BSI Helps Boost The Manufacturing Industry With Guide To Digital Technology Adoption

Phil Black - PII Editor 19/12/2019

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Supporting the UK’s Industrial Strategy, the new guide sets out practical guide for UK manufacturing industry to adopt digital technology

BSI, the business improvement company, has released PAS 1040:2019 Digital readiness – Adopting digital technologies in manufacturing – Guide to provide organizations with the guidance needed to assess and improve their readiness to adopt digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and the internet of things.

The UK’s Industrial Strategy¹ and the Made Smarter Review², set out to boost productivity and create new businesses, jobs and export opportunities through innovation and the adoption of industrial digital technologies (IDTs) in manufacturing. PAS 1040:2019 supports this strategy by helping businesses to assess their digital readiness and understand the areas they need to develop in order to increase value from the adoption of IDTs. The potential prize is substantial, estimated at as much as £455 billion for UK manufacturing over the next decade³.

The PAS provides guidance on identifying and understanding the business factors, including leadership, culture, integration and process that should be taken into consideration in planning and implementing the digital journey. It includes standardized methodology for assessing the readiness of a business to adopt digital technologies in manufacturing and assess progress along a digital journey.

The PAS is for all manufacturers, suppliers, and related service providers who are looking to increase business efficiencies and competitiveness. It can also benefit developers and providers of digital readiness diagnostic tools.

Ben Sheridan, Manufacturing Sector Lead at BSI said: “The digital readiness gap can be closed by the UK manufacturing sector. It has the opportunity to adopt digital technology and make a change that will help to grow productivity and drive innovation. PAS 1040:2019 gives guidance intended to inspire business leaders to kick start their digital transformation journey.”

Robin Wilson, Head of Manufacturing and Materials at Innovate UK said: “The route to boosting productivity and creating new businesses, jobs and export opportunities in the UK manufacturing sector is the adoption of industrial digital technologies (IDTs). PAS 1040:2019 supports this strategy by helping businesses to assess their digital readiness and understand the areas they need to develop.”

PAS 1040:2019 was developed by a steering committee⁴ and underwent a peer and public review as is normal practice in such a consensus document.

Further details about PAS 1040:2019 which is free to download can be found here