Digital tech trials for manufacturing SMEs

The Luxembourg Digital Innovation Hub (L-DIH) has developed a "test before invest" package of services, delivered by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST).

“The rationale for this service is that many manufacturing SMEs need to step up their digitisation efforts. They often lack the time and expertise to implement advanced solutions, and the return on investment is difficult to quantify,’ explains Laurence Johannsen, research engineer at LIST. This is why the ‘test before invest’ service offers a progressive three-level approach designed to give these companies a ‘foretaste’ of technologies, enabling them to make more informed decisions.

With our experts, we co-design tailored solutions that are completely adapted to each company’s unique needs, context, and constraints.

Laurence Johannsen, LIST

To support SMEs throughout their digitalisation journey, three different types of pre-investment testing services are available.

Tech Talks

In the first phase, Tech Talks, participants are introduced to various emerging technologies. These sessions are open to SMEs, free of charge, and comprise of webinars and presentations or conferences.

“Tech Talks are designed to raise awareness, offering companies the opportunity to discover new technologies and hear testimonials from other manufacturers who have implemented them,” explains Ms Johannsen. Topics covered so far include data and AI, connectivity in industrial automation, and augmented reality for maintenance. In mid-October, there will be a webinar on the use of mixed reality for industry and a visit to the 5th Franco-German AI conference in Karlsruhe.

Tech Test Workshops

For those who want to go beyond theory, the second phase offers practical technical testing workshops. These half-day sessions allow participants to experiment with technological solutions such as rapid IoT prototyping, predictive maintenance using AI, and image processing.

“These practical workshops are based on specific industrial use cases, such as quality inspection using image processing or AI-driven maintenance. They are aimed at a specific company and are based on a concrete use case,” adds Johannsen.

The ‘test before invest’ service offers a progressive three-level approach designed to give these companies a ‘foretaste’ of technologies.

With a fee of €1,200 per person, these workshops are fully co-financed for participants from industrial SMEs. They cover a wide range of technologies. For example, an upcoming session will focus on the development of an augmented reality application for industrial maintenance using Unity and HoloLens technologies. Other workshops on blockchain, data acquisition and visualisation, data storytelling and Digital Twins are also planned.

The themes and technologies covered are continuously adapted based on feedback from companies and market research conducted by Luxinnovation. Ms Johannsen explains: “We try to stick to what the market needs and adapt the topics of our workshops to address current industry demands.”

Tailor-made support

The final phase consists of dedicated support from LIST experts to identify the right solution for a company's specific needs. At the end of two working sessions, beneficiaries receive a development plan for a solution that meets their business objectives, context and maturity.

‘Tailor-made support begins with an exploratory workshop, during which we define the company's challenges, whether they involve improving product quality, strengthening process management or identifying new customer segments,’ explains Ms Johannsen.

The next workshop assesses the company's skills, infrastructure and available data to identify the best technological solution. ‘There is data that companies think they have and data that they need to acquire,’ she stresses.

We try to stick to what the market needs and adapt the topics of our workshops to address current industry demands.

At the end of this process, the company receives a fully documented set of requirements, enabling it either to develop the solution in-house, purchase standard software, collaborate with a service provider, or work with LIST to develop a bespoke solution with financial support. Amer-Sil is one of the companies that has successfully gone through this process.  

A final workshop enables participants to provide their own data, which is used to create a quick demonstration. During the workshop, they work directly with the proposed technologies using their own real data. Like the Tech Test workshops, industrial SMEs can benefit from co-financing until the end of 2025 by completing an initial digital maturity assessment, after which they can access co-financing options for the service.

SMEs benefit the most

Test before invest services are available to companies of any size, it is particularly aimed at SMEs. “Large corporations often have the in-house expertise and resources to adopt new technologies independently. However, SMEs, which generally do not have these resources, have everything to gain from these services,” highlights Ms Johannsen.

It’s way cheaper and easier to correct the requirements before implementation than to fix a system that doesn’t work once it is implemented.

The pre-implementation testing helps them avoid costly mistakes and reduces barriers to adopting new technologies. “It’s way cheaper and easier to correct the requirements before implementation than to fix a system that doesn’t work once it is implemented. If the solution fails, companies lose not only money and time, but also confidence, and it may foster resistance to further change,” she points out.

Additionally, the service provides companies with access to LIST’s extensive expertise, particularly in fields such as AI, data science, and digital twins. “With our experts, we co-design tailored solutions that are completely adapted to each company’s unique needs, context, and constraints,” she concludes.