S4M Maturity Model and Assessment Criteria
Work Package 1 (WP1) provides conceptual framework of maturity model (S4M). Based on Turku UAS (2024) MaMaCo –project co-creation process, the preliminary Performance Theme Areas (PTAs) could cover sustainability, technology, purchasing, quality assurance, risk management, contracting, material management and logistics, product life cycle management, network competitiveness, value chain management, organizational learning for example. Key performance areas (KPA) are identified in WP1 on each PTA based on previous research results and literature and discussions with case companies. The S4M is planned and designed for the improvement of material management business processes in network so that sustainability is considered in performance. In this project S4M is used to analyze the level of material management sustainability and competitive capabilities of businesses in a subcontracting network and to identify areas for improvement. KPAs are assessed via key performance indicators (KPI). These indicators are designed for ship building ecosystem (SBE) in collaboration with focal project companies. Collaboration will be arranged in co-creation workshops. The S4M will be scalable to wider range of suppliers in SBE. In WP1 the body of knowledge is collected together and formed into S4M KPA matrix and assessment KPIs.
Material Management Information Sharing and Streamlining Processes With Digital Solutions
In addition to collecting material-related sustainability data, many of the SDGs can be achieved by improving the efficiency, transparency and effectiveness of material management operations. Work package 2 (WP2) focuses on streamlining material management data sharing and processes with digital solutions.
Our goal is to identify technology-related practices, data and tools that can improve the sustainability of materials management in individual companies and at the ecosystem level. First, we identify key areas of shipbuilding material management processes that are significantly affected by digitalization. Secondly, we are responsible for the IT implementation of the S4M maturity model, which serves the companies in the network with visualization, optimization and AI-based forecasting models, for example. We build various pilot implementations, which we test and evaluate together with the actors in the network, taking into account their scalability into common and cross-industry tools in the ecosystem.
Improving Sustainability and Efficiency of Shipbuilding
Work Package 3 (WP3) aims to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of the shipbuilding ecosystem (SBE) through two main objectives. The first objective is to identify the maturity levels of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) within the SBE. PLM encompasses the management of a product’s entire lifecycle, from design and manufacturing to usage and final disposal or recycling. PLM enables organizations to collaborate by integrating people, processes, and technologies, ensuring consistency, traceability, and long-term archiving of product-related information. The goal is to compare PLM maturity models and determine how they support sustainability and Industry 5.0 within the SBE. This work will be done in close cooperation with WP1.
The second objective is to improve the control and monitoring of capacity and material flows within the SBE to optimize the use of capacity and materials, transport, and inventories, while minimizing waste and emissions. WP3 will study supply network capacity management solutions and technological enablers for material tracking systems in sustainable supply chain management. This will be achieved by collaborating with partner companies to identify development targets for capacity management, information, and material flows, testing the technological concept of a material tracking system, and analyzing the results for further development. Research cases will be developed and evaluated within the focal supply network and executed with selected suppliers. This work will be done in close collaboration with WP2, which provides solutions and designs efficient data pipelines within the supply network, utilizing cloud resources for material tracking.
WP3 aims to integrate sustainable practices and advanced digital solutions to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the shipbuilding supply ecosystem.
Communication and Impact
Work Package 4 (WP4) focuses on the communication, dissemination and exploitation of the project results, both during and after the project period. To achieve the overall project objectives, we will apply the theoretical framework of Collective Impact to guide and coordinate the activities of the research and business network towards a common goal. In turn, the S4M -maturity model produced in the research project aims to guide the shipbuilding network towards a green transition from a materials management perspective. The model of Collective Impact guides our project activities to pay continuous attention to six conditions for success in achieving long term impact: 1) actors have a common agenda; 2) project progress is monitored by commonly agreed indicators; 3) mutually reinforcing measures aim at long-term effectiveness; 4) continuous information exchange; and 5) support from the background organization aims at bringing benefits to the actors involved in the project, the shipbuilding industry in general and society at large.
The four tasks of the work package are: raising awareness of the project among the scientific community, the shipbuilding network and the general public; diversifying the use and sharing of the knowledge developed in the project within the network; disseminating and exploiting the research knowledge in different fora of the scientific community, the shipbuilding communities and the general public.