What is the digital thread? The digital thread links systems used to execute and track design, engineering, manufacturing and MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul), establishing a seamless flow of information from product conception to delivery and beyond. The concept of the digital thread was spearheaded by the military aircraft industry, from its desire to improve the performance of future programs by applying lessons learned. Why is it important? With the emergence of the Industrial Internet of Things, smart manufacturing, and automation, it is integral to create a communication framework that connects data flow from initial design to development. “The digital thread brings customers, vendors, and suppliers close, tying them into holistic feedback and evaluation loops. To learn more about the Digital Thread, read Tom Hennessey’s (Vice President of Marketing at iBASEt) article on Following the Digital Thread Into the Future.
Read More →Ahead of the Curve: Disruptive Technologies in the Medical Device Market
Technia Transcat believes the medical device industry is continually evolving. Disruptive technologies are causing a paradigm shift in the development of new devices, influencing which businesses will enter this segment of Life Sciences, and who they will market their innovative devices to. In addition, what is also critical to the medical device industry is addressing the “Soft Business” disruptive modernizations. Organizations must implement internal processes and organizational behavioral changes in order to sustain a competitive advantage and continue to grow through organic means in an industry challenged with reducing costs associated with risks of regulatory compliance and certification of supply chain solidity. Technia Transcat and Generis have teamed up to create an ebook that explores how technology is changing the medical device industry and how to harness and embrace this technological change. To access the ebook, click here.
Read More →Common Obstacles to Receiving Product Approvals for Global Markets – An Ebook by CSA Group
As social, economic, technological and environmental factors changes at a rapid rate, so are medical devices and healthcare equipment. The consistent changes are bringing complex challenges that require manufacturers to keep up with the rapid pace of innovations, while still maintaining safety for both professionals and inexperienced home users. Many companies only have experience with single-country access and therefore may lack understanding and expertise of regulatory or technical requirements in other countries. With such a wide array of regulations from country to country, companies can struggle with how to begin the process of meeting the required conformity for their target markets. This issue can be compounded by a lack of internal resources dedicated to compliance issues. In this constantly changing environment of safety, conformity, and market access requirements, it is even more important to not only respond to the regulatory needs of today but anticipate those of tomorrow. CSA Group’s Ebook, Common Obstacles to Receiving Product Approvals for Global Markets, explores the common challenges and misconceptions in product approvals, the key stakeholders involved in the approval process, the geographical differences in the approval process, the role of a third-party testing agency, and clearing common hurdles to product approvals. To access the ebook, click here.
Read More →Recent Developments in the Use of Flexible Printed Circuit Boards in Implantable Devices – An Ebook
Over the past 50 years, life expectancy has been steadily increasing. The aging population, therefore, has steadily increased both in number and mean age. There are many neurological and cardiovascular diseases that can be best managed using implantable devices, reducing the need for medications. The key challenges for implantable medical devices are how to support low energy consumption, stable performance, and continued miniaturization. Implantable devices are not new. The pacemaker, as an example, has been around for more than 50 years. The early devices were cumbersome, with short battery life, so when the battery was low, the device had to be removed and replaced, putting a burden not only on the patient but also on medical services and the managed care system. Today these same devices are less than 3% of the size and weigh only a fraction of the former weight. The real revolution in the technology is not the size reduction, but the fact that today’s tiny implantable devices can be wirelessly monitored reducing check-up frequencies. Eltek has teamed up with Generis to create an ebook that looks at the history of implantable devices, the miniaturization of the devices, their wireless communications capabilities and their future. For more information on Eltek and to access the ebook, click here.
Read More →Averna’s Q&A Ebook: How the Internet of Things is Transforming the Medical Device Industry
The ‘Internet of Things’ is transforming the medical world, allowing more patients to be looked after using real time data. Combining Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities with current technology is allowing for a faster, more resourceful and satisfying experience for both patients and employees. With the Internet of Things(IoT) reinventing the technological landscape so rapidly, companies are struggling to keep up with the latest innovations. Companies must now test the wireless capabilities of all their medical devices to ensure their products feature seamless connectivity. With more tests being conducted and the rise of IoT, competing companies have introduced robots to automate processes in order to reduce costs. Robotic-driven production has become more economical, as robots can perform routine tasks without fatigue at a faster pace. So, how can OEMs in the medical world stay ahead of their competition with all this technological development? One way is to work with a company that excels at Design for Test (DFT) and design for manufacturing (DFM). Companies can also capture and analyze up-to-date test data. For more ways to stay ahead of the competition despite the constant changes in technology and for a deeper understanding of IoT and its impact on the medical device industry, read Averna’s Q&A Ebook here. Averna is a worldwide Test & Quality leader. Their talented team includes hundreds of engineers, system architects, developers, project managers and other professionals, as well as a network of partners such as National Instruments, Keysight Technologies …
Read More →Qt QML vs HTML5
The Qt Company‘s latest whitepaper “Qt QML vs HTML5,” explores the results of a test where “one man takes 160 hours to create a demo application of an embedded system using Qt & QML and the same number of hours to create the very equivalent application using HTML5. Discover how he compares the two technologies and shared the findings during the evaluation in terms of – Development comparison between HTML5 vs Qt – Development experience – Performance results – Software management and sustainability.” Download the white paper here. ›
Read More →Q&A eBook with Bossard: How Will Industry 4.0 Impact Your Supply Chain?
Previously many of these technologies were emerging on their own, but not considered collectively. With a recent push toward an integrated approach, the Internet of Things, the focused effort is much more clear. While efforts are being made to allow technologies to be more interchangeable and data non-exclusive, much of the progress thus far has been disjointed…. This Q&A eBook with Bossard, published by the Generis Group, highlights Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things, full inventory transparency, and more! Bossard creates solutions that enable you to achieve higher productivity while helping you to surface your potential. Connect with Bossard at our American Supply Chain Summit taking place April 24-25th in Orlando, FL. Read the full eBook below:
Read More →Making Sense of IIoT Analytics
Making Sense of IIoT Analytics | Automation World As the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) picks up steam, attention is pivoting from connectivity to analytics, flooding manufacturers with a wave of new offerings that all promise to facilitate real business change. In the article below, find out how Sight Machine is integrating and visualizing data throughout the manufacturing industry. Sight Machine’s CEO and co-founder, Jon Sobel, explains that the company has created an automated intake process that refines data from incompatible factory floor systems and contextualizes it for subsequent analytics. Read the full article below to find out more!
Read More →A Change Management Strategy For Your ERP Project
C>R | C=a*b*d. What does this equation mean? Why is it critical to an ERP change management strategy? Successful ERP transformation projects must take many facets into consideration, in particular, people, processes and technology. Most projects address the process and technology portions, but have little or no focus on the people portion. For a transformation to be successful, it is the people component that is the most critical piece in order for the transformation to be successful. Download the full white paper below to discover the practical ways to apply current change management strategy models to prepare your business for an ERP transition. If you didn’t know the equation above, you’ll also find out the answer within! Read more below…
Read More →Q&A with Intel: Looking at the Factory of the Future
When looking at the future of manufacturing, we wanted to gather thoughts and insights from our American Manufacturing Summit elite speaker Dr. Irene J. Petrick of Intel, an internationally recognized expert in strategic road mapping and innovation, and the Director of Business Strategy for the Industrial and Energy Solutions Division in Intel’s Internet of Things Group. At Intel, it is Dr.Petrick’s job to provide leadership in the integration of business and technology strategy and to develop solutions that will drive exciting technology to create smart edge devices and end-to-end solutions. In the manufacturing space, there have been major shifts towards smart manufacturing, with a goal to optimize the manufacturing process entirely. Dr. Irene Petrick believes that smart manufacturing triggers are likely to emerge from needs-based business drivers such as operational efficiency and flexibility, ROI, and enhanced customer relationships, and social accelerators such as a growing middle class with an appetite for customized products and a declining manufacturing workforce. Solutions that support the convergence of operating technologies and information technologies will accelerate this manufacturing transformation. It is important to note that there are four shifts that drive smart manufacturing adoption: Modular Manufacturing Digital Threads Networked Ecosystems Human and A.I. Choreography Today’s manufacturers have the opportunity to increase the transparency in their operations using IoT technologies that will acquire and transfer data from the asset through the fog to the cloud, resulting in efficiency ROI, and closer customer relationships, Dr. Petrick notes. …
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