Recognizing the urgent need to accelerate the adoption of Smart Manufacturing in the U.S., CESMII, (the Smart Manufacturing Institute) and SME (the Society of Manufacturing Engineers) are announcing the official launch of the Smart Manufacturing Executive Council (SMEC). Described as "a national think tank of smart manufacturing leaders," the Smart Manufacturing Executive Council has been created to engage business and technology executives, thought leaders and visionaries advocating for the transformation of the U.S. manufacturing ecosystem.
"As we transition from one manufacturing era to another, it's clear that legacy behaviors, business models and technology architectures must make way for new ones," said CESMII CEO John Dyck. "It's the charter of this Smart Manufacturing Executive Council to advocate for this transformation, and the practical steps, investments and policy recommendations that will help this ecosystem cross this digital divide."
The Smart Manufacturing Executive Council will focus on these strategic initiatives:
Ecosystem: Collaborative strategies enabling plants connected to the enterprise and supply chains for real-time data-driven business orchestration. Goal: flexible and agile processes and supply chains easily reconfigured for changing market demands and empowering collaboration between OT and IT.
Technology: Accelerate evolution from proprietary, closed systems, enabling interoperability to eliminate data silos, stovepipe architectures and vendor lock-in. Goal: drive down costs, improve agility.
Workforce: Aligning education, training, and continuous improvement strategies to develop people with the skills needed to accelerate smart manufacturing and create data driven cultures. Goal: organizational structures and capabilities that align resources and people for SM success.
"The Smart Manufacturing Executive Council will act as ambassadors for the vision of Smart Manufacturing in the U.S., working to accelerate the transformation of the entire manufacturing ecosystem and to inspire a vision for the future of manufacturing," said Dyck.