#44 Download in 2014: The Future of Manufacturing in a Connected World

By Conrad Leiva, International Board Member of MESA International and member of MESA’s Technical Committee
 
In a 2010 presentation called "The Future of Manufacturing in a Connected World ", Rick Bullotta from BurningSky Software, shared his thoughts on the future of manufacturing and many of those insights are still holding true today. Following are some points from that presentation:

• Manufacturers are implementing new business models like selling products as subscriptions or "product-as-a-service". 
• The risk of deconstructed supply networks includes the loss of expertise and "tribal knowledge" by brand owners. Manufacturers might soon find out that they have lost their manufacturing edge to their key suppliers.
• Workplaces are being transformed from command-and-control to "adhocracy". For example, IT organizations are having to adapt to bring-your-own-device practices at more manufacturing companies.
• Software is slowly evolving from monoliths to composites to mashups. Manufacturing software was originally designed for repetitive high volume processes but it is now evolving to support  a future of collaborative business models with agility to deliver low volume highly configured products on demand.
• Factories will move their manufacturing systems to an "Intranet of Things" connecting bring-your-own mobile devices to plant floor equipment and production systems.
• The transformation of manufacturing to a smaller highly skilled workforce has implications for education and the displacement of unskilled workers.

In summary, Rick advised us to get ready to tectonic change and the advise still holds today. Check out the full archived presentation at the MESA archive with the link below.

Reference:
"The Future of Manufacturing In a Connected World", MESA 2010 NA Conference presentation, Rick Bullota, 2010

https://services.mesa.org/ResourceLibrary/ShowResource/0b5e68d9-5e47-40e2-913d-e04cfabf25fd

Conrad’s career includes consulting with many Aerospace & Defense companies on how to streamline the paperwork and information flow among Planning, Quality, Production and Supply Chain disciplines. Recently, his work has focused on manufacturing intelligence and the integration between engineering, business, and manufacturing systems working with PLM and ERP partners. Conrad is VP Product Marketing and Alliances at iBASEt. Conrad holds an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech, certification in MES/MOM manufacturing operations management methodologies, and is a certified quality auditor.