New Center for Organizational Readiness will Help Companies Prepare for Smart Technologies

By Holly Hinson

A new Center for Organizational Readiness toward Enterprise (CORE) 4.0 has been launched at Speed School of Engineering, focused on helping companies prepare for smart and connected technology such as automation, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.  The center, funded by an approximately $500,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, will provide research, assessment, recommendations and workforce development to industries looking to adopt — or adapt to — the disruptive technology at the core of the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0.  This revolution has the potential to radically transform a number of industries.

Dr. Faisal Aqlan, Associate Professor, Industrial Engineering, is a co-director of the center along with Dr. Lihui Bai, Associate Professor, Industrial Engineering; Dr. Kunal Kate, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering; and Will Metcalf, Co-investigator and Associate Vice President in the UofL Office of Research and Innovation.

Aqlan said to imagine a smart factory, where all the machines can talk to each other and anticipate or even address problems. “Similar changes have happened in logistics and healthcare, where smart, connected technologies have helped increase productivity and accuracy, lower labor costs and improve safety. These technologies can greatly improve operations, but they have to be implemented correctly.”

“Strategy is absolutely critical to success in leveraging these technologies,” said Bai, a center co-director who also leads Speed School’s Logistics and Distribution Institute (LoDI). “Our goal is to help companies understand where they are in terms of readiness — maybe they’re missing infrastructure or the workforce that’s needed to integrate and maintain. Researchers will give them a solid roadmap to where they want to go.”

CORE4.0 will engage three industry sectors including manufacturing, logistics and healthcare, through partnership with Western Kentucky University, Metals Innovation Initiative (Mi2) and Louisville Healthcare CEO Council. The center draws on the combined research strength of the UofL’s LoDI and the Office of Research and Innovation, with the industry expertise of the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council and the Metals Innovation Initiative (MI2).

“UofL and its partners represent significant earned experience and strength in each of these sectors, and with cutting-edge technology,” said Metcalf. “We look forward to working with industry to leverage that strength to enter Industry 4.0.”

Industry leaders interested in working with the Center for Organizational Readiness toward Enterprise 4.0 can contact uofllogistics@louisville.edu.