2021: The Year of Innovation and Change
Ann Grace
The year 2021 will bring significant innovation and transformation for North American manufacturers. To bounce back from 2020's unexpected challenges, we have no choice but to march head-on into "the 4th Industrial Revolution," a wave of change driven by automation and Smart Technology.
On a global level, China continues to move forward with its flagship industrial initiative, "Made in China 2025," which emphasizes technology-intensive production. Here in the United States and Canada, manufacturers are racing to regroup from COVID-19 and regain competitiveness on their own home turf. Leading the way for change in Smart Manufacturing is technology. Although the full potential of IoT has yet to be realized by many manufacturers, it's clear that technology will be at the heart of accelerated, continuous improvement. Not only will it help manufacturers recover from the pandemic and its related pressures, but it will also be the catalyst that empowers growth in spite of recent challenges. The fresh round of technological innovation you'll be seeing in 2021 first tackles the basics, then builds incrementally.
Innovation Starts with Improving the Basics
The switch from paper to electronic record-keeping is your entry ticket to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Technology is poised to streamline manufacturing across every line, shift, and piece of equipment by transforming the data from your operations and machines into valuable, actionable insights. With it, you can unlock the following improvements in your manufacturing operations with in these foundational areas and build from there:
Recapture lost time spent on maintaining paper records
Automate audits
Reduce waste, scrap & rework and time spent in sanitation/pre-op
Increase on-time line starts
Reduce product holds
Minimize overpack and overfill
Decrease unplanned downtime
Drive the frequency of on-time shipments
Interpret, analyze & trend OEE data
Display real-time analytics to boost performance
Align with new traceability requirements and prepare for BlockChain
The ability to instantly access and interpret your plant's production data with the right technology will unlock tremendous potential for innovation. In addition to the eleven efficiencies above, if you want to reduce human error in your GMP, put SPC to work for you, sharpen your Root Cause Analysis skills or empower your management team with remote operations capabilities, our technology is here to support you.
