UP ISSI sends two delegates to the Asian Productivity Organization’s Advanced IoT Training

by Joshua Arsenio V. Espiritu, III and Allysa Anne Mari-De Guzman

The University of the Philippines Institute for Small-Scale Industries sent two of its university extension specialists to the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) Training Course on Advanced Internet of Things (IoT) Applications for Smart Manufacturing from July 5 to 8, 2022 hosted by the Republic of China.

The said training was done in a hybrid setup in collaboration with the China Productivity Center (CPC) and other National Productivity Organizations (NPOs) across Asia. This timely training convened productivity practitioners with experience in manufacturing management together with government officials and policy researchers involved in industrial policy and development strategies for the manufacturing sector.

As a commitment to accelerating smart and technology-mediated manufacturing in the region, this 4-day training workshop provided conceptual and practice-based learning on the Internet of Things (IoT) applications with the primary goal of enhancing participants’ understanding of the synergies IoT can create when integrated with other existing and complementing technologies. Moreover, the sessions also highlighted the interplay of theory and practice, specifically how large amounts of information are being utilized by business industries and organizations in Asia in embracing innovation while being cognizant of the essential industrial standards and guidelines in smart manufacturing.

“Smart manufacturing education should demonstrate the art of the possible to inspire engineers, operators, and managers in manufacturing”, said Dr. Joseph D. Cuiffi, one of the resource persons during the training and an Assistant Professor at The Pennsylvania State University.

“For small to medium manufacturers, the full vision of Smart Manufacturing can seem very intimidating. Use pieces of the technologies that suit your needs and just focus on using data to make better decisions”, he added.

Allysa Anne M. De Guzman, one of the delegates to the said training and a university extension specialist from the Training and Entrepreneurship Education Division, acknowledged the session’s relevance to the training courses that their team facilitates. “We will be doing a program review to ensure that our program offerings contribute to developing the competencies of our trainees on the emerging technology in smart manufacturing,” De Guzman said.

Business Enterprise Development Division’s Joshua Arsenio V. Espiritu, III, provided an interesting insight on the APO training: “Globalization provides high expectations for those engaged in the manufacturing sector. However, the Philippines is yet to lay the foundation of an enabling environment where key actors, the government, and the private sector, among others, can participate in the solid collaboration for accelerating the use of the Internet of Things in the day-to-day operations of manufacturing companies. Expanding the reach of innovation efforts by establishing more innovation centers across the country and increasing the current 1 billion funding based on the provisions of the Philippine Innovation Act can help hit the ground running.”

“Embracing these innovations is also a test of empathy. While we optimize the work in the manufacturing sector, we don’t want to just simply kick out the workers and do nothing while they are losing their jobs. We constantly judge our progress based on how many goods were produced and sold, but lest we forget that PEOPLE are also the drivers of development and not only the machines,” Espiritu added.

To generate more impact on the outcome of this training course, De Guzman and Espiritu are set to organize an echo session within the Institute to share their pieces of learning on the said training course.

The APO is an intergovernmental organization established in 1961 to increase productivity in the Asia-Pacific region through mutual cooperation. The UP ISSI is a staunch supporter of the APO’s mission of contributing to sustainable socioeconomic development in the region by assisting member economies in formulating national strategies for enhanced productivity through a range of institutional capacity-building efforts, including research and centers of excellence in members.

Disclaimer: The views expressed herein or in any article in the UP ISSI website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of UP ISSI nor the views of the University of the Philippines.

Regarding Accuracy of Information and Usage of Data: Visitors and users of the UP ISSI website are advised that information contained within the website is assumed to be accurate. However, errors can occur even with computer-generated information. UP ISSI makes no representation regarding the completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of such information and data, or that such information and data will be error-free. Visitors are encouraged to review the official version of all documents on which they plan to rely on.