With the American Manufacturing Summit only 7 weeks away, we took some time to sit down with a few of our key speakers and gather their opinions about the current and future state of manufacturing in the US. In this first eBook in the speaker series, Dave Rauch, SVP, Worldwide Manufacturing Operations at Western Digital, shares his opinions on the challenges, opportunities and burgeoning trends within the manufacturing industry. We are thrilled to have Dave join our distinguished speaker faculty to address “The Agony and Ecstasy of Incorporating Big Data Analytics and IoT in Manufacturing.” For more information on Dave’s session, please visit the American Manufacturing Summit website. eBook, Dave Rausch, American Manufacturing Summit 2016
Read More →How fit is your organization?
Many organizations struggle with executing their short and mid-term strategies due to organizational gaps. Achieving strategic objectives and transforming to a culture of enterprise excellence requires a revolution in organizational design that is often very complex. EFESO Consulting, a global consultancy specializing in operational excellence, has taken the time to outline 6 key steps that organizations can take to build the ‘holistic fitness’ needed to thrive in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environments. In the following Whitepaper Virginie Fiacre, Principal at EFESO Consulting draws a playful parallel between corporate and physical fitness to illustrate this process of change and describe the steps an organization can take to ‘get in to shape’ Building a Fit to Win Organization Find out more about EFESO Consulting and how you can build your strategy for success>>
Read More →Mitigating Manufacturing Costs: How General Motors Saved $21 Million
There are a number of options that manufacturers can explore when looking to reduce their manufacturing costs; material management, supplier negotiation, workforce optimization, process overhaul, inventory carry over and energy consumption are all factors that can be considered. Energy spend, however, accounts for a large portion of manufacturing costs and provides a unique opportunity for cost reduction. To effectively manage energy spend, manufacturers must first acquire insights into the three cost drivers of energy consumption and identify areas for effective change. How energy is purchased, how energy is used and when energy is used will greatly affect the overall cost of energy consumption. One company that has effectively reduced their long term manufacturing costs through energy consumption management is General Motors. With operations in 25 countries, GM is one of the world’s oldest and largest manufacturers of vehicles and vehicle parts. Through their partnership with EnerNOC and the implementation of Energy Intelligence Software, General Motors has managed to save over $21 Million dollars in energy spend. The General Motors case study provides some interesting insights into the long term efficacy of implementing Energy Intelligence Software as well as the steps that are taken to achieve these savings. For details, check out the General Motors Case Study.
Read More →Not All Parts Are Created Equal: Choosing the right CNC Machining Company for the Aerospace Industry
Precision machining techniques are needed to produce aerospace components that are instrumental throughout an aircraft. These components are often ‘life-critical’, intricate parts that need to meet very precise specifications with high tolerance thresholds. “Quality is a given, because these parts are going in jet engines and landing gear, all across an airplane. It’s what we call ‘life-critical’. There is no room for failure.” explains Scot Barton, VP Sales at Pointe Precision. Given the vital nature of the components, selecting the right CNC Machining partner is a critical aspect of an aerospace manufacturers’ process. When selecting a CNC Machining partner there are a couple of key factors to consider: Technological Capabilities When it comes to machining high quality precision parts, the first and most important aspect is the in-house equipment that your potential partner is utilizing. The ideal machining partner will have: A full complement of high-quality machines with the ability to process large volumes quickly and seamlessly. Multi-tasking capabilities to allow machining in a single operation as opposed to only offering multi-fixture operations. This machining capability will allow for greater reliability in the generation of aerospace parts. Multi-tasking capabilities also allow for improved internal flexibility as operators move from machine to machine, going where the work is. Sam Crueger, Engineering Manager at Pointe Precision explains that “the quality is (also) better when a part can be completed on a single machine.” ‘One-Stop-Shop’ offerings: Ensuring that all of your CNC Machining …
Read More →Video: Key Cost Management Challenges for the Aerospace Industry
In an earlier post we addressed the benefits of Should Costing for the aerospace industry. In today’s post I wanted to share the following video that builds on that knowledge and discusses the challenges the industry is facing in adopting this method. As previously discussed, Should Costing is a systematic process that enables cost reduction from the conceptualization stage through the product life-cycle. This is particularly relevant to the aerospace industry as maintaining competitiveness is highly dependent on an organization’s ability to reduce product costs and delivery cycle times. The industry as a whole continues to face challenges in managing product costs from the inception stage through the very long life-cycle of its products. In this video Philippe Sottocassa, Global Vertical Head, Aerospace & Defense, Geometric Ltd. discusses these challenges as well as the status of adoption in the aerospace industry. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKfAsXVb5lE&w=560&h=315]
Read More →Deliver Enhanced Efficiency in Aerospace Manufacturing
Aerospace manufacturers are emphasizing the need to incorporate high performance, lightweight materials into their manufacturing processes in an effort to improve efficiency, prolong product life through durability and decrease costs. In today’s post we will look at one of the innovations entering the market that has the potential to change the way aerospace manufacturers integrate composites and use aerogels. Blueshift International Materials is a new player in the aerospace arena that has recently brought to market a unique product, AeroZero®, a 100 percent-polymer aerogel that is both lightweight and easily incorporated into composites. The high performance material combines the physical and toughness properties of plastic films with the insulation properties of aerogels to create a strong yet lightweight, thin, clean and flexible insulator. “The emphasis on the lightweighting of products has sparked a growing need for composite materials such as AeroZero due to their low density nature and high thermal insulating properties.” Explains Garrett Poe, Executive Vice President, Blueshift. As the 2015 winner of the JEC Innovation Awards in the Raw Materials category, AeroZero has already garnered attention and demonstrated its ability to be easily incorporate into composites. “Existing aerogels are made from particulate silica, which inhibits their adoption in composite structures,” explains Garrett, “Blueshift AeroZero was designed to be a highly capable core material that is extremely easy to incorporate into composites, meeting the needs of a variety of industries while seamlessly overcoming this significant obstacle organizations face with other aerogel solutions.” AeroZero’s value …
Read More →Speaker eBook: American Aerospace & Defense Summit 2015
With the American Aerospace & Defense Summit 2015 less than 6 weeks away, we took a moment to gather some of the key thought leaders presenting at the event, and asked them to share their insights and opinions on the current state and future outlook of the aerospace and defense industry in the U.S. We posed the questions: How would you describe the current state of the aerospace and defense industry in America? What do you perceive as being some of the biggest challenges for defense or aerospace companies over the few years? How can these challenges be overcome? What are some effective techniques in driving innovation amongst suppliers? What is the next big trend in terms of supply chain management for aerospace & defense companies? How has aerospace & defense manufacturing changed over the last decade? What do you think is the next ‘big thing’ in terms of aerospace & defense manufacturing? Explore strategies to optimize aerospace and defense manufacturing with us in Arizona this December at the American Aerospace & Defense Summit 2015!
Read More →Why You Should Create a Collaborative Culture in the Pre-Development Stage
The medical device industry has seen substantial growth in past years and the need for innovative, value-driven devices is rising. The sustainability of the current healthcare system, however, is dependent on minimizing spend and maximizing resources to ensure that for each dollar spent, there is some improvement to the health and quality of life of the individual. In order to achieve the necessary value and quality in the design of new devices, more and more manufacturers are striving to develop a collaborative culture in which the needs of the patient and those of the end user, such as the nurse, physician or other care giver, are taken into account during the pre-development stage. James Donnelly, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Global VP, Medical, Scientific & Statistical Affairs, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics says “it’s not just how the patient benefits from a product, procedure, or test result—it’s everybody in between us and the patient that also need to be considered. It’s how the device and its functions will fit into their workflow and how it will add value to their system. You can build the best product in the world, but if they can’t use it in a way that is efficient and cost effective for them, it will fail.” “Device manufacturers need to look now and act fast to understand whether or not, in this changing environment, they are still creating products that represent today’s definition of state-of-the-art while anticipating what is needed in the future,” Donnelly says. “By bringing the patient and user perspective …
Read More →Medical Device NPI: From Design to Market in 10 Months
The new product introduction (NPI) process for medical devices is often arduous, with manufacturers needing to balance device specifications with the shifting requirements of the healthcare system and FDA. The NPI process involves evaluating not only the device, but also its design history, production parameters and the tools and methods that affect its performance in clinical use. Medical device manufacturers are subject to increasing regulatory scrutiny, ambiguity surrounding reimbursement levels and the need to produce substantially differentiated clinical offerings. The increasing pressure of this evolving environment has elevated the need to bring new devices to market as fast as possible (without sacrificing quality, compliance or design). The turmoil of this changing environment has led a number of organizations to turn to the expertise of companies like Sanmina to ensure the successful introduction of a new medical device. Sanmina is a leading electronics contract manufacturer serving the fastest-growing segments of the global Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) market; providing end-to-end design, manufacturing and logistics solutions, delivering superior quality and support. I recently came across this case-study and wanted to share it as an example of how medical device NPI can be fast-tracked through the use of an EMS company like Sanmina. The case study outlines how Sanmina helped the device go from design to market in only 10 months.
Read More →The Implications of a Changing Healthcare Environment
An Interview with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics’ Dr. James Donnelly. The medical device industry has achieved significant growth over recent years, with the industry expected to generate $365 billion in sales by the end of 2015, and $460 billion by 2018 (information sourced from TÜV SÜD). The initial and continued success of a medical device is dependent on the value it brings to the delivery of healthcare, where there is a need to reduce waste in an evolving regulatory and reimbursement climate. Prior to his speaking engagement at the upcoming American Medical Device Summit 2015 in Chicago next week, we had the opportunity to sit down with James Donnelly ,Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Global VP, Medical, Scientific & Statistical Affairs, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics to gather his perspective on the medical device industry in the U.S., and understand how changes to the healthcare system will influence the industry moving forward. Donnelly has been with Siemens for more than eight years, beginning as Global Vice President of Medical, Clinical and Statistical Affairs. He is passionate about integrating customer input, quality, and innovation into the design of products. He also believes the customer must be an active partner in product lifecycle management and that innovation without purpose will not consistently add value to the healthcare system. Jim, how would you describe the current healthcare environment in the U.S. for medical devices? The current healthcare spend is not sustainable. We spend too much on healthcare delivery without the expected return in value. The healthcare system and its stakeholders are all experiencing significant …
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