Change2Twin assessment team, led by TNO, has been preparing a methodology for assessing digital preparedness of SME over the summer and early autumn. The assessment tool Compass, which is now almost ready, will be crucial for SMEs and Digital Innovation Hubs in the Assessment phase (Assessment Voucher).
From August through October, the solution providers and the pilot companies involved in the project have provided useful insights into their processes and way of working as well as their needs for the current project. After a series of interesting discussions and meetings, the first version of the assessment tool has been completed.
As an initial step, partners were invited to check with DIHs for existing assessment methods. TNO extended this inventory by methods and tools that are currently in use for assessing the capabilities and level of companies towards implementing Digital Twins and other Industry 4.0 solutions. This resulted in a comparison of the existing methods and practices, which was presented and discussed in the first assessment team meeting.
Several partners volunteered to contribute and provide input for the development of the assessment. The current assessment team is made up by TTTECH, CT-Ingenieros, BOC, Unit040 and Space Structures and is led by TNO, the task leader for the assessment tool development.
The assessment team concluded that the Compass tool, which has been developed in earlier projects by TNO, would be a good starting point according to the purposes of the Change2Twin project. TNO visited Space Structures GmbH (SPS), one of the pilot companies, for testing the Compass tool and explore to what extend it fits the needs of the project. The meeting lasted two days and provided useful feedback and suggested improvements for the assessment tool, as well as gave new insights for the Change2Twin pilot case of SPS. Read more about the meeting in our article Space Structures GmbH (SPS) gets a grip on its level of digitalization with TNO.
Travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have not yet allowed testing the Compass tool at the other pilot companies. However, the team is currently looking into ways to carry out the assessment virtually, since this seems the only viable option for the near future. Validation sessions for the assessment tool are planned with the other pilot companies in the coming weeks. Following this, the Compass tool was translated from Dutch to English in order to be understandable by all partners. TNO is working on the assessment method to incorporate the feedback provided by the pilot companies and to extend it to Digital Twinning specifically. It is the aim to link the assessment with the lessons learned and the offerings in the marketplace at a later stage.