RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has begun evaluating the second tranche of factories as part of its “Future Factories Program” under the indicators of the Smart Industry Readiness Index.
The initiative seeks to establish a strong technological ecosystem and transform the manufacturing sector in alignment with modern practices and principles and is a key tenet of the Vision 2030 initiative to diversify the Kingdom’s economy.
With an emphasis on improving the Saudi industrial sector, the program will evaluate 260 licensed factories operating at different levels of technical development. Each factory will hold an authorized capital of over SR200 million ($53.3 million).
The ministry stated that this stage will concentrate on verifying the self-evaluation results of factories that have achieved a rate of 2.14 on the SIRI. The factories will be divided into two groups: advanced factories, which have surpassed a score of 2 on the audited evaluation of SIRI standards, and factories that require modern manufacturing practices.
According to the ministry, the audited SIRI evaluation can contribute to raising the leadership and factory teams’ awareness of the importance of adapting modern manufacturing practices.
The ministry also emphasized that the move can contribute to setting priorities for the transformation of the factories and developing a plan to achieve the second SIRI level or higher. Such advancements can lead to increased returns, profits, and cost reduction.
Meanwhile, the ministry indicated that factories that did not surpass the specified stage in the audited assessment would be eligible to receive incentives. These aim to support the factories, enabling them to formulate plans to improve performance in the audited assessment and adopt Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies.
The ministry stated that the program encompasses two main streams. The first stream will focus on designing and constructing new factories that adhere to high manufacturing and production efficiency standards. The second stream will target existing factories to transform them into facilities that embrace exceptional operational standards and leverage advanced technologies.
