Damn Lies and Consultants: What manufacturing and supply chain leaders need to know about digital manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and the Internet of Things
All dates for this event occur in the past.
The Ohio Manufacturing Institute’s Ned Hill and Kathryn Kelley report on an extensive research project on corporate strategies and implementation of digital operations technologies (OT) within the context of digitally connected manufacturing enterprises. The research involved interviews with manufacturing companies, OT engineers, and manufacturing leaders as well as reviewing the extensive (and largely promotional) professional literature on this subject. They reach four conclusions:
- The jargon about the industrial and consumer Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 is causing confusion across the manufacturing sector and resembles the early days of the diffusion of ERPs. Hill and Kelly provide a clear strategic guide for decision-makers.
- Digital OT technologies will be transformational but will diffuse across the economy over a long time period and begin within most plants as a series of narrowly defined automation projects. A few companies will invest in greenfield installations. The rollout of digital OT will resemble the rollout of ERP—long, painful, and essential.
- The threat to those who do not adapt to digital manufacturing will be similar to the threat of not adopting lean manufacturing.
- Small to mid-sized manufacturers are currently sitting on the sidelines due to the hurdle rates charged by equipment vendors and systems integrators. Public policies are required to prevent monopoly behavior on the part of developers of OT backbones.
The report will be followed by a panel discussion covering systems integration, workforce, equipment, and operational excellence. Meet our panelists: Nate Ames (Executive Director, Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence), John Gray (Associate Director, Center for Operational Excellence), Kathryn Kelley (Director, Ohio Manufacturing Institute), and Farhang Pourboghrat (Chair, Integrated Systems Engineering).