Industrial Transformation Blog

This is the fifth consecutive year I’ve attended the NAEM Software, Innovation & Technology conference, this time joined by my research colleague Chris Follis. It was held March 3-5, 2020, at the Hilton Riverside in New Orleans. The timing of the event was fortunate; it was held right before widescale COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions kicked in.

In a recent LNS Research report on global Environmental Health, Safety and Sustainability (EHSS) software, analyst Peter Bussey discusses the dynamic competitive landscape that has seen significant changes over the past five years. LNS first wrote about this “EHS Software Arms Race” in 2016, describing how market players are using proactive business strategies to pull ahead of the competition in the race to market leadership.

"THESE are the times that try men's souls." With all that's happening today in the world, from the coronavirus pandemic to the Saudi-Russian oil price war, to the continuing threat of cyber attacks, Thomas Paine's words seem appropriate. How should we, particularly those of us in industry, put this situation in perspective, and what should we be doing about it?

In the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, the public health response was focused on containment, and the advice for industry was supply chain resiliency and risk management. Ensure that sole sourced critical components had been eliminated or weren’t coming from affected regions. In large part, North American and European manufacturing passed the test, due to several factors, including work already done after the Fujiyama nuclear disaster and supplier shifts forced by the several year-old trade-war.

The world is reeling from the COVID-19 crisis that is on course to cause thousands more deaths and precipitate global economic disruption of unknown proportions. What can environment, health and safety (EHS) business leaders do to help their organizations successfully navigate the COVID-19 pandemic?

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.

Our inaugural Industrial Transformation (IX) Event was a refreshing connection for industry executives leading transformation ― from startups to mature journeys, from tissue and drywall to aircraft carriers and submarines. The breadth of IX coverage and insight resonated well among industrial executives and software vendor thought leaders in attendance. Focused roundtable sessions on quality and environment, health, and safety (EHS) packed the room as Quality 4.0 and connected worker topics fostered lively discussions.

I had the pleasure of attending Rockwell Automation TechEd and PTC LiveWorx in back to back weeks last month. Both events generate a tremendous draw in the industry and set attendance records, however, it may be the last year that happens. There are rumors that 2020 will see a new co-located event; times are a-changing! Although there were differences in the themes, attendees, and presentation style, there was also much in common ― especially about a shared vision of Industrial Transformation and joint customer momentum.

On Tuesday, July 23, LNS Research hosted the webcast, “Use IX to Futureproof EHS Systems and Technology.” The presentation explained why the Industrial Transformation (IX) trend forces environment, health, and safety (EHS) business leaders to make major decisions on how they will leverage digital technologies to manage risk and exploit opportunities. The discussion included an examination of which steps companies must take now to deliver value into the future, about the risks that are unavoidable with transformation, and how to manage them to resist obsolescence.

Connected operations, connected assets, and connected products are all recognized as essential aspects of an Industry 4.0 “Factory of the Future” approach. What about the connected worker? Based on our most recent research on Industrial Transformation, Connected Worker strategies and solutions are a vital part of the Digital Transformation of industrial operations.