Future factories will move into town, predicts Arup report

Arup is predicting the robotisation of factories and the rapid advance of 3D printing in a new report called Rethinking the Factory, exploring the emerging trends and technologies in manufacturing.

Developed by Arup’s Foresight + Research + Innovation and Science and Industry teams, the report argues that wider utilisation of 3D printing – or additive manufacturing – will allow manufacturing to move away from traditional sites and be more mobile and dispersed.

This will mean that factory locations are likely to become both more varied and closer to consumers, using non-traditional spaces such as small offices in a city centre. For the construction sector, this will allow production to take place closer to the point of use, lowering transport costs and emissions.

Factories will be adaptable, with modular building techniques enabling re-scaling and diversification of production. This will also allow energy, water and material consumption to be managed more effectively, while producing an environment suited to the needs of its highly skilled workforce.

Duncan White, science and industry leader at Arup, commented: “The convergence of the physical and digital worlds means that manufacturers have to continue to adapt and adopt new processes quicker than ever before.

Increasing adoption of technology such as 3D printing will mean factories can move away from traditional sites

“While developing sustainable and resilient practices will be essential, having access to a skilled pool of workers will prove to be equally important and challenging as these changes are made. As such, it is critical that companies and policy makers have a comprehensive understanding of the changing manufacturing landscape.”

The report goes on to suggest that collaboration between humans and robots will be the key to production in the future, with the integration of cameras and smart sensors already allowing robots to respond to their environments.

Becoming increasingly intuitive, robots will be able to “learn” tasks after being shown a portion of it. The human workers will serve as robot supervisors, operating machinery and controlling smart production processes such as systems management and data analysis, rather than participating in manual labour. 

One side effect of the increasing technicality of future factories will be even greater competition for employees with STEM skills.

Beyond machines, the report looks at new materials that could improve product performance. Arup predicts the emergence of self-healing, self-cleaning bio-inspired plastics, which are capable of repairing damage without human intervention. These technologies will extend the lifetime of manufactured goods and reduce demand for raw materials.

It adds that tools such as BIM in factory design, planning and management will play a critical role in allowing manufacturers to foresee and mitigate issues based on access to resources, location choices, weather risks and transportation needs.

Factory design will also be more focused on consumer experience, with the factory as a “showroom”. It also describes a “transparent factory” where more people get involved in making products or gain a closer insight into how products are manufactured, especially bespoke or customised products.