Creating a Digital Roadmap for U.S. Manufacturing
In today’s technology-driven world, how you think about the task of navigating from Point A to Point B can reveal a lot about your age and the time in which you grew up. If you can read a paper map or ever used printed Mapquest directions to find your way to a destination, then it may be time for your annual colonoscopy.
Nowadays getting somewhere you’ve never been is as easy as asking Siri for directions and following the step-by-step instructions in your map app. While the technology in your smartphone might guide you to an address, it unfortunately won’t be much help if your destination isn’t quite as tangible as a physical location.
For example, a small- to medium-sized manufacturer (SMM) hoping to transform its operations with advanced automation technologies will need more than Siri and an iPhone. The digital manufacturing landscape is evolving rapidly and navigating it can be daunting, leaving many leaders of SMMs asking “Anybody have a map?”
Fortunately, the answer to that question is “yes” and the organization with the map(s) is known as MxD or The Digital Manufacturing and Cybersecurity Institute. According to a recent 3D Printing Industry article by Ada Shaikhnag, MxD “has released its Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) for 2025-2027, presenting a detailed roadmap to bolster the competitiveness, resilience, and cybersecurity of U.S. manufacturing.”
MxD’s SIP, “[s]haped by insights from manufacturers, technology providers, academic institutions, and government partners,…lays out a targeted investment strategy in digital engineering, factory modernization, supply chain resilience, and workforce development.”
By focusing on things like “digital engineering and design, future factory systems, supply chain visibility, and cybersecurity integration,” MxD intends to “address persistent challenges within the industrial base, particularly among…SMMs…that often lack the resources needed to adopt and scale digital manufacturing solutions.”
So, what should SMMs be keeping in mind as they look to incorporate advanced automation technologies? Here are a few key areas of focus according to MxD:
- Data Lifecycle
MxD developed “a technical framework called the data lifecycle…[that] maps the flow of data across the various stages of a product’s lifecycle, from development and manufacturing to deployment and support.” MxD believes “seamless data movement and high-fidelity data collection…are vital for unlocking capabilities such as predictive maintenance, quality control, and secure information sharing throughout supply chains.” - Interoperability and Data Standards
According to Shaikhnag, “MxD is working on a…[p]laybook to consolidate and harmonize data standards used by manufacturers. This effort addresses the challenge of fragmented data formats and standards across different systems, which can hinder consistent data flows and semantic interoperability. - Future Factory Development
MxD has its eyes on the factories of the future and its “projects in this area aim to build digital environments that support real-time process optimization, data-driven decision-making, and production lines that can adapt quickly to disruptions and new customer demands. Initiatives around digital twins, 5G/6G integration, and cybersecurity best practices will help shape these future factories.” - Cybersecurity
In addition to its other digital focuses, MxD serves as “the National Center for Cybersecurity in Manufacturing. With manufacturing identified as the most targeted sector for cyberattacks in recent years, MxD’s cybersecurity projects aim to enhance protections for both operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) environments.”
As manufacturers prepare for an increasingly digital future, MxD also believes that “workforce initiatives [are] critical, noting that 1.9 million manufacturing jobs could remain unfilled by 2033 without targeted upskilling efforts.” To that end, MxD offers “advanced role-based training programs in data analytics, cybersecurity, and extended reality applications” as part of its Virtual Training Center.
In addition to upskilling current workers, it’s critical for manufacturers to hire highly skilled workers that can manage cybersecurity risks, in addition to operating, maintaining, troubleshooting, and repairing the advanced automation systems that are being implemented. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing “skills gap” issue in the manufacturing sector, finding highly skilled workers remains a significant challenge.
How can manufacturers find the workers they need? And how can they be sure that workers have the hands-on skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace? Today, more and more manufacturers are looking for workers with industry-standard certifications that prove they have the skills employers need.
For example, if workers possess a certification from the Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA), employers can feel confident they’ve already proven they have the knowledge and hands-on skills needed for working with advanced smart automation technologies.
SACA has been hard at work collaborating with industry leaders to develop a wide variety of industry-standard certifications that will help employers find workers who possess the advanced connected-systems skills they need to take their businesses to the next level. Be sure to check out SACA and all it has to offer!
- Published in News
Laying a Solid Foundation for Digital Transformation
Have you ever taken a small child shopping? If you have, then you understand the lengths retailers will go to in order to entice shoppers to make impulse purchases. The end caps filled with “must-have” toys…the sodas, candy bars, and chips that line the sides of the checkout aisles…these items are no accident. They rarely appear on a shopping list, yet they find their way into our carts more than we’d care to admit.
What about at work? Believe it or not, businesses are not immune to impulse purchases. Although we’d like to think that business purchases are well-thought-out and only made after a careful cost-benefit analysis, there are many industrial facilities around the country filled with unused equipment that was purchased without a clear plan of how it would be implemented.
Business impulse purchases aren’t limited to things like office supplies. To the contrary, even advanced automation technologies, such as robots, can be purchased on a whim because companies know they need to implement more technological solutions. However, if those purchases are made without a clear plan regarding how they’re going to be used, they can do more harm than good when it comes to the bottom line.
In a recent IndustryWeek article, author Rick Wheeler argues that “technology itself isn’t the fix; it’s the accelerator. What is the most important part of getting to your digital transformation goals? It is putting the right foundations in place first.”
For Wheeler, this means “understanding the root cause of your asset failures. You’ll only get there through a balance of people, processes, tools and technology. It’s what we call smart operations, and it starts by understanding what your organization needs to change and why you’re trying to change it.”
The author acknowledges that there are businesses out there purchasing technology on what amounts to nothing more than impulse: “We see customers spending millions getting IT systems and instrumentation in place without first having clarity on how and why they need it or are using it. Technology initiatives will likely fail if you are lacking basic job plans and workflows.”
As an initial step, Wheeler recommends you “ask yourself what your organization is trying to accomplish.” With a clear purpose in mind, you can make an informed decision about technology and its proper place.
As Wheeler points out, “[i]t’s safe to say technology is an important consideration in moving from a reactive to a proactive operation – but the balance between your people, processes and technology is critical to your success.”
Finding the proper balance takes time and planning, but the payoff can be huge for both the company and its workers. The author emphasizes that implementing new technologies “means your workers have the opportunity to learn new skills and hone their old ones, possibly leading to reskilling or upskilling your workforce. So while technology might replace some of your missing employees, it may also help you hang on to the ones you want to keep.”
Once you have new technologies in place, creating greater productivity and efficiency, you’re on your way to a better future. But it’s important to remember that you’ve started a process that’s ongoing. As Wheeler summarizes, “[t]here is no finish line when it comes to digital transformation. It’s an ongoing process that requires continuous innovation, improvements and adaptation.”
It also requires ongoing investment in your employees. It’s important to ensure skilled personnel are available to operate, maintain, troubleshoot, and repair these new technologies as implemented. In many cases, that will mean either upskilling current workers or hiring new workers with the advanced automation technology skills you require.
If hiring new workers ends up being part of your automation implementation plan, look for candidates with industry-standard credentials that prove they already possess the advanced automation skills needed to thrive. For example, if workers possess a certification from the Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA), employers can feel confident they’ve already proven they have the knowledge and hands-on skills needed for working with advanced smart automation technologies. SACA has been hard at work collaborating with industry leaders to develop a wide variety of industry-standard certifications that will help employers find workers who possess the advanced connected-systems skills they need to take their businesses to the next level. Be sure to check out SACA and all it has to offer!
- Published in News
