Towards Industry 5.0: Developing Knowledge and Skills in a Research and Innovation Lab

Abstract

The challenging global environmental, economic, and societal transformations urge Norwegian industry to capitalize on all value creation from the manufacturing processes. For many companies, this implies taking manufacturing back to Norway. However, high labour costs do not allow Norway to compete in the global market, and therefore industry needs to take advantage of state-of-the-art technologies. Norwegian society is experiencing a steep learning curve: the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for engineers and managers in companies, while simultaneously transforming and aligning educational programs in universities with Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0. This research presents a knowledge management perspective of the Industry 5.0 competence platform from the viewpoint of Manulab, a research and innovation lab specializing in Industry 4.0 technologies for the small-scale production of customized products. Located at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Ålesund, Manulab collaborates closely with regional industries, including marine, maritime, furniture, and food production, as well as suppliers to these sectors. While Industry 4.0 concepts developed in Manulab have significant potential for value creation, companies and stakeholders have yet to fully capitalize on them. To address this issue, the research adopts Nonaka and Takeuchi's organizational knowledge creation model and applies it to the competence building processes in Manulab, investigating the contribution from different knowledge workers to each phase. The term "knowledge workers" refers to individuals with specialized knowledge and expertise who create value for their organization. The study shows that involving additional knowledge workers in various phases of the Manulab competence building process is crucial for successful implementation of research projects in industry. Furthermore, this human-centric approach can assist companies in transitioning to the Industry 5.0 paradigm. The research is a collaborative effort among researchers, students, and employees holding various positions within industrial companies.