Q&A with The Austin Company’s Donna Lorenzen, PE Prior to the American Aerospace & Defense Summit 2018, we spoke with Donna Lorenzen, Chief Mechanical Engineer at The Austin Company to discuss controlled conditions facilities and best available technologies in the aerospace & defense industry. Donna’s experience in the design and engineering of facilities for the industry is considerable and current. With over 27 years of professional experience in the design and engineering of mechanical systems for aerospace and defense industry facilities, 24 years have been with The Austin Company. This is an excerpt from the Q&A Generis Group did with Donna Lorenzen.
Read More →How Digital Technologies are Transforming the Aerospace Sector
Praduman K. Tickoo, Vice President of Digital Manufacturing Services and Solutions at L&T Technology Services, will address how digital technologies are transforming the aerospace sector at the American Aerospace & Defense Summit 2018. Prior to the summit, we spoke with Praduman to discuss how aerospace companies can leverage technology and digitization to maximize their ROI and stay competitive in an ever-changing landscape. This is an excerpt from an interview Generis Group did with Praduman K. Tickoo prior to the American Aerospace & Defense Summit 2018.
Read More →Solving Compliance & Data Management Challenges in the Aerospace & Defense Industry
This is an excerpt from an interview Generis Group did with Assent Compliance prior to the American Aerospace & Defense Summit 2018. “What are some of the biggest regulatory and compliance challenges aerospace and defense companies face? The “Once an Article, Always an Article” ruling under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation has had a significant impact on aerospace and defense companies. They must now evaluate their products for substances of very high concern (SVHCs) under the regulation. Many parts produced by industry manufacturers are complex, containing several subparts and undergoing a range of processes that could potentially introduce restricted chemicals to the end product. Each of these must be evaluated individually in accordance with the article interpretation. The list of chemicals restricted under REACH is also growing considerably and will continue to do so over the coming years. Companies must manage business continuity risk as more SVHCs are restricted, denying them access to substances that are critical to the ongoing maintenance and repair of their products. Companies must also manage a range of emerging human rights legislation that requires them to show year-over-year due diligence efforts to mitigate the risk of human rights violations in their supply chains. Key markets that have introduced disclosure requirements include the U.S., the UK, France and Australia. Additionally, the industry is threatened by a rapidly shifting trade landscape that includes fluctuating tariffs, sanctions, and free trade agreements.”
Read More →Q&A with InDepth Engineering Solutions
This is an excerpt from an interview Generis Group did with InDepth Engineering Solutions, following the American Automotive Summit 2018. “The automotive industry is looking at a global skills shortage in which not enough engineers are sufficiently qualified to support the advancements of emerging technologies or operate sophisticated automated machinery. How does InDepth Engineering Solutions address this talent gap?
Read More →Ask the Expert: EU MDR
HCL hosted a Lunch & Learn Roundtable Discussion at the American Medical Device Summit 2018 last month in Chicago, IL. The session, “Ask the Expert – MDR and Lifecycle Management”, was led by Associate Vice President, Hilde Viroux. Hilde addressed questions surrounding the uncertainty of EUDAMED and UDI, the transition period, and how to obtain compliance. This is an excerpt from an interview Generis Group did with Hilde Viroux, AVP, Regulatory of HCL, America Inc. prior to the American Medical Device Summit 2018. “What are some of the biggest challenges in the new MDR that will impact device manufacturers? There are a lot of changes in the EU MDR that impact device manufacturers. Generating clinical data for all devices, developing the required reports and updating technical files to be compliant with Annex II and III is where most of the budget will typically go. In addition, there is the requirement to trace hazardous substances in devices and identify them on the label. The new regulation also requires manufacturers to set up a proactive approach to following the performance and safety of the device throughout its lifecycle.”
Read More →Q&A with The Austin Company
The environment facing automotive-related manufacturers is fierce. Changing regulations, competitor landscape, technology and customer preferences, along with a fluid global economy, create challenging conditions for automakers and their suppliers. The Austin Company understands this landscape. This is an excerpt from an interview Generis Group did with Brandon Davis, Vice President of Operations and General Manager at The Austin Company prior to the American Automotive Summit 2018. “How can automotive manufacturing facilities decrease project capital costs through engineering and re-design concepts? There are a few ways to look at reducing costs today, compared to how traditional automotive plants used to be designed and built. Throughout most of my career in the industry, we would build plants with what I would call ‘oversized’ structural steel. By doing this, we built in maximum flexibility for the plant, so equipment could easily move around and the plant could be easily adapted in the future, as much of the production processes were “hung loads” from the structure. As the industry has evolved, equipment has become lighter, many production processes can now be floor-mounted, and – in general – equipment has become more flexible and able to support different product types. In this setting, we are working hard in the production layout efforts to see what really needs to be supported from the structure and to design structures specifically for what is needed. That reduces the cost of the facility construction and saves the use of …
Read More →Interview with Frans Cronje, Managing Director & Co-founder, DataProphet
This is an excerpt from an interview Generis Group did with Frans Cronje, Managing Director & Co-founder of DataProphet prior to the American Automotive Summit 2018. “How does AI work with an existing production team to eliminate defects, scrap and minimize downtime? Our flagship product, OMNI, is a powerful process parameter optimization solution that significantly reduces waste in manufacturing processes. OMNI recommends optimal parameter values to the production team, enabling them to continuously improve the individual processes for which they are responsible.
Read More →LEADERS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY: INTERVIEW WITH CHERYL THOMPSON
Cheryl Thompson is the Director of Prototype at American Axle & Manufacturing and Founder of CADIA (The Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion & Advancement), an organization dedicated to doubling the number of women leaders in the automotive industry by 2030. Cheryl has 30 years of experience at Ford Motor Co. and has held positions in skilled trades, operations, engineering, and leadership. She is a Six Sigma trained and certified Black Belt and is the winner of two Diversity and Inclusion Awards from Ford Motor Company. In November, Cheryl will join us at the American Automotive Summit to speak about the components and decision-making tips that are critical to any team’s success as well as the mistakes that leaders should avoid.
Read More →Interview with Victoria Yeager, Head of Contracts and Compliance, Genentech
We were honored to have Victoria Yeager, Head of Global Pharma Procurement Contracts & Compliance at Genentech, join us as a key speaker at the 2017 American Pharma Outsourcing Summit where she discussed “To Outsource or Not to Outsource? Developing Your Ideal Contract Support Model.” We sat down with Victoria at the summit to gather her insights on the current and future state of the pharma outsourcing industry. Watch the full video interview above or read a partial transcript below. What do the next 5 years in the outsourcing space look like? The next five years in the outsourcing space, in my opinions, looks like more outsourcing. I think if we go back to the (Peter) Drucker Quote – to paraphrase – “do what you do best and outsource the rest.” I think that’s going be even more and more important and the reason is, in the pharma industry, things are changing so fast we have to be agile, and so allowing companies to focus on what they do best and their partners to focus on what they do best will allow everything to operate much more smoothly and agilely, which I think is really important.
Read More →Leaders in Aerospace & Defense: Interview with Rod Skotty, President, MHSco
Rod Skotty is a veteran helicopter pilot. After leaving active duty in 1985, he joined Lockheed Martin, and became President of the Maritime Helicopter Support Company (MHSCo), a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, in 2004. MHSCo has provided performance-based logistics support for over 550 Navy helicopters. Worth nearly $5 Billion, MHSCo is the largest logistics enterprise in naval aviation and key to the MH-60 enjoying the highest readiness and lowest cost per flight hour in the Navy’s inventory. MHSCo has been recognized as a superior supplier to the Navy since 2014. Rod has worked within the defense industry worldwide, including senior management positions for Lockheed Martin in the U.S., U.K., and Canada while residing in those countries. He now lives and raises beef cattle on his farm in upstate New York.
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