3. REDISTRIBUTED MANUFACTURING

Redistributed manufacturing (RDM) is an emerging concept which captures the anticipated change in production, moving away from large-scale manufacturing plants to smaller-scale, locally based, customisable production units, largely driven by new possibilities from digital production technologies.

Without a clear definition, there is no clear consensus on what redistributed manufacturing entails, and this model’s benefits have yet to be determined. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council identifies it as “local manufacturing for local communities capable of creating customisable or multi-variant products; sustainable resource efficiency and flexibility/agility in production suited to short ramp-up times”.

The characteristic aspects of RDM are:

• People–focused: production isn’t only based on technology and machinery but also focuses on local networks and social interactions;
• Brings production to a more local level, whether it’s regional, national or continent based;
• Open source, open design linked with sharing of practices, knowledge and skills. The idea of openness brings more innovation and ideas in production and repair spaces;
• Personalisation and customisation: production being locally based, customisation of products is easier, and communication and sharing the ideas aren’t limited to just written communication.

While small workshops and businesses start to emerge and operate in this system, many challenges and limits hold back the implementation of redistributed manufacturing and circular economy in wider form. It’s worth noting that these limitations aren’t unique to this particular system, but rather reflect a wider body of knowledge and barriers to sustainability in the industry.

The main challenge to the implementation of RDM and circular economy is scalability, the uncertainty of how to evolve from prototyping and small production to larger quantities. Connected with this are supply chain management issues – the facilities to store materials and products – and knowledge of production management.

However, even with these challenges, opportunities and advantages of redistribution manufacturing are very beneficial to local communities and the environment. The underlying ideology of openness and collaboration leads to sharing of best practices and tools, making overall sustainability goals easier to reach.