On October 20, 2022, the conference ‘Industry and universities: research projects, IoT and Industry 4.0’ was held as part of the Lift Expo Italia exhibition, where the relationship between industry and post-diploma education in our sector was addressed.

The event was moderated by Maddalena Parotelli editor-in-chief of Elevatori Magazine, Lift Expo Italia‘s media partner in the year that Elevatori Magazine celebrates its 50th anniversary. Speaking on this topic, along with Maddalena Protelli, were three speakers. Two were present in the room: Marco Macchi, Full Professor at the Department of Management Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano, and Carlo Carabelli, General Manager and Managing Director of ASLAM, a training organization accredited with the Lombardy Region, which, among other things, deals with post-diploma training as an alternative to the university route. Connecting remotely, however, was Michele Germani, Full Professor at the Marche Polytechnic University, Director of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences and Contact Person for Third Mission, who presides over the processes of direct interaction between universities, civil society and the business fabric.

It was precisely from Prof. Germani that the discussion began, talking about ‘COLLABORATION BETWEEN UNIVERSITY AND BUSINESS and the project that Marche Polytechnic University is developing with ANICA.’ Prof. Macchi then spoke about digitalization in industrial asset management and maintenance.

Finally, Carabelli spoke about the educational offerings of Aslam, the institute he heads, which is at the forefront of the high technical level of training for its students. With ASLAM Elevatori Magazine, together with the ANICA Association and the CPI and Tre-e consortia, he is working on the IFTS Course for elevator maintenance workers in Italy.  And this was an opportunity to present the project to the public.

Below you can review the conference by clicking on the video (in Italian). Below are the reports of the speeches.

Watch the video of the conference

UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COLLABORATION

By Michele Germani

The Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (DIISM) is the structure entrusted with research, teaching and third mission activities in the area of Industrial Engineering within the Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM). DIISM aggregates research expertise related to the design, production and management of mechanical, mechatronic and energy systems. DIISM has 65 faculty members. Supporting research and teaching activities are 12 technicians and 8 administrative staff. This configuration, with the contribution of complementary skills, has enabled significant successes in terms of spillovers to the regional and more generally national productive fabric.   The Department has contributed to graduating 1640 students in the last 5 years in Mechanical, Management and Biomedical Engineering. Today almost all of them are stably employed in international, national and local companies. Some of them do research in centers of excellence in Italy (CNR, ENEA, IIT) and abroad (ETH, Caltech, NASA, JRC, …..), and others have become researchers at DIISM (13 in the last 5 years).

From the educational point of view, DIISM coordinates:

• The Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Course in Mechanical Engineering, Ancona campus
• The Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Course in Management Engineering, Fermo campus
• The Bachelor of Science in Engineering for Industrial Sustainability and Master of Science in Green Industrial Engineering (in English), Pesaro campus

Given the strategic themes of European research and the technical and scientific expertise of DIISM, which are useful for strengthening the target area, DIISM has focused on the following RESEARCH AND TRAINING PRIORITIES: 1) methods and tools for the development of products, production processes and services in manufacturing towards carbon neutrality; 2) methods and tools for social sustainability through the realization of human-centered living environments; 3) methods and tools for the development of innovative alternative energy sources and technologies for the management of smart grids; and 4) technologies to apply flexible and customized manufacturing, from data analysis to Additive Manufacturing.

In the collaboration with ANICA, many of these approaches will be able to be applied and tested. The collaboration may focus on both mechanical and mechatronic product design and manufacturing processes.

Topics to be addressed will be:

Virtual Prototyping and Digital Twin of products, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to design and simulate the product, Additive Manufacturing with innovative materials, Advanced Sensing to monitor products and processes, Structural Optimization of products, Energy Optimization of products and processes, Approaches toward Carbon Neutrality of products and processes, Robotic and cobot manufacturing processes, Cyber Physical Systems.

A first strategic project could be the development of a Competence Center for the study and development of lifting systems where a test tower and tools for virtual prototyping and advanced simulation of lifting equipment could be built. From this point of view, funding tools for research and innovation such as the Innovation Agreements funded by the Ministry of Economic Development and the Industrial Doctorates funded by the Ministry of University and Research can make a substantial contribution to this type of initiative for both infrastructure and research personnel.

Digitization in industrial asset and maintenance management

By Marco Macchi

Digitization has been transforming manufacturing for several years now and, nowadays, is driving an evolutionary environment with significant impacts in industrial asset management and maintenance.

The impacts affect various industries, with different levels of maturity in the adoption of technologies to innovate current practices.

The talk presented the projected evolution, highlighting the new capabilities of industrial systems and emphasizing how industrial asset management and maintenance are changing.

For illustrative purposes, project cases were first presented starting from manufacturing sectors; later, the discussion was expanded to service sectors, considering the scope of elevators.

Finally, some concluding reflections on the ongoing evolution.

Career-oriented training and the new course for Elevator Maintenance Technicians

By Carlo Carabelli

ASLAM is an institution accredited by the Lombardy Region and operates in the fields of training, guidance and employment services. Every day we accompany our students in the discovery of their potential, providing them with high-level technical skills and transmitting their passion for the profession. We are in close contact with the communities in our area and train professionals who are really in demand by companies.

In these 12 years, we have expanded our educational offerings, starting with mechanics and plant maintenance, structuring in logistics and aeronautics, and then opening up to the world of wood-furniture and leather goods.

1. VOCATIONAL TRAINING AS A FIRST CHOICE: THE TRAINING CHAIN METHOD

Young people can hardly be attracted to technical professions if they do not have the opportunity to see and, if possible, touch the perspective unfolding before them and a horizon broad enough for them to express themselves in a free choice.

Perspective, then, is not simply to make them see and perceive the possible jobs there are in a field but to be able to make a pathway that they are passionate about viable.

It is therefore necessary to create places where a whole educational and professional chain unfolds.

Our school is based on the pivotal concept of the Supply Chain: the intent of ASLAM is to be able to develop a proposal for lifelong learning that, starting from basic training (IeFP), passes through higher technical training (IFTS/ITS) and continues into continuing education. This dynamic model offers training proposals to subjects of different ages (adolescents, young people, adults) in a manner consistent with the needs expressed by companies in the area, which from time to time can indicate what profiles are needed to keep their businesses competitive.

At the methodological level, this is made possible by sharing the same training site, where IeFP students and ITS Academy students coexist. The possibility of training in a single environment allows IeFP students to see the prospect of professional growth in the training of ITS students.

This method is what strikes the companies that come in contact with ASLAM and visit our laboratories.In fact, each ASLAM location is equipped with sophisticated and well-equipped laboratories where students can learn trades in practice. The specificity and innovation of the laboratories is an indispensable feature.

An additional methodological element is the involvement of companies from the planning stage, asking them what skills are required and requesting the availability of professionals for technical teaching.

This makes it possible to generate a shared space between training and work, between school and company by generating mechanisms that can bring together two worlds that need to interconnect in order to develop their potential to the fullest.

It is crucial, then, that vocational training does not arise from a correction of a poor choice by our young people but a first choice!

2. LOOKING REALISTICALLY AT THE DEMOGRAPHIC DECLINE

The second point to keep in mind is the need to look very realistically at the issue of population decline. the difficulty in finding resources and technical personnel will be amplified dramatically in the coming years.

It is therefore necessary to raise the level of our vocational and technical schools. Well aware of the fact that vocational school, which prepares for job placement in the various technical levels including the higher ones, has a different purpose from technical colleges. Reason why most of the children who attend a technical institute proceed into university paths. Therefore, it will be even more crucial to take care of young people by at least preventing school dropouts and looking at the huge number of young people who drop out of university.

3.  REAL GUIDANCE IS NEEDED FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

The possibilities and potential of this field are exciting, and I am continually meeting in technical circles men who are passionate about their work.

Boys need to be able to grasp the full horizon of possibilities that the future can give them.

From our experience we can guarantee that boys as early as the ninth grade become fired up and passionate by getting involved in school precisely because they see an interesting way of working in place.

To do school we need companies. Not simply to do elevator courses but for the boys to perceive the convenience of taking this path. “An interesting educational proposal where you can meet passionate adults. You will no longer be the one looking for a job but the job will come looking for you!”

The course for Elevator Maintenance Technicians

Elevatori Magazine is the promoter of an ambitious project, born out of collaboration with Aslam and the involvement of the association Anica and the consortia Consorzio per l’Italia and Tre-E.

The aim is to organize and start in 2023 a one-year course for Elevator Maintenance Technician, organized as an IFTS (which already provides from the beginning a training contract that companies enter into with students participating in the course). Within the course, all the technical, regulatory and safety knowledge needed to work in the industry will be provided. Many hours will also be devoted to the practical part of the training, which will take place both in the school’s laboratories and in the company, where the students will spend several months during the year.

Gli organizzatori del corso, pii, si stanno muovendo per accordarsi con le Prefetture, in modo tale da riuscire ad arrivare, già all’interno del corso, a svolgere l’esame per il patentino.