives.
84 Time horizons should be viewed as a guide only, with factors such as business maturity and existing capabilities impacting how quickly a business could act on any given opportunity.
85 Williamson, R. et al (2015). Technology and Australia’s future: New technologies and their role in Australia’s security, cultural, democratic, social and economic systems, Australian Council of Learned Academies, Melbourne.
86 Hendrickson, L. et al (2014). Australian Innovation System Report 2014, Department of Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
87 Rüßmann, M. et al (2015). Industry 4.0: The future of productivity and growth in manufacturing industries, BCG Perspectives.
88 Hagel, J. et al (2015). The future of manufacturing: Making things in a changing world, Deloitte University Press.
89 Frost & Sullivan (2016). Global Sensor Outlook 2016, Mountain View.
90 McKinsey Digital (2015). Industry 4.0: How to navigate digitization of the manufacturing sector. McKinsey&Company.
91 World Economic Forum (2015). Deep Shift Technology Tipping Points and Societal Impact, Geneva.
92 Marketsandmarkets (2016). Industrial IOT Market – Global Forecast to 2020.
93 Connolly, J. (2016) Industry 4.0 and Australia's economic transition, [Online] Available from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/industry-40-australias-economic-transition-jeff-connolly Accessed 18/10/2016
94 World Economic Forum (2016). Advanced Materials Systems- Chemistry and Advanced Materials, Geneva.
95 Frost & Sullivan (2016). Evolution of Robotics—Growth Opportunities in the Age of Industrie 4.0, Mountain View.
96 Georgia Institute of Technology et al (2013). A Roadmap for U.S. Robotics – From Internet to Robotics, 2013 Edition.
97 International Federation of Robotics (2015) World Robotics 2015 Industrial Robots, [Online] Available from: http://www.ifr.org/industrial-robots/statistics/ Accessed 18/10/2016
98 Frost & Sullivan (2016). Evolution of Robotics—Growth Opportunities in the Age of Industrie 4.0, Mountain View.
99 Frost & Sullivan (2016). Evolution of Robotics—Growth Opportunities in the Age of Industrie 4.0, Mountain View.
100 Brea, E. et al (2013). Lightweight Assistive Manufacturing Solutions: Improving Australia’s Manufacturing Competitiveness, CSIRO, Australia.
101 Frost & Sullivan (2016). Power Technologies for Drones and Autonomous Robots (TechVision), Mountain View.
102 Frost & Sullivan (2016). Evolution of Robotics—Growth Opportunities in the Age of Industrie 4.0, Mountain View.
103 Frost & Sullivan (2016). Strategic Analysis of the Additive Manufacturing Market in Australia, Mountain View.
104 Frost & Sullivan (2016). Emergence of 3D Printing Materials, Mountain View.
105 Frost & Sullivan (2016). Strategic Analysis of the Additive Manufacturing Market in Australia, Mountain View.
106 Frost & Sullivan (2016). Strategic Analysis of the Additive Manufacturing Market in Australia, Mountain View.
107 Frost & Sullivan (2016). 5 Key Augmented Reality Trends: Industrial Manufacturing, Mountain View.
108 Frost & Sullivan (2016). Augmented and Virtual Reality Applications in Healthcare, Mountain View.
109 Frost & Sullivan (2016). 5 Key Augmented Reality Trends: Industrial Manufacturing, Mountain View.
110 Jude, M. (2016). Tapping Opportunities in Augmented Reality, Stratecast, Volume 16, Number #31, Frost & Sullivan, Mountain View.
111 Frost & Sullivan (2016). Global Sensor Outlook 2016, Mountain View.
112 Hendrickson, L., et al (2014). Australian Innovation System Report 2014, Department of Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
113 Hendrickson, L., et al (2014). Australian Innovation System Report 2014, Department of Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
114 OECD (2015). Australian Manufacturing in the Global Economy, Study for the Australian Government, Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.
115 OECD (2015), OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2015: Innovation for growth and society, OECD Publishing, Paris.
116 Office of the Chief Economist (2016). Global production sharing and Australian manufacturing 2016. Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.
117 Hendrickson, L., et al (2014). Australian Innovation System Report 2014, Department of Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
118 Office of the Chief Economist (2016). Global production sharing and Australian manufacturing 2016. Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.
119 Davies, R. (2015). Briefing - Industry 4.0 – Digitalisation for productivity and growth, European Parliament Research Service.
120 Government Offices of Sweden (2016). Smart industry – a strategy for new industrialisation for Sweden, Stockholm.
121 Connolly, Jeff (2016). Prime Minister’s Industry 4.0 Taskforce, [Online] Available from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/prime-ministers-industry-40-taskforce-jeff-connolly Accessed 18/10/2016
122 World Economic Forum (2015). Industrial Internet of Things: Unleashing the Potential of Connected Products and Services, Geneva.
123 Salesforce research (2016). 2016 Connected manufacturing service report – insights into manufacturing service.
124 CSIRO Website (2014). Australia examines its strengths and sees its future in manufacturing, [Online] Available from: http://www.csiro.au/en/News/News-releases/2014/Australia-examines-its-strengths-and-sees-its-future-in-iManufacturing Accessed 18/10/2016
125 PwC (2015). A Smart Move - Future-proofing Australia’s workforce by growing skills in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), PwC Australia.
126 Mulcahy, M. (2016). What is STEM and why is it important? CSIRO Blog, 8 September 2016 Available from: https://blog.csiro.au/what-is-stem-and-why-is-it-important/ Accessed 7/11/2016
127 Source uses ‘natural sciences and engineering’ fields of education which correspond to ISCED-97 fields 4 (Science, comprising the life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics and statistics and computing) and 5 (Engineering, manufacturing and construction).
128 OECD (2015). OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2015: Innovation for growth and society, OECD Publishing, Paris.
129 Norton, A., & Cakitaki, B. (2016). Mapping Australian higher education 2016, Grattan Institute.
130 World Economic Forum (2015). Industrial Internet of Things: Unleashing the Potential of Connected Products and Services, Geneva.
131 Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency (2014). Manufacturing Workforce Study: Skills to grow competitive, high-end manufacturing, Factsheet, Australian Government.
132 Mackey, C. (2016). Manufacturing Megatrends, Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI), Arlington.
133 Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency (2014). Manufacturing Workforce Study: Skills to grow competitive, high-end manufacturing, Factsheet, Australian Government.
134 Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency (2014). Manufacturing Workforce Study: Skills to grow competitive, high-end manufacturing, Factsheet, Australian Government.
135 Lalor, A. et al (2015). Australian Innovation System Report 2015, Department of Industry, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
136 Withers, G. et al (2015). Australia’s Comparative Advantage, report for the Australian Council of Learned Academies. Melbourne.
137 CSIRO Futures (2015). Unlocking Australia’s resource potential – Innovation in the energy and mineral resources sector, CSIRO, Canberra.
138 Adapted from: Perkmann, M. and Salter, A. (2012). How to Create Productive Partnerships with Universities, Sloan Management Review. 2012;53(4).
139 Lane, P. and Lubatkin, M. (1998). Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning, Strat. Mgmt. J., 19: 461–477.
140 Nautitech (2015). The communications breakthrough boosting safety and productivity in underground coal mining.
141 Ferris, B. et al (2016). Review of the R&D Tax Incentive, Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, Canberra.
142 Ferris, B. et al (2016). Review of the R&D Tax Incentive, Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, Canberra.
143 Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (2016). AMGC Sector Competitiveness Plan.
144 Current as at October 2016. For more information on the funding schemes available to Australian SMEs and start-ups see CSIRO’s SME Connect Program http://www.csiro.au/SMEConnect
For further information
Dr Keith McLean
Director, CSIRO Manufacturing
t +61 3 9545 2599
w www.csiro.au/en/Research/MF
James Deverell
Director, CSIRO Futures
t +61 2 9490 8456
e futures@csiro.au
w www.csiro.au/futures
Simon Hanson
Director, SME Connect
t +61 3 9545 2752
w www.csiro.au/SMEConnect