Implementation of a learning factory for research, education and training: the SUPSI Mini-Factory

The manufacturing industry constantly faces complex and various challenges. In this scenario, industries are attempting to exploit the latest advances in information and communication technology to enhance productivity, efficiency and long-term planning. While the human role is still essential and significant, human activities will unavoidably change their nature in terms of increased complexity and heterogeneity of the work. In order to deal with the educational needs to handle this complexity and heterogeneity, in the last decade numerous learning factories have been developed. The SUPSI Mini-Factory is a learning factory in the narrow sense, as it provides a real value chain for a physical product where participants can perform, evaluate, and reflect their own actions though a hands-on learning approach.