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Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

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Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000 www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
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Procedia Manufacturing 31 (2019) 398–403
Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2017) 000–000
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
9th Conference on Learning Factories 2019
9th Conference on Learning Factories 2019
The Teaching Factory Network: A new collaborative paradigm for
The Teaching Factory Network: A new collaborative paradigm for
manufacturing
Manufacturing Engineering Society
education
International Conference 2017, MESIC 2017, 28-30 June
manufacturing education
2017, Vigo (Pontevedra), Spain
Dimitris Mavrikios a, Konstantinos Georgoulias a, George Chryssolouris a,*
Dimitris Mavrikios a, Konstantinos Georgoulias a, George Chryssolouris a,*
Costing models
Laboratory forfor
a
capacity
Manufacturing Systems &optimization inofIndustry
Automation (LMS), University 4.0:
Patras, Patras 26504, Trade-off
Greece
Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems & Automation (LMS), University of Patras, Patras 26504, Greece
a

between used capacity and operational efficiency

Abstract A. Santana , P. Afonso , A. Zanin , R. Wernke
a a,* b b

Abstract a
University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
The Teaching Factory (TF) has emerged as abpromising paradigm for manufacturing education. It operates as a non-geographically
Unochapecó, 89809-000 Chapecó, SC, Brazil
anchored
The learning
Teaching “space”
Factory (TF)interconnecting
has emerged as remotely located
a promising engineering
paradigm and studenteducation.
for manufacturing teams that Itwork together
operates as aon real-life projects.
non-geographically
The paperlearning
anchored will introduce
“space”the concept of the
interconnecting Teaching
remotely Factory
located Networkand
engineering (TFN), namely
student teamsathat
large-scale implementation
work together on real-lifeofprojects.
the TF
paradigm
The paperwithin a networkthe
will introduce of academic
concept ofand theindustrial
Teachingorganizations.
Factory Network Following
(TFN),annamely
overview of the key challenges
a large-scale associated
implementation of thewith
TF
manufacturing
paradigm withineducation
Abstract a networktoday, the foundation
of academic of this organizations.
and industrial work, namely the conceptan
Following of overview
the TF paradigm willchallenges
of the key be shortlyassociated
presented.withOn
that basis, the paper
manufacturing will define
education today,the
theTFN concept,
foundation ofspecify the namely
this work, TFN learning delivery
the concept hub,TFnamely
of the the software
paradigm platform
will be shortly facilitating
presented. On
TFN
Under operations,
that basis, andwill
thetheconcept
paper discuss implementation
ofdefine the TFN
"Industry 4.0", aspects.
concept, specify the
production TFN learning
processes willdelivery
be pushedhub, namely
to be the software platform
increasingly facilitating
interconnected,
TFN operations,
information and on
based discuss implementation
a real time basis and, aspects.
necessarily, much more efficient. In this context, capacity optimization
© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
goes
© 2019beyond
2019 the
Theunder traditional
Authors. Published aim of capacity B.V. committee of contributing
maximization, also for organization’s profitability and value.
Peer
© review
The Authors. Published by
the responsibility Elsevier
of the scientific
by Elsevier B.V. the 9th Conference on Learning Factories.
Indeed,
Peer reviewlean management
under and of
the responsibility continuous
the scientificimprovement
committee of theapproaches
9th suggest
Conference capacity
on Learning optimization instead of
Factories.
Peer review under the responsibility of the scientific committee of the 9th Conference on Learning Factories.
maximization. The study
Keywords: manufacturing of capacity
education; optimization
teaching factory, and costing
teaching factory network models is an important research topic that deserves
contributions
Keywords: manufacturing education; teaching factory, teaching factory network This paper presents and discusses a mathematical
from both the practical and theoretical perspectives.
model for capacity management based on different costing models (ABC and TDABC). A generic model has been
developed and it was used to analyze idle capacity and to design strategies towards the maximization of organization’s
1. Introduction
value. The trade-off capacity maximization vs operational efficiency is highlighted and it is shown that capacity
1. Introduction
optimization mightenters
Manufacturing hide operational inefficiency.
a new era, where novel life-long learning schemes need to keep up with the rapid advances
©
in 2017 The Authors.
Manufacturing
production relatedPublished
enters by era,
a new
technologies,Elsevier
tools B.V.
whereandnovel life-long
techniques [1].learning schemes
Considering need to keepofup
the importance with the rapidasadvances
manufacturing a wealth
Peer-review
in
generating under
production responsibility
related
activity of the tools
fortechnologies,
any nation, scientific
the and committee
techniques
promotion of[1].
the Manufacturing
of excellenceConsidering Engineering
the
will become importance Society
a strategic International
oftarget
manufacturing Conference
in the years as to
a wealth
come.
2017.
generating activity
Manufacturing for any
education nation,
will comprisethe promotion
a major driverof excellence
towards thatwill become[2].
direction a strategic
However,target in the
teaching andyears to come.
training have
Manufacturing
not education
kept pace with will comprise
the advances a major driver
in technology. towards
The current that direction
practice [2].aHowever,
is lacking continuous teaching andoftraining
delivery have
engineering
Keywords: Cost Models; ABC; TDABC; Capacity Management; Idle Capacity; Operational Efficiency
not kept pace and
competencies withstrong
the advances in technology.
multi-disciplinary The current
background practice
[3]. The is lacking aofcontinuous
transformation delivery
research results intoofnew
engineering
products
competencies and strong multi-disciplinary background [3]. The transformation of research results into new products
1. Introduction

* The
Corresponding author.
cost of idle Tel.: +30
capacity is2610 910160; fax: +30
a fundamental 2610 997314.
information for companies and their management of extreme importance
E-mail address:author.
* Corresponding xrisol@lms.mech.upatras.gr
Tel.: +30 2610 910160; fax: +30 2610 997314.
in modern production systems. In general, it is defined as unused capacity or production potential and can be measured
E-mail address: xrisol@lms.mech.upatras.gr
in several ways: tons of production, available hours of manufacturing, etc. The management of the idle capacity
2351-9789 © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
* Paulo
Peer Afonso.
review
2351-9789 2019Tel.:
©under the +351 253 Published
510of761;
Theresponsibility
Authors. fax: +351committee
the scientific 253
by Elsevier 604 741
B.V. of the 9th Conference on Learning Factories.
E-mail address: psafonso@dps.uminho.pt
Peer review under the responsibility of the scientific committee of the 9th Conference on Learning Factories.

2351-9789 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference 2017.
2351-9789 © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer review under the responsibility of the scientific committee of the 9th Conference on Learning Factories.
10.1016/j.promfg.2019.03.062
 Dimitris Mavrikios et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 31 (2019) 398–403 399
2 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

and processes is inadequate. Modern concepts of training, industrial learning and knowledge transfer schemes can
contribute to improving the innovation performance of European manufacturing [4]. Manufacturing is a subject that
cannot be treated effectively only inside a classroom, whilst industry can only evolve through the adoption of new
research results. New approaches are required for manufacturing education in order to i) modernize the teaching
process and bring it closer to the industrial practice, ii) leverage industrial practice through new knowledge, iii) support
the transition from the manual to the future knowledge workers and shorten the gap between resource-based
manufacturing (labor and capital) and knowledge-based manufacturing (information and knowledge) and iv) establish
and maintain a steady industrial growth.
To effectively address the emerging challenges for manufacturing education and skills delivery ([5], [6], [7]) the
educational paradigm in manufacturing needs to be revised. Many educational institutions have tried to bring their
educational practice closer to industry ([4], [8], [9], [10]) also with the concept of a Learning Factory. A drawback of
this approach may be that the dedicated equipment, which is installed on the academic settings, may at some point
become obsolete. Consequently, dedicated learning factories have the intrinsic limitation of narrowing down their
scope, based on the existing equipment.
The Teaching Factory has emerged as a promising new approach to address these challenges and shortcomings
through a much broader use of novel learning methods for the introduction of young engineers to a wide spectrum of
real-life manufacturing problems.

2. The Teaching Factory (TF) paradigm

The Teaching Factory (TF) concept has its origins in the medical sciences discipline and specifically in the
paradigm of the teaching hospitals, namely the medical schools operating in parallel with hospitals. TF has emerged
as a promising paradigm for integrating the learning and working environments ([11], [12]). It is a non-geographically
anchored learning “space” interconnecting remotely located engineering and student teams that work together on real-
life projects. TF is facilitated by advanced ICTs and high-grade industrial didactic equipment and operates as a bi-
directional knowledge communication channel "bringing" the real factory to the classroom and the academic lab to
the factory. Context and content modular configurations allow learning and training on multiple study contents,
engaging different factory facilities, engineering activities, delivery mechanisms and academic practices.
The “factory-to-classroom” TF operation mode aims at transferring the real production environment to the
classroom and allow students to be trained by addressing appropriate real-life engineering problems. The actual
production site is used to enhance the teaching activity with the knowledge and experience existing in the processes
of every day industrial practice. The “lab-to-factory” TF operation mode aims to transfer knowledge from academia
to industry. Industrial-grade or didactic equipment in the academic facilities are used as test-beds and demonstrators
for new technological concepts that are to be validated and introduced to industrial practice.
The TF paradigm has been assessed based on real-life applications together with industrial organizations ([13],
[14], [15]). Applications indicatively included the line balancing of a new production area and the planning of a
material kitting area in a construction equipment factory, the validation of a new integration and control architecture
for industrial robots in an automation company, designing a Multi-Technology Platform that combines a milling
working center with a robotic arm equipped with a laser-head for a machine shop etc.
The applications have demonstrated the TF potential to bring together the manufacturing learning and working
environments.

3. The Teaching Factory Network (TFN) concept

The industry-academia pilots (one-to-one) implemented so far, have demonstrated and verified the possibility of
bringing together the manufacturing learning and working environment in such a way so as for realistic and relevant
learning experiences to be arisen. On the one hand, students can deepen their knowledge in certain topics and apply
that in practice, while addressing real-life problems, and working in view of actual deadlines and industrial practice
terms. On the other hand, manufacturing practitioners have the chance to interact with a pool of students that have a
400 Dimitris Mavrikios et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 31 (2019) 398–403
Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000 3

problem-solving capacity, based on real talent and out-of-the-box thinking and get ideas and solutions that may not
have been considered during standard company engineering processes.
Within this context, a large-scale implementation of the Teaching Factory paradigm within a network of academic
and industrial organizations (many-to-many) is proposed to further reveal its full potential to introduce a paradigm
shift in manufacturing education and training and maximize the relevant impact.
The Teaching Factory Network (TFN) will bring together industrial (factories) and academic (classrooms) actors
(Fig. 1) and facilitate the launch of collaborative manufacturing training projects with mutual business interest for
both types of actors.

Fig. 1. The Teaching Factory Network.

Manufacturing companies will offer the engineering content of the training projects in the form of a real-life
practical problem that their engineers address. The problem content and complexity should fit the level of engineering
knowledge offered by academic curricula. The time frame to find a solution should be mid-to-long term to allow
alignment with academic curricula timelines. Universities will engage student teams to address and seek solutions to
the overall or part of the real-life engineering problems in the context of their academic training practices, i.e. practical
learning and development of problem-solving skills in some specific engineering topics or disciplines. TFN
manufacturing training projects will match industrial and academic practices from a content and time perspective (Fig.
2). Within this context TFN will:

 operate as a virtual forum of actors around the knowledge triangle in manufacturing,

 organize learning content and delivery mechanisms on a modular basis,
 match learning / training demands of academic organizations with demands for “outsourcing” manufacturing
projects from industrial organizations, and
 facilitate the launch of learning / training channels, by communicating the manufacturing knowledge between
remotely located “factories” and “classrooms”
4 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
Dimitris Mavrikios et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 31 (2019) 398–403 401

Fig. 2. Example of matching industrial and academic practices with TFN training projects.

4. The Learning Delivery Hub

The Learning Delivery Hub (LDH) will be the entry point for companies and universities that wish to be engaged
in the Teaching Factory network and participate in training projects. It will facilitate the submission and matching of
relevant learning delivery demands and offers (companies’ needs and student projects). Thus, it will act as a single,
one-stop point hosting different kinds of manufacturing topics that can be offered within the context of Teaching
Factory applications. Different resources, like videos, simulations, web-communication tools will be utilized
depending on the case under study. An open interface will allow each actor to submit offers and demands, including
supplementary information as needed, in order to facilitate the modularity and expandability of the hub (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3. Templates for entry of offers and demands at the LDH.

402 Dimitris Mavrikios et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 31 (2019) 398–403
Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000 5

The Learning Delivery Hub of TFN will offer three basic functionalities:

 Matchmaking, including submitting offers & demands, matchmaking based on keywords-based search mechanism,
suggesting potential synergies.
 Training support, including guidelines and recommendations on didactics & technology aids and best practices
from training projects.
 Dissemination & community building, including access to publicly available videos and testimonials from past
training projects and a virtual forum for the TFN community with search people function.

5. Implementation aspects

In order to fully reveal its network potential, the goal is to implement TFN in the context of an existing or future
large-scale European manufacturing initiative. A number of options are currently being investigated. The objective is
that future entrepreneurs and innovators be trained and taught subjects such as technology and implementation
management, innovation and entrepreneurial practice.
The Learning Delivery Hub will be implemented on the basis of the following main modules:

 Main module. This is the core of the hub. This module will be responsible for the orchestration of all the
functionalities of the hub.
 User interface. A customizable, user-driven interface will be implemented, offering specific functionalities to
specific users and giving the possibility of a customized GUI for different user groups.
 Database. A database (e.g. Postgres or MySQL) for hosting the data about the Teaching Factory training projects,
the users, library material, etc., will be used.
 Extensions. A set of extensions, in the form of plugins, for authoring relevant teaching material and integrating
modern didactic technology will also be part of the hub, playing a key role for the successful extension of the hub.

TFN implementation will allow launching large scale learning delivery pilots, engaging multiple nodes (many-to-
many) with complementary roles from both sides of the network, applying the functionality of the learning delivery
hub, and testing the new paradigm, based on real industrial problem-solving situations.
TFN operation will also greatly benefit from the launch of a validation framework to assist in monitoring and
optimizing the learning delivery processes and the network operation. Indicatively, a network analysis method, which
examines the flows of knowledge into and through a network of actors, may be used to understand, predict, and
improve knowledge communication outcomes.

6. Conclusions

The Teaching Factory applications over the last years have proved the paradigm’s potential to bring together the
manufacturing learning and working environments. This paper has introduced the concept of the Teaching Factory
Network, which extends the potential of launching training collaborations to a large network of manufacturing
companies and universities. The aim is to maximize the relevant impact and accelerate a paradigm shift in
manufacturing education and training.
The network-based mechanisms for updating and improving skills of TFN can expose students to a range of multi-
sector real production facilities, real-life business situations and up-to-date technologies, multi-disciplinary and
collaborative problem-based learning. Its potential is justified by the clear benefits that TFN engagement will bring to
its main actors, namely manufacturing companies and universities. Manufacturing companies will be able to
outsource appropriate engineering projects to young people with “fresh” minds and out-of-the-box thinking, and also
 Dimitris Mavrikios et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 31 (2019) 398–403 403
6 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

get access to a large pool of young talents for long-term collaboration and/or recruitment. Universities will be able to
offer to their students a unique training approach based on real-factory experiences, real-life problem solving, learning
from professionals & practitioners, and expose their students to a large pool of possible future employers.

Acknowledgements

The work presented in this paper has been partially supported by the Knowledge Alliance project KNOW-FACT
“A Knowledge Partnership for the definition and launch of the European Teaching Factory paradigm in manufacturing
education” co-funded by the European Commission (EAC-19-2011-067). The authors would like to thank the partners
in KNOW-FACT, namely Volvo Technology (construction equipment pilot), Festo AG (industrial automation pilot),
Fundacion Tecnalia, Politecnico di Milano, Technische Universität Darmstadt and Consulting and Software Products
S.A., for their cooperation.

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