News

Improving digital literacy, adopting smart technology

Defence prime BAE Systems Australia is working with DMTC Limited and research partners to support local small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to adopt new technologies that will drive future shipbuilding.

In a project led by DMTC Limited and part of the Factory of the Future Manufacturing Growth Accelerator, an initiative established through a $4 million South Australian Government grant, six Adelaide-based SME’s working on the Hunter Class Frigate Program have successfully completed the ‘Connected Supplier’ project which aimed to upskill industry and adopt digital technologies.

Project activities have taken place at the Line Zero – Factory of the Future facility developed by BAE Systems Maritime Australia at the Tonsley Innovation Precinct in Adelaide in partnership with Flinders University, the Commonwealth Government, and the South Australian Government.

Overcoming perceptions about digital transformation being too expensive or too difficult, DMTC’s Smart Enough® Factory toolkit demonstrates the tangible benefit that can be gained from low-cost, open-source software applied to specific areas of business operations. Critically, the program also provides insights into the data and process intersections between suppliers and primes.

The project has already resulted in advancements in sustainability, with the development of a dashboard – in pursuit of NetZero and BAE Systems Australia’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2030 – which displays data from the National Electricity Market, including energy generation methods and their associated emission factors across South Australia.

According to Charlotte Morris, Industry Capability Development Program Lead at DMTC Limited, this collaboration is the latest in a long-time partnership between DMTC and BAE Systems to build supply chain capability and capacity.

“Collaborating through DMTC creates the ideal conditions for all partners to extract maximum benefit.

“A prime like BAE Systems sees tangible capability uplift in their supply chain, our University partners get to take their expertise directly to the factory floor, and the SME’s directly benefit from process, quality and productivity improvements; hands-on assistance to apply the new technology from experts; and the industrial context and supply chain growth opportunities through the prime,” she said.

More details here.