SCC-IRG Track 2: A Manufacturing-Driven Approach to Advancing Community in Northeast Ohio

智能和互联技术有可能极大地重塑制造业格局，不仅影响产品的制造方式，还影响劳动力的培训方式，提供新的就业机会，并提高制造公司所在社区的经济活力和可持续性。工业物联网(IIoT)基础设施以及人工智能和机器学习技术的集成正在加速这种变化，而让中小型制造商(SMM)参与IIoT和工业4.0(I4.0)的资本投资仍然是一项艰巨的任务，影响着许多社区的经济生存能力。该项目代表了两所大学工程、教育和管理领域的学术研究人员、当地社区学院的教育工作者、社区倡导者和利益相关者、经济发展合作伙伴以及当地SMM之间的合作努力。目标是通过在社区和参与IIoT技术的SMM之间建立战略联盟，在俄亥俄州东北部创建一个智能和互联的社区。总体而言，研究和开发工作将致力于将参与的中小企业转变为具有增强的适应性、竞争力和对新供应链动态的弹性的“智能”和互联企业。这种方法将提高本地SMM的竞争力，同时培养一支劳动力队伍，以应对引进的技术带来的挑战。这种转型将通过“智能和互联”的本地工业基础和高技能的劳动力，为社区的经济增长定位。这种方法的蓝图也将转移到其他社区。协作行动计划包括：(1)受使用启发的创新研究，(2)教育、劳动力培训和发展，以及(3)关于社区行为和组织发展的政策建议。由于将制造数据有效地转换为可操作的信息是成功实施I4.0技术的关键，将进行用于实时运营监控和资产跟踪的人工智能(AI)研究，以提高质量控制和生产率。通过嵌入流程的传感以及边缘和云计算，将创建一个定制的学习和干预平台，以促进劳动力从基于经验的操作向数据引导的优化的数字化转型。关于迁移学习的研究将促进在SMM内部的机器设备之间以及向跨组织边界的其他SMM进行知识转换，以产生“溢出”学习效应，促进建立一个在需要和机会时相互帮助的协作SMM网络。学术界和社区开发人员之间的合作将为课程开发和实习创造途径，促进劳动力培训和就业机会。最终，集体行动计划将促进对根本和实际问题的研究，并使俄亥俄州东北部和全国其他地区的教育、劳动力发展和经济进步受益，在这些地区，SMM在社区的财富创造和福祉中发挥着关键作用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Smart and connected technologies have the potential to dramatically reshape the manufacturing landscape, affecting not only the way products are manufactured but also how the workforce is trained, providing new opportunities for employment and improving the economic viability and sustainability of communities where manufacturing companies reside. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) infrastructure and integration of technologies from AI and Machine Learning is accelerating such changes, while capital investments to engage Small-to-Midsized-Manufacturers (SMMs) with IIoT and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) have remained a daunting task that impacts the economic viability of many communities. This project represents a collaborative effort among academic researchers in engineering, education, and management at two universities, educators in a local community college, community advocates and stakeholders, economic development partners, and local SMMs. The goal is to create a smart and connected community in Northeast Ohio by forging a strategic alliance between the community and SMMs that engage with IIoT technologies. Collectively, research and development efforts will be directed to transforming participating SMMs into “smart” and connected enterprises with enhanced adaptivity, competitiveness, and resilience to new supply chain dynamics. This approach will enhance the competitiveness of the local SMM and at the same time prepare a workforce to meet the challenges of the introduced technology. Such transformation will position the community for economic growth through a “smart and connected” local industrial base and upskilled workforce. The blueprint of this approach will also be transferrable to other communities.The collaborative action plan consists of: (1) use-inspired innovative research, (2) education, workforce training and development, and (3) policy recommendations on community behavior and organizational development. Since effective transformation of manufacturing data to actionable information is key to successful implementation of I4.0 technologies, research on artificial intelligence (AI) for real-time operation monitoring and asset tracking will be conducted to improve quality control and productivity. Through process-embedded sensing, and edge- and cloud-computing, a customized learning and intervention platform will be created to facilitate digital transformation of the workforce from experience-based operation to data-guided optimization. Research on transfer learning will facilitate knowledge translation across machine equipment both within an SMM and to other SMMs across the organizational boundaries to create “spill-over” learning effects that promote the creation of a collaborative SMM network that assists each other in times of need and opportunity. Collaborations between academia and community developers will create pathways for curriculum development and internships that facilitate workforce training and employment opportunities. Ultimately, the collective action plan will promote research on both fundamental and practical problems, and benefit education, workforce development, and economic advancement in both Northeast Ohio and other regions across the country where SMMs play a critical role in the wealth generation and wellbeing of the community.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.