SEISMEC turns 1!
Shifting the industrial paradigm
Traditional approaches to industrial development have prioritised efficiency and automation, too often side-lining workers well-being and societal values. This results in disempowered workers, eroding job satisfaction and hindering inclusivity. SEISMEC aims to revolutionise industrial practices by placing humans at the forefront of workplace technological developments while piloting this new paradigm in 17 pilots across 14 countries and 14 industrial ecosystems. Our promise is to chart a course towards Industry 5.0 and empowered workers.
Benchmarking human-centrism
During the first year of the project, the starting point was to benchmark practices and guidelines for human-centrism while identifying associated tensions that shape the applications of human-centric solutions. This is the foundation for the SEISMEC framework and for what the project defines as the SEISMEC shift: combining technological advances with the empowerment of workers through fair and ethical digital practices. We argue that technology development empowers workers while enhancing competitiveness when industries operationalise key CAPS empowerment factors: Collaboration and Creativity, Autonomy and Automation, Privacy and Productivity, Safety and job Satisfaction.
Tools and methods for human-centrism assessment
These underlying concepts provided the groundwork for developing human-centric tools and methods needed for the design, implementation and evaluation of the pilots: design guidelines for embedding human-centric solutions, quantitative and qualitative frameworks for assessing the impact of automatic technology solutions, and methods for worker participation. In parallel, the project identified requirements to conduct transversal analyses that allow generalising results from individual pilots to more general themes applying to multiple pilots.
Validation and pilot start
A first stakeholder ‘Design Workshop’ took place in October 2024 to validate the premises and work developed in relation to the human-centric framework and tools developed, while enabling an iterative optimisation process.
This initial framing, in addition to the definition and implementation of data management and ethical practices, allowed SEISMEC to shape the design of each pilot’s goals and activities, which will ultimately be translated into individual pilot journeys.
Reflection
Ultimately, the first year of SEISMEC has been centred around modelling the pilot interventions within the new Industry 5.0 paradigm.
This has been a major undertaking with a diverse consortium of 30+ partners embodying a mix of universities and research centres, SMEs and large enterprises.
Jason Pridmore, the Project Coordinator, reflects on the first year of the project:
| ‘‘Change takes time. And this is just as true about moving to human centric practices as it is pulling together a team to make the potentials for doing this happen effectively. In our first year, we have started to set some clear directions for how our diverse set of pilots can both implement key solutions that fit their context while also finding ways to mutually learn from each other in the project. But we are not there yet. Particular challenges of translating all of the topics we want to capture alongside a flexible enough pilot ‘journey’ have proven difficult to easily resolve, however our commitment to doing so together remains unwavering. I see many signs of key pieces and processes falling into place thanks to the ongoing efforts of our consortium partners. We are learning from and with each other and in partnership with other Industry 5.0 projects facing similar challenges. Given this, I consider 2024 a successful year and see 2025 building on some good foundations.’’ |
