Manufacturing Momentum, Autonomous Operations and Eight States Erased: IndustryWeek’s Weekly Review
Welcome to April and the first IndustryWeek's Weekly Review of the month. A diverse range of topics attracted the IW manufacturing community's attention over the past seven days, including autonomous operations, U.S. dominance in key arenas, how technology is reshaping manufacturing construction and a whole lot more. The Top 10 are:
4 Fundamentals on the Path to Autonomous Manufacturing: Companies need an integrated foundation to create autonomous operations at scale.
How to Make Your Next Plant Visit Count: When a manufacturing facility is in "show mode," you don't get the truth.
Eight States Go AWOL on Manufacturing Extension Partnership Map: The manufacturing hotbeds of Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin are among those erased.
It’s No Longer the ‘American Century,’ But the US Continues to Dominate in Important Ways: As global dynamics shift, the U.S. retains crucial advantages in its economy, innovation and research infrastructure.
The Progress Paradox: Do We Really Believe in Respect for People? While 'respect for people' is a tenet many organizations claim, podcast hosts Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer delve into the truth of that statement. Does your leadership always show 'respect for people' or does respect erode when the pressure is on? Here are telltale signs that leaders are failing to show 'respect for people' and the potential consequences of their actions.
Cobots Handle Furniture-Making Drudgery, People Focus on Company Growth: Furniture manufacturer Foliot scales a cobot deployment to multiple plants for higher throughput, better operator retention and fewer accidents.
When Things Go Wrong, Who Is Really to Blame? One hint: It’s rarely an individual worker. Have you examined your system design lately?
March ISM Report: Manufacturing PMI Reaches Highest Level Since August 2022: " Strong new orders, a rising backlog of orders and low customer inventories suggest the sector may be able to retain momentum, despite higher input costs and supply disruptions owing to the war," says senior economist Matthew Martin, Oxford Economics.
How Technology Is Changing Manufacturing Construction: With faster timelines, robotics and automation and the need for more structural flexibility, three trends are reshaping how new facilities are designed and built.
The Big Productivity Gains Will Come from Cross-Functional AI: The interaction of generative AI, agentic AI and machine learning across different areas of an organization holds the greatest promise for optimizing talent.
Editor's Choice
Call for Speakers: IndustryWeek Operations Leadership Summit: Live event to be held in October in South Carolina will focus on operational excellence, industrial safety and manufacturing technology adoption.