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The PeneloPe Demostrator IDESA receives the visit of the project´s technical centres

On February 2nd, the technological centres partnering at the PeneloPe project, namely, AIMEN (Project Coordinator), TECNALIA Research & Innovation and the University of Coimbra visited the installations of IDESA, the project demonstrator in the area of oil and gas.

IDESA, since 1993, has become one of the most recognized and respected companies for the design, fabrication, and supply of static and modular equipment worldwide. IDESA is one of the leading suppliers of Long Lead manufactured equipment, located strategically in Avilés (northern cost of Spain), only 1 kilometre away from the industrial shipping ports which allows direct access from plant-to-ship without transportation limitations.

As one of the four demonstrators of PeneloPe, during the duration of the project, IDESA will implement a holistic manufacturing methodology, for a more precise and accurate manufacturing of pressure vessels in the Oil&Gas sector.

The visit to IDESA was guided by Victor J. Martínez, its Operations Director, and Cristina Ruiz Palencia, its Head of R&D Projects. The visit focused on the company´s workshops, where the representative of the technical centres had the chance to explore the facilities and the projects IDESA has in progress, as well as, the processes in which the developments are focused, such as modelling and monitoring of bending, automation of the layout by projection and online inspection of welding.

Would you like to know more about this PeneloPe´s demonstrator? Visit IDESA´s website here


“We associate manufacturing with men and we see it as a boring field”…but it’s not the case

That is one of the many misconceptions that we, women and men, could have regarding industrial environments. 

During a dedicated session organised by various manufacturing and research-related European initiatives (Integradde, DIMOFAC, PeneloPe, Level-Up, I4MS), four female researchers and engineers, Lucía, Monireh, Pilar and Silvia discussed gender gap problematics in the industry under the moderation of Verena, who belongs to the association Women in AI.

A big portion of the conversation focused on the necessity of a proactive approach to encourage women to consider pursuing a career in manufacturing. This means fighting misconceptions and stereotypes, sometimes at a very early age.

Pilar and Lucía insisted on the importance of teachers at school who encouraged them to choose a science-related path. Silvia told about a nuclear power plant close to which she lived and that she had the chance to visit and whose functioning looked amazingly interesting.

One of the keys, in generating interest especially at a young age, is to present the field as it really is:

  • Useful because it’s about creating products that can improve people’s lives 
  • Diversified – working today in manufacturing doesn’t systematically mean repairing machines on the shop floor. Research, ecological and management-related stakes and positions exist.
  • …and fun also! 

On this topic, a question was asked regarding the possible necessity and importance of role models and it’s a more qualified perspective that the panellists delivered. Yes, role models are important. But they already exist and go beyond the character of Marie Curie. The focus should be on making more visible the many women that have and are making an impact.

Conversations also moved to more reactive attitudes women can adopt when integrating a given workplace. Verena, armed with her experience of being part of Women in AI, mentioned the help that a network can provide. Sharing experiences and realising that they can sometimes be very similar can simulate the “You’re not alone” feeling and thus help overcome challenges thanks to good practices. Other ideas such as mentoring were also discussed. 

Monireh insisted however that in the end, the solution can merely consist in focusing on what you have to do, ignoring inappropriate behaviours and the results of your work will speak for you. That creates trust and reliability.

If you would like to view the entire webinar, view the video below and enjoy!

Meet the PeneloPe Demonstrators: VDL Bus & Coach

Meet the PeneloPe Demonstrators! PeneloPe encompass representative large-part manufacturing in four EU strategic sectors, addressing both one-of-a-kind (Oil&Gas, Shipbuilding) and low-volume manufacturing (Aeronautics, Bus&Coach). VDL is leading the implementation of Bus&Coach pilot-line by addressing the manufacturing of bus modules. Learn more about VDL below:

VDL Bus & Coach:

The core activities of VDL Bus & Coach consist of the development, manufacturing, sales and after-sales of a wide range of buses and coaches, the conversion or extension of mini & midi buses and the purchase and sales of used buses. VDL Bus & Coach consists of multiple bus companies that operate cooperatively in the global market. Manufacturing takes place in Western Europe. VDL Bus & Coach places high value on quality, safety, durability, the environment, low fuel consumption, comfort and low maintenance costs. In the transition to zero emission transport, VDL Bus & Coach offers turnkey solutions and is not only bus supplier but also system supplier.

Sales of VDL Bus & Coach products take place through a worldwide network consisting of corporate-owned sales offices, importers, and agents in more than 30 countries. For after-sales and maintenance, the client can count on rapid, hassle-free assistance from VDL Bus & Coach employees in any of the many service locations. An extensive distribution network ensures that spare parts and accessories are delivered to the requested destination as quickly as possible. VDL Bus & Coach is one of the largest bus and coach producers in Europe.

ERGONOMIC DRIVER ENVIRONMENT
SOPHISTICATED CLIMATE SYSTEM
CLEVER ENERGIE MANAGEMENT
ONE PIECE COMPOSITE SIDE WALL

VDL Groep

VDL Bus & Coach is part of VDL Groep. This international industrial company focuses on the development, production and sales of semi-finished products, buses & coaches and other finished products and the assembly of cars. The headquarters are in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Since the founding in 1953 this family-owned company has grown to include 105 operating companies, spread over 20 countries with approximately 15,000 employees and an annual turnover of 4.686 billion euros in 2020. The strength of VDL Groep lies in the cooperation between the companies.

Role in PENELOPE

By 2025, three quarters of all buses in public transport will be electric, and more and more city councils believe that zero emissions should be the norm in the near future. Against this background, VDL Bus & Coach is taking the next step in its ‘Aiming for Zero’ objective: a new factory especially for the new generation Citea EV-bus is being built in Roeselare Belgium, where the buses will be produced in a CO2-neutral environment from the beginning of 2023.

With this in mind, VDL Bus Roeselare participates as one of the end users in PENELOPE and together with LMS (our follow-up RTO) leads the activities in the Bus & Coach pilot line and coordinates the integration of activities of partners in this pilot line. The aim is to create worker-centric solutions for the production and manipulation of large parts by using tomorrow’s technology and considering the different bus designs and variants.

Current obstacles:

Currently, the buses are integrally built on a long assembly line. This means that all materials are fed to the various production stations along this line and built into the bus. As a result, an assembly line is composed by over 30 stations. This leads to long lead times for engineering and manufacturing, complex processes that demand a lot of craftsmanship and long training times. Additionally, it takes a lot of effort to build in customer-specific requirements, and the accessibility during assembly is often not optimal, which means that employees have to work in difficult ergonomic positions, and the dependence is very high on specific quality issues.

PENELOPE Solutions

The new generation Citea consists of an integrally designed product family based on a modular system architecture. Each module has 1 or more basic versions that are made customer specific through standardized options. PENELOPE will promote the usage of worker-centric solutions in order to address specific manufacturing challenges. Robotic solutions, such as High Payload collaborative robot, cable robot and mobile manipulators enhanced with cognitive capabilities, will facilitate the handling of the large and heavy parts. Task and action planning tools will ensure an even distribution of workload between human and robotic resources. At the same time, exoskeleton devices will help operators performing non-ergonomic tasks. On-line quality control of the various processes involved (pre-treatment, gluing, assembly, etc.) will be ensured via a distributed sensors network and AI based modelling. In-situ repair methods will facilitate the repair of damaged composite panels prior assembly. Finally, AR assisted production will be promoted, providing support by superimposing virtual elements over real ones.

Benefits

Check out VDL Bus & Coach website for more information!

The Digital Transformation of European Manufacturing Webinar in 5 quotes

The transition from summer to autumn was acknowledged with a conversation on a transition of another kind: the digital transformation of the European manufacturing industry.

On Tuesday 31 August, five representatives from major H2020 EU Projects in Industry 4.0 discussed in a panel about key issues that currently shake the manufacturing sector and how their technology solutions will contribute to the digitalisation of the industry.

At a glance, the main takeaways:

1) We realised how digitalisation was more important than ever.

2) Digitalising the industry means accommodating better customers’ needs.

3) Resource efficiency and circularity is at the heart of the new manufacturing paradigm.

4) The future of the manufacturing industry is ´mass-customisation´, that is, how to customise elements to meet different needs to be responsive to market demands.

5) Digital solutions are not limited to large enterprises. European SMEs are taking on these solutions and bringing to the market disruptive technologies that will contribute to the manufacturing industry revolution.

Want to watch the full replay? Click below and see you soon for the next Industry 4.0 Web Café*!‍

What the recording here!

To know more about the Industry 4.0 WebCafés visit ushere!

*Date to be confirmed soon.

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