For a growing number of reasons, energy continues to be a critical issue for industrial companies. Most obviously, organizations are turning to industrial energy management (IEM) solutions and strategies for cost savings. However, many leading industrial companies have also made board-level commitments to improve the energy intensity of operations and reduce the carbon footprint.

This LNS Research article discusses recently published industrial content. The round-up for this week includes topics such as advancements in offshore wind energy, ROI of big data for manufacturers, product lifecycle management (PLM) as it relates to quality, and developing centralized energy management. 

The quality management space is a very fluid one. As a testament to that, in a short period of time we’ve seen considerable changes in strategies around people and leadership, orchestrating business processes across the value chain, and enterprise IT architecture. One concept that’s been there the whole time, though, is that the earlier you can build quality into your products and processes the better.

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to both attend and participate in the MESA North America & Industry Week Best Plants Conferences in Greenville, SC. With well over 500 attendees and a larger portion of manufacturers than vendors, the conference had a strong variety of perspectives and thought leaders. Participants were focused on one central theme: beating competition in the global market place through continuous improvements in manufacturing operations.

This week, I decided to publish an article that strays from my usual weekly contribution. Instead of providing readers with industry reports, case studies, or thought leadership articles, below you will find four videos discussing various topics relatable to our community. I guarantee that each of you will find something of interest, as each video varies in its focal point.

Manufacturing may be known as the place “where the rubber meets the road,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean that organizations are getting the most out of their production operations. In fact, as I discussed two weeks ago, a considerable number of operations have difficulty with realizing the full potential that manufacturing can generate. While this can happen for a multitude of reasons, in my experience a main culprit can be a misalignment of detailed goals between manufacturing and a company's broader business objectives.

Did you know that the global report card displays a 'D' when it comes to our effort of combating global warming? That manufacturing accounts for 16% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 14% of worldwide employment? Or that GE has lowered its sticker price by 20% due to homeshoring? Me neither, and percisely my reasoning for incorporating the below articles into this week's round up. Enjoy. 

At LNS Research, we’ve been working hard to address the most pressing issues organizations are facing today. For almost two years, we’ve been translating our quantitative research and discussions with industry leading executives into a constant flow of actionable research around the areas of enterprise quality management, manufacturing operations management, and sustainable operations.

From our discussions with industry leading executives, our analysis of today's technology offerings, and the results from the 2012-2013 Quality Management Survey, we've seen that the emerging software category, Enterprise Quality Management Software (EQMS), is making positive impact on operations across the globe. Notably, we've reported companies that have implemented EQMS functionalities are, on average, outperforming others in key quality metrics.

From well before Henry Ford’s assembly lines through the modern manufacturing shop floor, energy has been quietly powering production. The utilities line item has duly earned its place as a central piece of every financial balance sheet. In conjunction with the rising focus on sustainable operations, for years companies across the globe have been working to strategically improve this number to both appease the environmentally concerned and reduce related costs.