May - 20219MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY INSIGHTSAwareness After asking "Why" and getting to a centralizing theme, you have to use that purpose to create awareness and focus on the impact you need to make. In the past, typical initiatives on the future of manufacturing centered around the application of latest technological trends. Use cases are generated, new technologies are explored, then pilots are ramped-up that frequently end in the common excuse we hear these days - "pilot purgatory." This approach does not work. With this typical approach we know a vast majority of firms will apply technology, but with a significant portion not achieving impact or delivering results long-term. The way out is first to acknowledge that there's no such thing as pilot purgatory, instead, we are forgetting to build and leverage problem solving skills. A structured method to become aware of the addressable needs or, "jobs-to-be-done" by manufacturing teams is critical to building transformation. We need to empower teams with a metrics-driven approach that allows us to build a roadmap to what our future state will deliver. The next level of manufacturing is about transformation and change. Sometimes this is called disruptive technology, IIoT, automation or Industry 4.0. In classical Lean, Kaizen is about continuous improvement and positive change. It is rooted in building problem solving capabilities with a metrics-driven approach. Our aim in industrial digital transformation should be consistent with improvement philosophy.PassionAnother factor to accelerate on next level manufacturing is a commonly forgotten element: Empathy. As we defined and outlined our future state, we realized we kept circling back to the role people play in transformation. A Framework for Next Level Manufacturing: Purpose, Awareness and PassionIt starts with empathy for our consumers' needs and continues through building teams that understand this applies to manufacturing as well. We focused our efforts on building our people with both technical capabilities and collaborative creativity. An organization is made up by people. If people are left out of your transformation roadmap, it can literally lead to a future state with no one.Beyond purpose and awareness, the future of manufacturing agility resides in unlocking our best and top assets. We can unlock human capital through building a passion for problem solving, improving capabilities, and fully leveraging teamwork. Key elements to enable this capability include: Focused training, honest organizational maturity assessments, common data skills, and elimination of data silos. Without data friction in our efforts, we can leverage digital thread and concurrent product engineering to deliver for our customers. Passion empowers teams to deliver the best products with the best processes to meet our customer needs. Empowered teams will find a way to leverage technology in manufacturing to increase productivity, reduce lead-time, and fully reinvent your value chain.
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