Sean Costello
Director of R&D, Innopharma Technology
Industry 4.0 is changing the way manufacturing organisations work for the better. A new collaborative project is focussed on helping Irish organisations to thrive within this next industrial revolution.
Every challenge is an opportunity for growth. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated drug shortages and the supply chain crisis. There is growing recognition of the need for a restructuring of supply chains and the onshoring of strategic manufacturing capabilities.
With technology as an enabler, Ireland can be at the forefront of ensuring the viable refactoring of sustainable and resilient manufacturing and supply of medicines in Europe. Much is already being done to achieve this in a green way with some of the biggest solar farm projects in the country been driven independently by pharmaceutical manufactures in Ireland.
Supporting businesses through digital transformation
Innopharma, an Industry 5.0 expert, has proved itself as a North Star for pharmaceutical sector on the digital transformation journey by leveraging its three divisions in education, technology and technical services. People, culture and skills are central to the organisational management of change.
Our success demonstrates that public-private partnerships can deliver a measurable return on investment in people, skills and the future.
The lighthouse project collaboration
The Digital Maturity and Sustainability Assessment (DMSA) was developed by Innopharma for use by the Lighthouse Partnership in Disruptive Technology (LPDT), a cluster of Irish manufacturers, service providers and Government agencies formed with the goal of leveraging sectoral competencies and best practice experience to accelerate the transition of current operations towards Industry 5.0.
The DMSA has been used in benchmarking the current state, identifying best practice exemplars and areas of opportunity and enabling the development of a data-rich strategy that considers the unique technological and organisational direction, roadmap and destination of the participant. DMSA is a proven approach to developing a digital transformation and sustainability strategy and this approach will be extended to other manufacturing sectors to bring a greater resolution to the benchmarking process.
Empowering the Irish workforce through education
Innopharma Education programmes are designed to meet the skills demanded by industry now and in the years to come. To date, we have propelled over 8,000 graduates into careers in the sustainable, high growth industries of biopharma, medtech, ICT and agri-foodtech. We support individuals from diverse backgrounds to transform their professional careers. We develop the future skills they will need to thrive during the fourth industrial revolution. We produce self-aware, empowered workers and prepare Ireland’s labour force for a human-centric, green and sustainable future. Our success demonstrates that public-private partnerships can deliver a measurable return on investment in people, skills and the future.