Which of today’s technologies will become indispensable tomorrow?
Where does Lower Normandy stand on the innovation ladder in terms of technology? To answer these questions and to enable the region’s SMEs and SMIs to keep up with progress, the DRIRE recently conducted a regional study on key technologies.

Inside view / MSI Chantiers Allais “Digital simulation is a tool, not an end in itself” | Lymphis : “Giving businesses a taste of key technologies.”

Inside view / MSI Chantiers Allais “Digital simulation is a tool, not an end in itself”
François Allais’ marine construction company is established in the Cherbourg military port since 2006. MSI Chantiers Allais builds boats intended for professional use, for example by oil platforms. And the company also uses digital simulation during the design phase. “Digital simulation appeared in my company in 1976, with the arrival of my first computer, hence enabling me to develop my business plans!” François Allais ironically recalls. But, the boat builder is keen to set things clear before talking of digital simulation. “For many an SME digital simulation was initially just a lure, with no clear definition. The term in fact covered a variety of extremely different techniques.” And for a business leader, it’s important not to confuse digital simulation with virtual imaging for example. In his own field, marine construction, digital simulation can be of use in many areas: use of a calculator involving behavioural simulation for hull design, verification of structural features, resistance calculations… Nevertheless, François Allain applies the technique with due caution. “Digital simulation is a tool, not an end in itself” It should be part of the business’s thought process.” He does not believe that digital simulation should be considered as a “miracle” solution for business leaders. It should not, for example, be considered as a means of economising on manpower, since its efficient exploitation requires, on the contrary, bringing new and different skills to the company. “Businesses wagering on digital simulation need to be fully aware of what they’re embarking on. They need to have a genuine industrial strategy and to fully appreciate whether the technique is indeed an asset.” Digital simulation can, of course, help businesses to increase their production. “But, they need to ensure that the market is sufficient to absorb such production.” François Allais believes that, “digital simulation is a tool, not an end in itself”.

Lymphis : “Giving businesses a taste of key technologies.”
Created in 2007 by Laure Cardine and Luc Vichit, Lymphis is specialised in economic development through technological innovation. And the consultancy has been selected by the DRIRE to conduct the “Technologies Clés 2010″ study for Lower Normandy.
How did you go about conducting this analysis?
Based on the national “Technologies Clés 2010″ study, the aim was to evaluate the technologies likely to be of relevance to Lower Normandy’s businesses, and to discover how industrialists can apply them. We started with a study of the region’s industrial fabric, in order to identify which sectors are the most frequent users of such technologies, their needs and any potential trends. We then contacted institutional partners - a total of 41 public and semi-public bodies - in order to take stock of current action in the field. Thanks to their active involvement out in the field, their experience proved to be very useful. We continued our approach by contacting lower Normandy’s research and training centres, in order to appreciate the local skills capable of helping businesses to integrate the technologies in question. And finally, we conducted fifty or so individual interviews with local business leaders. Together, we went through the 83 key technologies identified in the DGE study with a fine-toothed comb, in order to single out the most important ones… An arduous task indeed. And, based on their potential, we selected a final panel of 30 technologies, which we presented at last October’s associated event.
Throughout the study, what would you consider to be the most noteworthy aspect?
During the individual interviews, we encouraged business leaders to talk about themselves. Forcing dialogue occasionally helped us to detect technological needs that we would never have suspected otherwise. We were surprised to learn that many of them already have technological projects, but that they have been left on the shelf due to lack of time or resources. From an outside viewpoint, we often get the impression that companies are totally aware their respective sectors of activity. However, when it comes down to it, they often miss out on important information.
So what is now to become of your study?
From the very start, the DRIRE had clearly demonstrated its desire for the study to generate concrete action. We are now entering the project’s operational phase, aimed at bringing needs and skills together. We need to develop a pitch capable of convincing industrials that it’s time to take action. We will be communicating, on both individual and collective levels, on how we can now integrate these technologies. It’s a maturing phase, which will continue until such times as the identified technologies are effectively operational. It involves giving businesses a taste of these key technologies: on how each solution can be industrialised and at what cost? It will then be up to them to decide. At this stage, our aim is to reach a maximum number of SMEs. All of those wishing to get involved in any proposed action are welcome to join us during this operational phase. Laure Cardine and Luc Vichit, the two young consultants behind Lymphis.

The DRIRE clearly stated its aims right from the start. If the regional study on technology conducted by the body was aimed at providing food for thought for Lower Normandy’s innovation players, it was also intended to generate concrete action on their part.
The themes which have now been endorsed by the study should heighten awareness among such businesses… and convince them to adopt appropriate systems to guarantee themselves a healthy future.

Today, the innovation train is not to be missed… Competitiveness depends on it! In the current worldwide context, technology, and by logical extension, innovation are the keystone to economic development and employment. Anticipating the changes generated by technical advances and using them to create new opportunities have become indispensable ingredients for success. Since 1995, every five years, the Directorate General for Enterprise (DGE ) conducts a prospective national study, aimed at identifying the technologies likely to play a key role in France’s industry over the coming years. The aim: to provide food for thought for the nation’s innovation players, and to enable businesses to anticipate technological change and to define appropriate strategies. The latest, entitled, “Technologies Clé 2010″ (Key technologies for 2010), published in 2005, was conducted in an endeavour to create, in due course, a genuine tool serving local economic development. And the study required the scrupulous examination of no less than 250 technologies by a hundred of the country’s leading experts. Eighty-three of the technologies analysed were finally selected. Either because they offered excellent growth and impact potential, or because they appeared suitable for industrial integration and development over the next ten years.

On a regional scale

In order to make efficient use of the results of the national study, the DRIRE - Normandy Regional Directorate for Industry, Research and Environment, has decided to launch its own regional study. The aim: to identify the key technologies likely to be relevant, not only to the region’s SMEs and SMIs, but also to its laboratories, research centres, etc. “The idea was also to establish where Lower Normandy stands on the innovation ladder: its weak points, its strong points, its needs,” sums up Guy Faoucher, the Industrial development project coordinator in charge of the project at the DRIRE. “We were also looking to identify the region’s technological demanders, along with regional and national suppliers…” A new local study was therefore conducted from June 2007 to September 2008 by Lymphis, a consultancy specialised in economic development through technological innovation (see boxed article). Thirty of the 83 key technologies identified in the national study were highlighted thanks to their specific potential for Lower Normandy. “We then looked to establish which of the selected key technologies were the most likely to impact our businesses, the number of jobs or associated industry sectors, and especially how we could integrate them,” Guy Faoucher explains. Based on the results, 27 specific tasks have been put forward aimed at developing these technologies throughout Lower Normandy’s leading industry sectors. They were presented on the 7th of October 2008, during the Journée Régionale de l’Innovation (Regional Innovation Day), co-organised by the DRIRE and the Lower Normandy Regional Council. The event reunited some 250 participants, most of them business leaders. Grouped around six priority themes, they now need to contribute towards collective action, relying both on regional, or even national, skills and on existing businesses (see The Themes). Endorsed and funded by the State and the Regional Council, these themes are now entering into their operational phase. Their implementation has been entrusted to the CNRT Matériaux - National Centre for Technological Research in Materials, appointed project manager in partnership with Lymphis, assistant project manager. The aim is now to find the right businesses to generate collective action around these themes. “It will enable us to conduct such action in a homogeneous manner and from a truly transversal viewpoint,” considers Guy Faoucher. All of the planned action should be initiated by late 2009.

For further information

www.basse-normandie.drire.gouv.fr
(”Industrial Development” pages)
www.expertises2010.fr
www.industrie.gouv.fr/techno_cles_2010

The themes put forward have been endorsed by the State and the Regional Council. Christian Leyrit, the Calvados Préfet, along with Alain Schmitt, Director of the DRIRE, attend the Regional Innovation Day.

Presentation of the Technologies Clés 2010 study at the Regional Innovation Day, on the 7th of October 2008. Approximately 250 participants accepted the invitation from the DRIRE; 60% of them were business leaders.

Virtual image obtained using digital simulation - Euridis Ingénierie in La Glacière (Manche)

Prototyping (manufacture of an object by gradually adding matter) enables complex forms to be created, which are often impossible to develop via machining.

 

The themes

The Technologies Clés 2010 study for Lower Normandy has enabled strategic technologies to be identified for the development of the region’s innovation. Seven priorities, pooled together in 6 themes, have been selected in order to develop these technologies throughout the region’s industry sectors. The aim of these themes, or rather work groups, is to define and prepare appropriate and concrete action. The groups will begin work late 2009, benefiting from State and Regional funding. Any company interested in one of these projects is invited to contact the DRIRE, to obtain information on its ongoing progress and to express its potential desire to participate.

[Help in decision-making - materials]

• Context

There are a multitude of materials, forming processes or surface treatments. It can consequently prove difficult for a business to call into question a previously adopted solution. Nevertheless, these technologies are constantly changing, offering vast development potential to industrial users. Choosing or replacing a material involves abiding by strict economic and functional specifications and requires expert assistance.

• The sectors concerned

Materials processing / Nautical sector / Plastics / Automobile industry / Nuclear energy / Mechanical equipment / Construction and Public Works

• Example of proposed action

The creation of a one-stop service to assist in the materials decision-making process has been adopted to help SMEs develop their innovative projects. The aim of the service is to inform and guide businesses in their approach to materials innovation. It should enable SMEs to access a network of materials experts covering a number of technological fields, hence offering the necessary transversality for innovation in the field.

Contact at the DRIRE
Yves Angella

[Digital Simulation]

• Context

Tools for modelling, design and calculation are constantly required in the product design phase, hence facilitating groundwork with regard to dispositional issues. They offer technological development prospects which have as yet been poorly exploited by SMEs. These technologies cover a vast range of applications requiring, for each industrial issue, specific skills which are available throughout different resource centres. Even companies with their own design office can but rarely secure a return on the investment required to incorporate these technologies, be it via human resources or associated software.

• The sectors concerned

Information and Communication Technology and Electronics / Nautical sector / Plastics / Automobile industry / Mechanical equipment / Nuclear energy

• Example of proposed action

The idea is to offer businesses access to specialised advice on digital simulation, along with coaching throughout their innovative project. The aim is to inform businesses on the possibilities offered by digital simulation and to federate the skills and resources available throughout the region’s laboratories and technical centres.

Contact at the DRIRE
Lionel Leduc

[Prototyping and rapid manufacturing]

• Context

Rapid prototyping enables an object to be produced by directly adding matter, based on a digital CAD 3D file. It offers new prospects for forming and manufacturing materials, via part production which reverts neither to moulds nor matrices. To date, very few industrialists actually use this technology, despite the fact that it offers the possibility to create complex forms (some of them impossible to produce with machining), to detect potential design problems and to endorse a project’s feasibility, or even to optimise forms and machining costs.

• The sectors concerned

Plastics / Automobile industry / Materials processing / Nautical sector / Nuclear energy / Mechanical equipment

• Example of proposed action

In order to develop the use of rapid prototyping, awareness of the process needs to be heightened among the businesses offering the requisite conditions for its use. The aim will then be to offer interested businesses the necessary resources to perform workshop tests and to disseminate appropriate information (suppliers, cost) to facilitate the decision-making process. The action also aims at assessing the relevance of a technological hall for demonstrations and pilot productions.

Contact at the DRIRE
Marc Litzenburger

[RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)]

• Context

This technology enables objects and individuals to be identified by machines at a distance, via radiofrequency. RFID tags conform to industrial requirements in terms of security and traceability. The key challenge for SMEs is to successfully increase productivity by optimising their logistics chain, whilst facing increasingly strict regulations with regard to traceability. RFID technology can be combined with electronic sensors, hence extending its potential scope.

• The sectors concerned

Logistics / Agrifood industry / Plastics / Automobile industry / Nuclear energy / Mechanical equipment

• Example of proposed action

The idea is to perform a prediagnosis on the company’s traceability, then to establish contact between businesses and RFID integrators. Interested companies will benefit from coaching and proposed technological solutions.

Contact at the DRIRE
Lionel Leduc

[Energetic sensors]

• Context

Environmental constraints and energy costs force industrialists to immediately identify and implement appropriate solutions. Specific action to reduce energy consumption, within the framework of a sustainable development policy, can be further optimised thanks to the precise measurement of different energy-consuming areas. Energetic sensors offer new prospects in the field.

• The sectors concerned

ICT and Electronics / Agrifood industry / Plastics / Automobile industry / Mechanical equipment / Construction and Public Works

• Example of proposed action

Businesses need to be informed on the technological capabilities of energetic sensors and of their potential application. They also need guidance when integrating such technologies, in the form of prediagnosis followed by contact with associated integrators.

Contact at the DRIRE
Lionel Leduc

[Industrial Vision]

• Context

The association of industrial vision, on-line monitoring and automation technologies confer production systems with increased capacity in terms of visual perception and extremely high levels of quality and accuracy. And these technologies are now sufficiently mature to generate immediate benefit in terms of both productivity and competitiveness.

• The sectors concerned

Agrifood industry / Plastics / Automobile industry / Mechanical equipment / Mass production / Construction and Public Works

• Example of proposed action

Businesses need information on the functionalities offered by these technologies, together with guidance in their choice of the most appropriate solution to suit their individual constraints. This specific action should also establish contact between businesses and specialised integrators from the field.

Contact at the DRIRE
Muriel Bougeard

For further information on Technologies Clés 2010, or to participate in one of the six key themes:

Direction Régionale de l’Industrie, de la Recherche et de l’Environnement (DRIRE)
CITIS - Le Pentacle - Av. de Tsukuba 14209 Hérouville-Saint-Clair
Tél : 02 31 46 50 00

Centre National de Recherche Technologique Matériaux de Basse-Normandie
6 boulevard du Maréchal Juin 14050 Caen cedex 4
Tél : 02 31 45 13 02
Site : CNRT

Lymphis (cabinet-conseil)
7 rue Alfred Kastler
14000 Caen
Tél : 02 31 44 70 69
Site : Lymphis