Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC), Swinburne University of Technology and Sleep Corp have formed a joint partnership to advance manufacturing in Australia.
With a planned move to fully automated manufacturing, Swinburne, with assistance from the IMCRC, will analyse Sleep Corp’s business and see what improvements can be made as it moves towards Industry 4.0.
Sleep Corp, headquartered in Melbourne, is the home of the Protect-A-Bed brand as well as others including Buddies, Moonshadow, Dreampad and SnoreBeGone.
Over a two-year period, researchers from Swinburne will work closely with Sleep Corp to set up a novel Virtual Manufacturing System (VMS) that connects robotics-based machinery to a digital twin.
This will allow for a faster and more flexible manufacturing approach to address changing customer requirements while maintaining cost competitiveness for its range of products.
Productivity and quality gains
“Swinburne is at the forefront in delivering to Australian industry using transformative augmented and virtual reality tools,” Swinburne Senior Lecturer in Computer Aided Engineering Dr Ambarish Kulkarni says.
“Industry 4.0 has been implemented previously in manufacturing industries by Swinburne with sustained productivity and quality gains.”
Researchers will connect and integrate all manufacturing operations ranging from tailoring, cutting and sewing to packaging in one VMS application which then will be linked to SleepCorp’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Data Analysis/Analytics to provide enhanced visibility across the manufacturing value chain.
“This is another great example of how smart companies can collaborate with Australian Universities to undertake joint Industry 4.0 research and development programs that deliver real world outcomes,” David Chuter, CEO and Managing Director, IMCRC says.
“Sleep Corp’s goal is to continue to be a proud Australian-owned and made manufacturer, exceeding retailers and consumers expectations alike, on a world stage, with an extraordinary offer that is delivered as efficiently and as cost effectively as possible.” says
David Kaplan, founder and Managing Director, Sleep Corp.
