The Data Lab partnered with 11 other UK organisations to create the Smart Manufacturing Data Hub (SMDH), a £53.8m innovation hub to benefit the UK manufacturing sector.
The Challenge: Adopting data-driven strategies for SMEs
The UK manufacturing sector faces significant challenges in adopting data-driven strategies to enhance productivity and competitiveness, particularly for SMEs. The lack of data literacy and expertise can hinder the adoption of new technologies and innovation, thus limiting growth and innovation potential.
The Solution: Propelling 10,000 manufacturers toward productivity
In collaboration with other organisations, The Data Lab is leading the development and rollout of the Data Analytics work package to enable non-data literate industries and sectors to transform. The longer-term view is to create a skills programme to help traditionally non-data roles transition to data-powered roles.
Through problem articulation to training and system design, upskilling will benefit everyone, from floor workers to senior management, creating a thriving ecosystem of data-powered teams. Additionally, The Data Lab is creating an
online community to connect manufacturers across the UK and internationally, allowing them to access and exchange data and analytics packages that can help them cut down on their emissions, improve productivity and reduce waste by adopting new techniques and application of data science.
The Outcomes: Our role in the expected surge of 13,000 jobs
The Data Lab’s ongoing involvement in SMDH includes coordinating organisations’ direct access to and assistance from data scientists, extending the reach for participating firms to work with UK cutting-edge platforms, facilities and systems, and championing data skills through knowledge exchange workshops and online learning content.
Ultimately, SMDH will benefit nearly 10,000 manufacturers across the UK, with an expected creation of 13,000 jobs, helping to boost economic growth and support the government’s level-up strategy. The hub will be backed by
£20 million of funding from the £300 million UK government-backed Manufacturing Made Smarter programme, which aims to boost UK manufacturing productivity by 30% by 2030 through investment in data-powered projects.
“Many SMEs lack data capabilities and a data-driven culture. We are assisting them in comprehending the potential and benefits of utilizing data.”
Saleh Seyedzadeh – Principal Data Scientist of the Smart Manufacturing Data Hub, The Data Lab