Most people agree that Smart Manufacturing is a journey, not a destination. But, should that journey be a walk or a Quantum Leap?
Some say it takes a methodical approach, building infrastructure and standardizing processes and terminology before layering in added capabilities to reach your goal. Others dive right in, looking at the IoT (Internet of Things) as the greatest opportunity of our lifetime to transform their businesses. Who do you think is right?
MESA's Smart Manufacturing Track lineup represents both ends of the journey, as well as stages in between. From a global manufacturer with 100+ plants just starting their journey to another company transforming themselves into a digital enterprise, this lineup offers something for everyone - regardless of where you are on your own journey.
Check out the lineup below, and then check them out in person in May!
Wednesday, May 9, 2018, 9:00-10:00 am
Trelleborg is at the Gate: Starting their Smart Manufacturing Journey
Read the summary blog and download the slides, here.
Speakers: Tom Norbut, Project Manager, IT Infrastructure Services, Trelleborg; Erik Nistad, Chairman, MESA International
Trelleborg considers themselves to be truly just beginning their Smart Manufacturing journey, driving a "Production Intelligence" initiative across 120 plants globally. Learn how they've gotten started, what they’ve accomplished to date and where they're turning for help moving forward.
In this session:
Wednesday, May 9, 2018, 11:15 am-12:15 pm
Virgin Orbit Blasts Off into Production with MES Solution
Read the summary blog and download the slides, here.
Speakers: Andrzej Goryca, Sr. Manufacturing Systems Manager, Virgin Orbit
Many manufacturers started their Smart Manufacturing journey years ago - before we called it ‘Smart’ manufacturing - by implementing MES (or MOM) systems. Virgin Orbit, best known for capturing our imaginations with its development of commercial spacecraft and its goal of providing suborbital space flights to tourists, is one of those manufacturers. Their discrete, complex manufacturing operations provide significant challenges, which require systems support to manage. Work-in-process units incorporate engineering changes as the process progresses, for example, and Engineering has to be involved every step of the way - in material review processes, dispositions, and rework instructions. Virgin Orbit partnered with iBASEt to manage their complex manufacturing environments.
In this session:
Wednesday, May 9, 2018, 2:00-3:00 pm
Small Manufacturers are Smart Manufacturers with Analytics
Read the summary blog and download the slides, here.
Speakers: Paul Little, Sr. Business Intelligence Analyst, Vecima Networks; Michelle Wells, Principal Product Marketing Consultant, Mid-Market
Deploying manufacturing systems is often the first step in Smart Manufacturing, but driving your business with analytics off the plant floor is when many companies begin to run.
Vecima Networks manufactures cable boxes for the hospitality industry and wanted to make operational data-based decisions to refine its manufacturing process. However, multiple tools and spreadsheets in production created data silos and governance issues, limiting visibility and usefulness of operational information. Vecima Networks moved to an integrated analytics platform, which provides visibility across the entire company to key performance indicators, eliminates data silos and leads to continuous improvement of the manufacturing process.
In this session:
Wednesday, May 9, 2018, 4:15-5:15 pm
Think BIG, start small – the keys to Balancing Speed and Agility in Digital Transformation
Read the summary blog and download the slides, here.
Speakers: Steve Jaeger, Chief Information Officer, Quad/Graphics
Quad/Graphics realized all aspects of their end-to-end value streams need be optimized with speed and agility. Quad has been realizing the Smart Manufacturing principles throughout its value chains, including digital automation and optimization in Manufacturing processes and deploying increasingly automated robots on the shop floor.
Learn how Quad successfully followed the “Think BIG, start small” imperative, freeing $60M in capital by automating their Order-to-Cash process in the first phases of their Digital Transformation journey.
In this session:
Thursday, May 10, 2018, 7:45 am-8:45 pm
MESA Smart Manufacturing Track
Speakers: Jeff Bates, Product Management, ThingWorx's Speaker
Any manufacturer who hopes to stay competitive in today’s market needs a connected factory. But legacy machines—often critical to operations—can be extremely difficult to connect and integrate into an IoT ecosystem. Learn about the benefits and drawbacks of three different strategies for integrating legacy machines—as well as a framework for exploring which approach will best fit your unique needs. This session also includes in-depth examinations of factors (such as cost-effectiveness, connectivity efficiency, functionality flexibility, and more) to consider when integrating legacy data with modern smart manufacturing tools.
In this session:
Thursday, May 10, 2018, 11:00 am-12:00 pm
MESA & LNS Research Deliver 7th-edition Industry Research
Speakers: Chris Monchinski, Chair, MESA Analytics Working Group
Andrew Hughes, Principal Analyst, LNS Research
Since 2006, MESA International has lead industry’s efforts to understand the performance metrics that matter to manufacturers and to provide insights into how modern technologies improve access to these metrics. The technologies continue to evolve rapidly, and MESA continues to offer focused research findings to keep up with the pace of industry - evolving our focus beyond metrics to advanced analytics.
Interact with MESA’s Analytics Working Group and our industry-leading research partner, LNS Research, to unpack the findings from our 7th biennial research project* on this important topic.
In this session:
*NOTE: the online survey for this research is still live. Take the survey now and receive the full research report.