Help 1,000 Quebec businesses accelerate their digital shift: this is the ambition of the Virage PME program, launched last November by the Network of Centers of Industrial Expertise (RCEI) and funded by the Government of Quebec. Lasting three years, it democratizes industry 4.0 to increase the productivity of manufacturers in the province.
The RCEI is made up of four industrial centers of expertise (non-profit organizations) spread across Quebec: the National Integrated Center for Intelligent Manufacturers (CNIMI) in Drummondville, the Quebec and Montreal Industrial Centers of Expertise (CEI Québec and CEI MTL), and Digifab, in Longueuil. “The four of us work in a network with a very collegial approach, so as to cover the entire province,” explains Geneviève Bourgoing, senior director of business support for the economic development of the Longueuil region, which powers Digifab QG.
The Virage PME training, support and financing program is aimed at all companies wishing to undertake or pursue a digital shift. To cope with globalization and the shortage of labor (particularly in the manufacturing sector), they must review their ways of doing things to find solutions in order to continue their growth, underlines Geneviève Bourgoing. Or, according to a survey conducted by Québec international among manufacturing companies in the Capitale-Nationale, for example, 76% of companies do not have an up-to-date digital plan and 67% of them plan to invest in digital by 2024.
A driving companion
“Our priority target is industry, but we also support a few companies in the service sector,” indicates Geneviève Bourgoing. SMEs with between 25 and 125 employees are at the heart of the program. “Below 25 employees, they don’t necessarily have the need or the necessary resources and above, they generally have their own internal team of experts. But we don’t refuse any project from a small company with 5 or 10 employees if it has ambition,” says Vincent Lemoine, director of CEI MTL.
The RCEI compensates for a lack of information and allows these SMEs to take a step back. “Often, companies have a very partial knowledge of the solutions that can be offered to them. They need a guide to help them know where to start their digital transformation,” stresses Geneviève Bourgoing. Difficult, indeed, to navigate among all the management software packages and other technologies available to increase productivity. “We have experts in digital transformation who are like the technological right arm of the SME”, sums up the director.
You don’t necessarily need a “Cadillac”
RCEI’s Centers of Expertise provide businesses with a neutral “facilitator” with a holistic view to recommend the right solutions. “We don’t sell equipment. Our support is therefore entirely objective,” emphasizes Francis Beaulieu, interim director of sustainable innovation and digital transformation at CEI Québec.
SMEs are often approached by consultants, indicates Geneviève Bourgoing. “Sometimes they’ll give a ‘Cadillac’ to companies that maybe need a simpler vehicle. We are here to help them see more clearly and clearly define the strategic alignment of their digital project,” she explains. Especially since the technology that may seem the best in the short term will not necessarily be optimal in the long term. “We look at all of the company’s business strategies to be certain that the recommended solution will truly meet its objectives and its growth directions for the coming years,” says Ms.me Bourgoing.
Quick funding
The Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy has mobilized funds from its Digital Transformation Offensive to allow these 1,000 Quebec businesses to be supported according to their needs. “75% of our fees are covered,” says Vincent Lemoine.
“Once they sign with us, they only pay the 25% that is their share, and we can start working the next day. It is an available and quickly accessible program. » In addition to support, companies can test certain equipment for free.
Tying “the right strings”
In particular, CEI Québec supported a welding manufacturing company affected by a labor shortage. “It had difficulty recruiting welders, but the operation concerned on their assembly line was easily automated. We started working on this welding unit, then we pushed the project further with a vision of one and a half to two years,” says Francis Beaulieu. The CEI Québec led this company to develop the interoperability of its various systems. “It’s fine to have assembly and welding robots, but it’s important that all the equipment can communicate with each other. We are therefore working a lot on the software layer and on the artificial intelligence elements,” emphasizes Mr. Beaulieu.
Vincent Lemoine, for his part, insists on the importance of identifying priorities. “Let’s take the example of a company with 50 employees that wants to double its turnover over the next ten years: it knows that it must robotize or automate certain manufacturing processes, but it often forgets everything that is upstream production,” he explains. Focused on their factories, SMEs do not necessarily think of offices. “I always say that the first phase of the 4.0 shift is to get the biggest gains with a minimum of effort”, says the man who sees many companies still operating with emails, Excel workbooks and the transcription of data from one computer system to another.
“You have to automate administrative processes by tying the right strings in an automated way. Then we focus on manufacturing operations to be able to follow the growth process, he says. Our mission is to support companies in their digital transformation from the first step. »
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.