Abstract
The Shoestring approach represents a methodology for systematically specifying, design and deploying industrial digital solutions based on very low-cost components and limited development time. A key characteristic of the Shoestring approach is the direct involvement of personnel from the end user company in the specification and deployment process. This paper presents an evaluation of the first pilot deployments of Shoestring solutions which took place between 2019 and 2022 in SME manufacturers in the UK. Although only a handful of pilots were planned for this period, in fact 20 industrial pilot deployments took place. The approach taken for deployments in described and qualitative evaluation of the pilot presented. Some of the key findings are that the direct involvement of end user personnel ensures an effective engagement and all but one pilot was successfully deployed and trialled - each with significant involvement from the end user. In evaluation, most of the pilots achieved the benefits expected, and interestingly a number of the companies retrospectively identified additional benefits from their pilot that were not initially anticipated. Finally, it is noted that many of these deployments occurred when COVID-19 restrictions were in place. Ironically, the enforced restrictions may well have contributed to a greater number of pilots being undertaken and an acceleration of remote-support capabilities for the approach.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Amaral, A., Peças, P.: SMEs and industry 4.0: two case studies of digitalization for a smoother integration. Comput. Ind. 125, 103333 (2021)
Choy, K.L., et al.: Impact of information technology on the performance of logistics industry: the case of Hong Kong and pearl delta region. J. Oper. Res. Soc. 65 (2014)
Hawkridge, G., McFarlane, D., Kaiser, J., de Silva, L., Terrazas, G.: Designing shoestring solutions: an approach for designing low-cost digital solutions for manufacturing. In: Borangiu, T., Trentesaux, D., Leitão, P., Cardin, O., Joblot, L. (eds.) SOHOMA 2021. SCI, vol. 1034, pp. 249–262. Springer, Cham (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99108-1_18
Heavin, C., Power, D.J.: Challenges for digital transformation–towards a conceptual decision support guide for managers. J. Decis. Syst. 27(sup1), 38–45 (2018)
ISO/IEC. ISO 33020: Information technology - Process assessment - Process measurement framework for assessment of process capability (2019)
Llopis-Albert, C., Rubio, F., Valero, F.: Impact of digital transformation on the automotive industry. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Chang. 162, 120343 (2021)
Maier, G., et al.: Made Smarter Review, UK Government Publication Services (2018)
McFarlane, D., Ratchev, S., De Silva, L., Schönfuß, B., Hawkridge, G., Terrazas, G.: Digitalisation for SME manufacturers: a framework and a low-cost approach. In: Proceedings of IMS 22, Tel Aviv, March 2022 (2022)
McFarlane, D., et al.: Digital manufacturing on a shoestring: Low cost digital solutions for SMEs. In: Borangiu, T., Trentesaux, D., Leitão, P., Giret Boggino, A., Botti, V. (eds.) SOHOMA 2019. SCI, vol. 853, pp. 40–51. Springer, Cham (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27477-1_4
Merino, J., et al.: Lessons learned from an IOT deployment for condition monitoring at the port of Felixstowe. IFAC-PapersOnLine 55(19), 217–222 (2022)
Nieto, M., Lopéz, F., Cruz, F.: Performance analysis of technology using the s curve model: the case of digital signal processing (DSP) technologies. Technovation 18(6–7), 439–457 (1998)
Oesterreich, T.D., Teuteberg, F.: Understanding the implications of digitisation and automation in the context of industry 4.0: a triangulation approach and elements of a research agenda for the construction industry. Comput. Ind. 83, 121–139 (2016)
Park, J.: Evaluating a mobile data-collection system for production information in SMEs. Comput. Ind. 68, 53–64 (2015)
Saam, M., Viete, S., Schiel, T., et al.: Digitalisierung im Mittelstand: StatusQuo,ak- tuelle Entwicklungen und Herausforderungen (‘Digitalisation in SMEs: status quo, current trends and challenges’ – our translation, in German only), research project commissioned by KfW Group (2016)
Schönfuß, B., McFarlane, D., Hawkridge, G., Salter, L., Athanassopoulou, N., de Silva, L.: A catalogue of digital solution areas for prioritising the needs of manufacturing SMEs. Comput. Ind. 133, 103532 (2021)
Verhoef, P.C., et al.: Digital transformation: a multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda. J. Bus. Res. 122, 889–901 (2021)
Vial, G.: Understanding digital transformation: a review and a research agenda. J. Strateg. Inf. Syst. 28(2), 118–144 (2019)
Zhu, X., Ge, S., Wang, N.: Digital transformation: a systematic literature review. Comput. Ind. Eng. 162, 107774 (2021)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
McFarlane, D., Hawkridge, G., de Silva, L., Salter, L. (2024). Evaluation of Industrial Pilots of Low-Cost Digital (Shoestring) Solutions. In: Borangiu, T., Trentesaux, D., Leitão, P., Berrah, L., Jimenez, JF. (eds) Service Oriented, Holonic and Multi-Agent Manufacturing Systems for Industry of the Future. SOHOMA 2023. Studies in Computational Intelligence, vol 1136. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53445-4_25
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53445-4_25
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-53444-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-53445-4
eBook Packages: Intelligent Technologies and RoboticsIntelligent Technologies and Robotics (R0)