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Manufacturer

 

Manufacturer

 

Setting the context

According to theInternational Data Corporation’s ( IDC) Worldwide Digital Transformation Spending Guide, digital transformation accounted for nearly 1,800 billion dollars in 2022, representing a 17.6% increase compared to 2021. These staggering investments indicate that companies around the world are undergoing a major shift in their digital maturity.

All signs point to this “Third Industrial Revolution” offering Canadian businesses access to opportunities for growth and innovation. However, it is clear that these opportunities are not being seized in Canada, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Studies conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have revealed that “the Canadian manufacturing sector continues to lag behind other Western countries in terms of productivity.”

In Quebec, most industries are lagging in terms of digitization between Industry 3.0 and Industry 4.0. This phenomenon makes our companies vulnerable to their international competitors whose internal and external operations are more digitized.

Currently, large amounts of information and data are still on paper or in machines, where their potential is not being exploited. Furthermore, between 2017 and 2019, less than 10% of Canadian businesses reported using artificial intelligence according to Statistics Canada.

The manufacturing sector is the one most affected by the consequences of this digital gap. In order to promote the benefits of this digital transformation, Laval économique wishes to highlight different avenues of innovation. The TEMMRA model will help our team and associated academics to raise the most promising ones.

 

1
Analyze

First, we will conduct an analysis in order to identify the various issues present in the Laval area.

 

2
Concerts

Once a compelling issue is identified, we bring stakeholders together to gather their solutions.

 

3
Experiment

The selected solutions must be tested in a real context on the Laval territory, supervised by the researchers.

 

4
Evaluate

After a successful test, the team evaluates the conditions for success to encourage investors to support future efforts.

 

Initiative

Laval économique is partnering with IVADO, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) research consortium, to offer a training program for Laval-based businesses starting in the fall of 2025. This initiative aims to support the effective and responsible adoption of AI by focusing on practical training tailored to the realities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the challenges faced by key sectors such as manufacturing, life sciences, retail, IT, agri-food, and tourism.

The course content will address the ethical, environmental, and practical aspects of AI, drawing on the IAR³ framework (Robust, Reasoning, and Responsible AI). The training programs are designed for executives and their teams, with tools applicable to cross-functional areas such as human resources, supply chain management, and cybersecurity.

The training program will be announced in an upcoming issue of our newsletter.

Initial Project

Measuring digital maturity and transformation

Next steps:

  • Develop and test a measurement tool for the level of digital maturity of companies.
  • Draw a comparative portrait between the digital maturity of Ville de Laval and that of other Canadian cities.
  • Create a digital competency index and expand the measurement instrument to adapt it to the sectoral level.
  • Develop and test a self-assessment platform for digital skills and practices related to digital literacy.
  • Establish an ecosystemic sectoral roadmap that ensures alignment between technologies and competencies.

 

 

 

The Academics