Rapid technological development within the maritime industry has improved efficiency, productivity and safety. However, this advancement is creating increasingly complex socio-technical systems, for which training has left human operators ill-prepared. Over 75% of all maritime accidents are attributed to human error, and smaller crew are handling more complex tasks. If safety is to be maintained or improved, it is vital to equip crew with the skills needed to manage them effectively. ENHANCE specifically investigates these issues for maritime applications by utilizing knowledge sharing between process and maritime industries. We will bring together the expertise of engineers, psychologists, human factors specialists and operators to generate solutions to cope with technological development. The project has two main objectives: a) to better understand the human role in complex socio-technical systems through close collaborations between the academic and non-academic sectors; and b) to develop new training and performance assessment methodologies designed to enhance the human performance. To ensure knowledge transfer, ENHANCE will connect academics and industry through an extensive secondment programme. This will bring together expert academic knowledge of advanced training techniques with the needs of the maritime industry and the best practice of the process industry. We will share knowledge across academia and industry, across sectors and across continents. Ultimately, this research will enable the maritime sector to improve the performance of humans within their complex socio-technical systems. This, in turn, will reduce the frequency and severity of incidents, reducing the negative social, economic and environmental impact of the sector. In addressing the needs of the maritime industry, we will also generate new cross disciplinary research initiatives, new career paths for researchers and new opportunities for long-term industry-academia collaboration.

Lean Manufacturing works well in a repetitive, high volume, low complexity/customization and stable demand environment. However, European manufacturers that operate in a high-variety, low-volume (HV/LV) production environment, are also inclining towards Lean manufacturing due to its benefits. Due to the differences in characteristics between the two production environments, implementation of traditional Lean approaches in HV/LV production environments is challenging. Existing “Customized Lean” approaches are less known because of the scattered and fragmented nature of knowledge and its ad-hoc implementation according to specific local context. To unify this body of knowledge a transnational approach was required.The goal of EuroLEAN+ was to create, unify, capture, reuse and disseminate the knowledge on Customized Lean by combining innovative teaching approaches with the development of more relevant HE curricula in the field of Customized Lean, through the exploitation of the geographically dispersed knowledge contained within the consortium and their industrial relationships. To work toward this goal, following objectives were set for the project:1) To create a knowledge base of case studies and best practices that brings together the knowledge that is currently scattered across the partners and their contacts with many SMEs in various industries.2) To develop and share teaching material to be included in European HE courses.3) To increase experience of academic partners in innovative teaching such that they can apply it broadly across their curricula.Participants:1) NTNU (Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering) - expertise in global production strategy, lean production logistics, and supply chain management2) HAN University of Applied Sciences – experience in teaching a customized Lean and QRM and industry projects; globally active research group in Lean for HE3) University of Applied Science Osnabrück - experience in research and teaching in the interdisciplinary field of lean management and technology, and applied science approaches to development of SMEs4) Ghent - expertise in the areas of operational excellence, and tools and technologies for remote and blended learning5) TNO – research organization with large network in industry and previous (EU) project experience in collecting cases and best practices into databases6) Kongsberg Maritime – Norwegian producer of subsea solutions7) Bosch Hinges – Dutch producer of bespoke hinges and exemplar for QRM principlesMain activities undertaken:1) To facilitate knowledge exchange between higher education students, academic staff and industry: Customised Lean Knowledge Community Website and pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube setup; Webinars, seminars, workshops and presentations at conferences held by consortium members. 2) Open Knowledge Base of methods and case studies on Customised Lean developed with possibility for expansion.3) Open online master course developed with original content (video lectures) from the EuroLEAN+ consortium; and recommended external content. Several target groups identified and analysed before course development, ensuring high relevance and utility of the course material.4) Feasibility Study of a Joint Master Program conducted to gain insight into the possibility of developing an Erasmus+ joint master program (JMP) with the current partners within 5 years after the EuroLEAN+ project.5) QRM World Conference organised at Eindhoven, Netherlands in June 2018 by the QRM Institute in association with EuroLEAN+; utilised for highlighting application-oriented scientific studies and best practices, discussing follow-up activities of the EuroLEAN+ alliance network, disseminating project results for attendees of the conference, and sharing the summary of key activities and financial management.6) 13 publications (journal papers/conference papers/book chapters) by the consortium members in the project durationResults, impacts and long-term benefits:1) Various academics-industry partnerships established, and foundations laid for sustaining these partnerships through future alliances.2) Knowledge on customised lean made available through knowledge base for personal learning or for lectures/group discussions.3) Teaching material developed and included in European HE courses, followed by live testing and evaluation through feedback.4) Findings from the feasibility study highlighted themes that are under-emphasised in European courses and are important for future industrial developments. Outline proposed for a prospective future master program; and inspired by the analysis, Lean Engineering Master of Engineering program introduced at HAN University of Applied Sciences. Need for future Knowledge Alliance also identified as a result of the findings.5) Contributions made to the existing body of knowledge on Customised Lean, preparing for dissemination and exploitation of the created knowledge.

NEXUS will develop and demonstrate novel, beyond state of the art, specialised vessel and logistics for safe and sustainable servicing of offshore wind farms. NEXUS includes: simulation, model testing, consideration of the most suitable construction and production principles for small series or one off vessels of this type. Key aspects of NEXUS include environmental impact assessment, cost estimation as well as both the marketability (technology push), and the cost effectiveness of the offshore operations concerned (demand pull). The project will develop the concepts and validate on a demonstrator at a technology readiness level (TRL) 5 with the overall aim to reduce the marine logistics cost of offshore wind turbine maintenance by 20% compared to current practices. In addition NEXUS will enable the increase the professional skills of workers and the capability of European industry and in particular SMEs within the marine and maritime sectors to develop and commercialise specialised vessels and related technology, and will support European growth and employment through development of a blue economy.