Technology has always been the lifeblood of the manufacturing space, constantly providing new tools and processes to one of Australia’s most pivotal sectors. As industry bodies and the Australian government increasingly acknowledge innovation as the key to unlocking future growth and development, technology will help to create new employment opportunities in manufacturing, as well as enable Australia to compete in the global market.

Technology is key to unlocking future growth opportunities for manufacturing.

CSIRO partnering with businesses for manufacturing innovation

Whether it is through Budget provisions or new research, manufacturing is a priority Australia-wide. One company that’s partnering with manufacturing businesses is the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) which is its offering support to drive future transformation in the sector.

“Companies that are highly innovative have been reaching out to us to partner with them to develop innovative technologies. They either ask us to create a new product for them or improve on existing technologies to improve processes and ultimately maximise cost savings,” said CSIRO Business Development Manager Marcel Bick to Manufacturers’ Monthly.

“Our role here is to help out manufacturing industries with the advances of science. The manufacturing business unit has placed researchers in manufacturing businesses that we collaborate with to help them develop innovations in real time.”

A picture of manufacturing’s future

If Australia is to keep up with international manufacturing progress, it needs to take steps towards long term competitiveness.

“Moving forward, the leaps in technology will be quicker and we have to be ready for it. The age of predictive and prescriptive analytics is here. With the advancement of sensor technology, we could have machines telling us exactly what to do to them to preserve their functions or upgrade them,” suggested Mr Bick.

With this in mind, CSIRO has developed an action plan to boost Australian manufacturing on the global landscape, which includes:

• Encouraging collaboration between businesses, competitors and researchers.
• Pursuing innovations such as automation, analytics, virtual reality and 3D printing.
• Focussing on the advantages of global value chains.
• Employing an adaptable, digitally-savvy and diverse workforce with the skills to propel the industry forward.

These elements, combined with an ongoing commitment to pinpointing growth opportunities, will allow the government, researchers and the industry as a whole to work together to create a promising future for manufacturing in Australia.

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