Industrial Transformation Blog

An enterprise quality management software (EQMS) initiative can provide one of the best opportunities for Quality leaders to become recognized as an Industrial Transformation (IX) change agent. The opportunities are even greater when Supply Quality and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) are considered in the scope. Quality leaders will need to break away from their traditional correction mode headset and learn how to connect with others. Collaborating with the various functions before starting will be key, because they want to know what’s in it for them. Exploring technology opportunities, casting a clear vision and charting an easy win, is sure to land quality leaders as a unique IX change agent—especially when viewing the latest research indicating 14% of IX programs are being headed up by team leaders possessing the right skill sets for cross-functional collaborative leadership.

We recently presented a webcast on “Factory of the Future: Optimizing the Plant for Industrial Transformation (IX)". The presentation covered the starting point for your Factory of the Future (FoF) journey, how to build the architecture to support FoF processes, and sources of data and ideas for bringing it all together. We also looked at key technologies that you should consider in your FoF journey—including MOM, digital twins, AI and digital Lean— and how to define and use Edge computing concepts in the integrated world. Here we will look at the 7 standout questions that came out of that session.

Every year LNS Research puts forth predictions around the key trends in the Industrial Transformation (IX) topics where we focus our research. In the case of asset performance management (APM), our 2019 forecast focused on the impact of Digital Twins on a company’s strategy, go-to-market, business models, and on the direction of process automation.

A recent LNS Research article highlighted the need for Industrial Transformation (IX) exemplars, identified three major reasons why IX programs stall, and four major areas that companies need to focus on for ensuring a robust and scalable IX program.

Every year LNS Research puts forth predictions around the key trends in the Industrial Transformation (IX) topics where we focus our research. In the case of asset performance management (APM), our 2019 forecast focused on the impact of Digital Twins on a company’s strategy, go-to-market, business models, and on the direction of process automation.

LNS Research had the pleasure to attend Rockwell Automation’s 28^th Annual Automation Fair and companion Process Solutions User Group in Chicago, IL November 18 through 21st, 2019. Rockwell Automation noted there were over 16,000 attendees at the event making it the largest Rockwell Automation Fair ever. They also hosted “Automation Perspectives” for the media and analysts on the 19^th of November.

On Wednesday, December 11, 2019, LNS Research hosted a webcast on “Industrial Transformation (IX) in Aerospace & Defense". The presentation covered the scope, scale, strategy, budget, organization and technology choices of Industrial Transformation (IX) Programs globally and in the Aerospace & Defense (A&D) industry specifically. We also looked at another regulated industry, Life Sciences, to validate our conclusions as to why A&D companies are leading in IX. The session concluded with detailing the 5 Best Practices for driving IX. Here we will look at the 6 most common questions that came out of that session.

This year’s AVEVA World 2019 North America users conference was held in Orlando with over 1100 customer and partner attendees from a diverse set of industries plus 300 from AVEVA. The conference was kicked off by Steen Lomholt-Thomsen, Chief Revenue Officer, who introduced Christine Harding, the new Head of the Americas. Lomholt-Thomsen’s opening keynote highlighted AVEVA’s renewed focus on their core industries – oil and gas, chemicals, F&B, Smart Cities – and customers are successfully expanding across the applications portfolio – starting with MES and moving to APM as highlighted on stage as well as with examples from AVEVA clients. Guest keynotes from Lisa Bodell, CEO of FutureThink who spoke about the workplace complexity that is killing organizations' ability to be agile, fast and innovative, and Keller Rinaudo, whose company Zipline uses autonomous drones to deliver medical supplies in war-torn 3rd world countries, also set an encouraging tone for the conference.

It’s been said many times that “age is but a number”, but when it comes to the industrial workforce, age indeed matters. Although an aging workforce affects all sectors, manufacturing is being particularly hard hit. The median age of a manufacturing worker rose from 40.5 to 44.1 from 2000 to 2018, while the median age for the U.S. labor force overall was 39.3 in 2018. (Source: Manufacturing Institute, 2018).  This is having a profound impact on industrial organizations.

Industrial Transformation, or IX, is new. There is no play book. There is no proven methodology. There is no exemplar. The improvement programs of the last generation are clear – Toyota and Lean, GE and Six Sigma, Dupont and Operational Excellence, among many others. But why were these companies successful in these endeavors – and why did they share them with the world?