GMIS a platform for technology standardisation

The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit, GMIS, will further global discussions and spur international action on emerging technology standardisation, said Ludovica Alcorta, Director of the Development Policy, Statistics and Research Branch of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNIDO, at a roadshow in Moscow this week.

The GMIS, the world’s first global gathering for the manufacturing community, will be held at Paris-Sorbonne, Abu Dhabi, from 27th to 30th March 2017, bringing together leaders across businesses, governments and civil societies to shape the future of manufacturing through the confluence of collaboration and sustainability. It will also focus on the transformational role of technology in global enterprises and the public sector.

The GMIS roadshow in Moscow featured a discussion panel with the theme: Development of Industrial Sectors of the Economy as the Driver of Economic Growth in Russia and the World: Actual and Coming Challenges of Industrial Development.

Moderated by Sergey Korotkov, Director of the UNIDO Centre for International Industrial Co-operation in the Russian Federation, the panellists highlighted the key areas that must be developed within the manufacturing sector, in order to mitigate current and future challenges for sustainable, and sustained, industrial development. The participating organisations included Gazprom, the Ministry for Economic Development and Industry of the Tula Region, Kurchatovsky Institute and the Technology Transfer Agency.

The roadshow opened with an address from Georgy Kalamanov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, followed by a speech from Oleg Naraikin, Vice President of Kurchatovsky Institute. Alcorta also joined the GMIS representatives, led by Taizo Nishikawa, Deputy to the Director General of UNIDO.

"The Russian Federation and the United Arab Emirates have much in common," said Georgy Kalamanov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. "Both are energy powerhouses that are embarking on a drive towards diversification into non-oil industries. Close collaboration in manufacturing between these two countries can result in benefits for their respective economies, meet national development plans and create jobs," he added.

"There is an increasing need for standards and standardisation of equipment, as the technologies developed over the past few years needed to communicate with each other in order to be successfully integrated. The problem is that with new technologies, we do not know exactly how they are going to evolve, especially if there is no international, industry-wide standardisation to unify them," Alcorta of UNIDO said.

"The GMIS is a platform that will allow companies to talk to one another and identify where the possible areas of standardisation are. It is not about creating the standards now, but about creating the environment in which standards will eventually be created," he added.

Communication between technologies is more pertinent than ever, as the Internet of Things - a vehicle that enables the fourth industrial revolution - requires cyber-physical systems to be able to connect and co-operate with each other. Standardisation will ensure that all connected technologies have the capacity to share information, thereby creating a seamless network that will power the success of all manufacturers by taking advantage of technologies that enable the fourth industrial revolution. By leveraging data, technology, customer experience and the Internet as enablers for the next wave of manufacturing, which is often referred to as the fourth industrial revolution, the GMIS can power new progress in human endeavour.

The summit will bring together world leaders from industries and governments to explore an outcomes-driven agenda focussed on the manufacturing sector’s role in overcoming global challenges. Globally, manufacturing is valued at around US$15 trillion, employs around 500 million people and represents approximately 16 percent of the world’s GDP.

"With our co-hosts UNIDO and the UAE Government, as well as with industry partners, including PwC, GE and Siemens, GMIS will address how we can not only ensure that we create economic opportunity but also ensure that any growth created is sustainable, and that it reflects the needs of our societies over the long term, as we grapple with issues related to climate change, growing population, urbanisation and diminishing finite resources," said Badr Al-Olama, CEO of Strata and member of the GMIS Organising Committee.

"By acting as a catalyst in the sector’s continued growth, GMIS will enable industry decision makers and governments to develop strategies that sustain economic growth and address unemployment issues around the world, in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, as every 100 jobs created in manufacturing have the potential to create 250 more in related sectors," he added.

Russia’s economy is currently experiencing an upswing, with the manufacturing sector reaching a four-year high in October this year, as measured by the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index. A recent study by Deloitte claims that the current state of manufacturing companies in Russia is predominantly positive, with a high degree of optimism for continued improvement. Apart from its primary energy exports, which represent 63 percent of total international trade, Russia exports metals, machinery and equipment, chemical products, and foodstuff and agricultural products.