Why it should be followed

In Detroit, a Techshop to motivate Ford employees. In France, shared digital manufacturing workshops at Renault, Seb, Airbus, Snecma and Safran. Decathlon engineers use Lille Fablabs. Already popular in the start-up world, FabLabs emerge in the factory. But still timidly, mostly internally, losing the democratic spirit defined by MIT. The reason for this is the reluctance to accept the risk of copying and the influence of the hierarchy on employees. However, in order to stimulate its capacity for innovation, the industry could benefit from being inspired by the " makers ". Especially as 2015 is likely to see new initiatives emerge in this area.

Beyond the technical interest of the digital machines - CAD station, 3D printer, milling and engraving machine, etc. - these workshops revolutionise the way of working. -These workshops are revolutionising the way we work. They create in a more tangible and agile way, far from internal administrative red tape. And this is all the more true because FabLabs are open to the outside world. According to Ford, its staff have proposed 30% of additional innovations since the Techshop started.

For Alban Tiberghien, a computer scientist and co-founder of the POC foundation, "Fablabs can accelerate the prototyping process by rubbing ideas together. By working outside the walls, one or two days a week, the employees get out of the "consanguinity", the corporate culture. They work with people who are less initiated, such as the local grandfather or associations. This mix creates a dynamic and peer learning process.

By allowing all employees to do - not just R&D engineers - this do it yourselfbecomes a unifying and transgenerational tool, "It is a motivating way to reveal the creative potential of each individual, according to Véronique Routin, Director of Development at Fing. It leads to a management that is less compartmentalised by "directorates", more horizontal...even "bottom-up".

In this 21st century craft, industries can also find fruitful collaborations: " Even if they are not the originators of prototypes, large companies are able to develop ideas on a large scale and reach the general public, while promoting more militant, alternative artistic communities" .

Raquel Hadida