Resource-efficient production is a prerequisite for manufacturing in a country such as Sweden, with high wages, high quality standards and high material costs. Resources such as materials, people, energy, capital and time must be used efficiently in order for production to remain competitive. Research and innovation aimed at resource-efficient manufacturing requires a holistic approach and affects all the lifecycle phases of products and production systems.

Today and tomorrow’s consumers demand increasingly customised and personalised products, which requires a great deal of flexibility from the production process. Flexible production is able to handle volume changes, different variants, new materials and new combinations of materials. We need new knowledge, innovative manufacturing methods and automation solutions. Automation and digitalisation contribute to flexibility by, for example, simulating or integrating systems to achieve decentralised management and monitoring of the production process.

Resource-efficient production is a prerequisite for manufacturing in a country such as Sweden, with high wages, high quality standards and high material costs. Resources such as materials, people, energy, capital and time must be used efficiently in order for production to remain competitive. Research and innovation aimed at resource-efficient manufacturing requires a holistic approach and affects all the lifecycle phases of products and production systems.

Although the future of manufacturing is digital, humans still have a vital role to play. Complex production requires competent people to collaborate with advanced automated production systems and robots. Digitalisation, sensors and big data impose new demands on personal safety, communication, interfaces and allocation of tasks between people and technical systems. While technological advances demand virtual and global networks, they also enable access to information regardless of language. New technical solutions also make it possible to improve workstations, working methods and ergonomics.

A circular production strategy, such as re-manufacturing, is a way to enable smart and resource-efficient products and production systems. The shift towards a circular economy and circular production requires new design at the product and production level. The service life of products and production systems can be extended through smart maintenance, new combinations of materials and components and data analysis. To achieve this, we need to develop competence and find new types of service-based products.

A product must create value for all the parties in the supply chain. Development of products and production systems needs to take place more rapidly, in parallel and in an integrated way in order to meet market demand for speed and flexibility. Strengthening the integration of product and production development is crucial for competitive manufacturing companies.