Business Operations

The manufacturing leaders who met in Washington, D.C., this month agreed wholeheartedly: D&I is integral to building and retaining the workforce of tomorrow.

At the third-annual Diversity+Inclusion Summit convened by the Manufacturing Institute, leaders gathered to share data, insights and lessons gleaned from their own D&I efforts. Hailing from many different industry sectors and companies of all sizes, the panelists and attendees laid out concrete actions that can transform companies’ D&I objectives.

Why it matters: With 2.1 million jobs expected to go unfilled in the industry by 2030, manufacturers need to find new populations of potential employees. Recruiting more women, racial and ethnic minorities and neurodiverse workers can expand companies’ talent pools and strengthen their workforces.

• In fact, increasing the current female workforce from 29% to 35% would fill the industry’s 746,000 open jobs all on its own, according to a recent study by the MI and Colonial Life.
• That’s why the MI is working to meet this target through its 35 x 30 Campaign—i.e., increasing the percentage of women in manufacturing to 35% by 2030.

How to do it: The summit offered important tips to help companies boost their D&I efforts, including:

• Get buy-in from company leaders: Research shows that D&I efforts lead to greater productivity, increased innovation and higher revenue—not to mention the recruitment and retention benefits. Once companies set D&I goals, leaders should incorporate D&I objectives into their annual goals to create opportunities for accountability.

• Use employee resource groups in a structured way: Companies should set up organizational structures for their ERGs that will ensure longevity and encourage fresh thinking, as well as align with companies’ overall D&I goals. These groups should have their own budgets and rotating leadership positions. When possible, the contributions of ERG leaders should be included in their incentive programs or annual goals.

• Educate your first-line supervisors about D&I: By training first-line supervisors on the latest in D&I and company-specific objectives, companies can help them both support their teams better and collect feedback to inform the overall effort.

• Offer child care and flexibility: In the post-pandemic environment, companies are still exploring what works best for them, but one thing is clear: to recruit and retain talent in a tight labor market, companies need to provide employees with options. (Check out our recent webinar on the same subject.)

Learn more: Interested in joining the conversation? Check out the MI’s D&I tools and resources, and register for upcoming events, including our upcoming Virtual Diversity+Inclusion Summit on Dec. 16, here. The virtual summit will include some recorded sessions from this event as well.

Another large labor union has voted to reject the rail deal brokered in part by the Biden administration, moving the industry closer to a strike, according to CNBC.

Split decision: Two of the largest railroad labor unions in the United States went separate ways during their contract ratification votes, which were announced on Monday. The Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division voted against the proposed agreement by a slim margin, while the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen voted to ratify it.

What it means: This latest action raises the likelihood of a rail work stoppage in early December. In total, 8 of 12 unions have now ratified the tentative agreement concluded in September while the rank-and-file membership of 4 unions have rejected it.

• Should one union choose to go on strike, the broad impact would cripple the national freight rail network.

The impact: The railroad industry and major shipping groups have found that a strike would likely cost around $2 billion per day, also according to CNBC. It would affect every major rail operator.

• “The American Chemistry Council, which represents companies including 3M, Dow, Dupont, BP, Exxon Mobil and Eli Lilly, said a rail strike would impact approximately $2.8 billion in chemicals cargo a week, and lead to a GDP decline and renewed inflation.”
• “Other industries, from agriculture to retail, have warned of the economic risks of a strike.”

Next steps: Negotiations will continue through a cooling-off period that runs until early December. If a deal is not reached by 12:01 a.m. EST on Dec. 5, a strike could occur. The NAM and others have urged Congress to take action under the Railway Labor Act and pass legislation that would avert a strike if railroads and rail unions cannot reach such a deal.

What we’re saying: “Manufacturers are disheartened by today’s news on the further unraveling of rail negotiations,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “It’s clear that Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, must be prepared to work together immediately to avert a rail strike and prevent further damage to our supply chain.”

When asked how she got into cybersecurity, Nicole Darden Ford replies “cybersecurity kind of finds you.” The new chief information security officer at Rockwell Automation began her career in the military, where she first got into cybersecurity, then created a cybersecurity program for the U.S. Department of Agriculture before taking several leadership roles in the private sector.

Today, her advice for companies is surprisingly similar: cyberattacks will find you. As she puts it, “It’s not if, it’s when. And it’s not one time, it’s several.”

So how should manufacturers prepare for these threats? We spoke to Darden Ford recently about her recommendations, as well as Rockwell’s efforts to safeguard its own supply chain and provide services to other companies.

The current situation: “Manufacturers account for 65% of industrial ransomware last year. We’ve seen an unprecedented number of attacks, and we’ve seen attackers focus on OT,” Darden Ford says. She predicts the attacks on OT will only escalate.

• Meanwhile, many manufacturers have a clear strategy for IT, but they have not given as much thought to protecting their operational technology. Yet, as machines get more connected, their operations may become more vulnerable—especially as companies try to integrate legacy systems that weren’t “meant to be connected or patched.”
• In addition, “because we are so connected, there are third-party risks,” Darden Ford says. Small manufacturers may be more inviting targets for hackers than they realize, since their systems could provide a back door into the networks of their larger clients.
• On the plus side, manufacturers are getting smarter in building their defenses, she says. And that’s where Rockwell comes in.

Rockwell’s role: Rockwell aspires to become a “trusted advisor” to companies seeking cyber defenses, says Darden Ford. It already manufactured OT, so moving into cybersecurity for such equipment was a natural next step.

• Its partnerships with other firms, including Dragos, CrowdStrike, Cisco and others, allows Rockwell to offer bespoke cyber monitoring and other services to its clients.
• These services include penetration testing, threat detection and response and an OT “SOC”—i.e., a security operations center, which monitors threats to clients’ operations remotely.

How it works: “We have an OT cybersecurity roadmap—it starts with an assessment in your specific OT space, then walks through potential risks,” Darden Ford says. (See the end of this article for her detailed description of this roadmap.)

• The process includes building an “asset inventory, as you can’t protect what you don’t know.”
• “Then we talk about ways you can reduce your attack surface,” Darden Ford continues. “This is about segmentation. We help organizations divide their network into different domains. If you have ransomware or malware that propagates very quickly, then you have the opportunity to quarantine it.”
• In addition, the roadmap helps companies decide which tools and resources to use. For OT, you need to use very passive systems that don’t interfere with “getting the product out the door,” Darden Ford says.

After this process is complete, Rockwell’s SOC helps clients stay safe and hone their responses to real attacks.

• The SOC keeps eyes on a company’s operations remotely, notifies it of breaches within the plant network and helps it decide which threats to tackle. As Darden Ford says, the SOC stands in for the teams that companies would otherwise have to hire themselves.

On-site resources: Manufacturers can tap their existing staff to work on cyber defenses, including with offsite monitors. Darden Ford recommends drafting “the plant engineering team, along with the IT team,” who would have the knowledge and resources required.

A community effort: Large manufacturers should help educate small manufacturers on cyber issues, says Darden Ford.

• “We have a lot of suppliers, so to mitigate third-party risk, we provide more awareness about OT and advice about upping their cyber hygiene. We work closely with suppliers and do a lot of knowledge sharing,” she says.

Collaboration at the top: In addition, it’s also beneficial for CISOs and manufacturing leaders to consult their peers in what Darden Ford calls “mastermind sessions.”

• These conversations have provided her with “a lot of insights and data,” she says. She gets indispensable input on “strategies, frameworks, journeys and roadmaps,” as companies try to find their way through this cyber landscape together.

The bottom line: When asked what she says to companies that doubt the need for cyber protections, Darden Ford has a simple answer: “You wouldn’t drive your car without insurance—that’s what this is.”

• “What used to be optional is becoming mandatory,” she adds. “For small or midsize companies, you are still going to have to report” back to your large customers, many of whom require stringent protections of their suppliers. Those requirements will only get “more and more rigorous over time,” she warns.
• In other words, however you choose to do it, “you need a plan.”

The Roadmap

Darden Ford supplied us with her account of Rockwell’s cyber roadmap for its own suppliers, below. “The playbook aligns with the NIST framework, showing you step-by-step how to audit your current security state, identify gaps and take a proactive approach to mitigate risk,” she says. Here is her account of the key steps.

Step #1: Discover 

• Know where you stand. Conduct a security and risk assessment—log all issues and review progress against findings.
• You can’t protect what you can’t see. You must gain a full understanding of what network assets you have on your plant floor and their current state. Start by conducting extensive network discovery and asset inventory.

 Step #2: Remediate 

• Work with stakeholders to prioritize assets and organizational risk levels. Take the necessary steps to eliminate, upgrade or replace unneeded, unused or unsupported OT applications and infrastructure. This will look different for every organization based on what you discover in Step #1.

 Step #3: Isolate 

• Establish a perimeter by physically and logically segmenting your networks. Put up a firewall and establish internal and external cybersecurity policies to protect your OT assets. Set up an on-premises industrial data center to encapsulate critical applications inside the protected OT network.
• Secure endpoints with security software on plant floor assets.
• Enable third-party remote access. Third parties need access, but you must control the access and maintain visibility into what they’re doing in your network by enabling OT access controls. 

Step #4: Monitor and Respond 

• Now that you have a solid foundation in place, the next step is to implement OT network monitoring to provide real-time OT cybersecurity, including malicious event/asset risk alerting, network diagnostics, AI learning and KPI dashboarding. The data only works for you if you are continuously viewing and reacting to it.
• Establish an OT SOC for 24/7 real-time alert monitoring​, acknowledgement and triage​. Cyberattacks aren’t limited to 9–5.
• Create an integrated IT/OT cyber event response team. Define event response and isolation protocols. IT/OT must have equal involvement and buy-in for these protocols to be successful. Execute tabletop exercises to simulate attacks and outcomes.

As innovation in manufacturing continues at breakneck speed, research and development is more important than ever—but it requires outstanding managers to make it all happen.

So how do these managers get the education and insights they need? The Innovation Research Interchange, a network of cross-industry innovators that the NAM combined with earlier this year, has an answer: an executive management course called Shaping Innovation Leaders.

The gist: Co-hosted by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the course provides a forum for strategic thinking, education and networking for technology leaders from around the world.

• In 2023, it will take place on May 13–19 on the Northwestern campus in Evanston, Illinois.

The details: The goal of this seven-day program is to develop midlevel managers into leaders for their companies, by covering topics including:

• Evaluating financial results;
• Segmentation, targeting and positioning;
• Growing and defending your brand;
• Legal and strategic investments;
• Building a better network; and
• Negotiating skills and strategic alliances;

Who’s involved: To get a sense of this event’s caliber, look no further than the attendees from the 2022 course.

• They hailed from a wide range of companies, including manufacturers such as Mars, Procter & Gamble, John Deere, Hershey, NatureWorks, Air Liquide, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Sherwin-Williams and many, many more.

The reviews are in: Participants in the 2022 course were enthusiastic about what they learned and experienced.

• “[I’m] really super impressed with the program, soup to nuts,” said John Deere Manager for Global Strategic Communications & Culture Jacqueline Kiple. “One of my favorite aspects of the program was really getting a chance to think about our business a little bit differently … to take a step back and think about the higher-level impacts that affect decision-making in our respective organizations.”

• “What I really enjoyed about this course was first and foremost the esteemed professors. … [The course] gives you a really big view of all the information you need to really understand business and understand the decisions that are getting made,” said Sherwin-Williams Associate R&D Director Tony Rook. “It gives you that top-level view of how you add value to [your] organization.”

Get involved: Registration is now open for the 2023 course. You can find additional information and register here.

Even amid so much economic uncertainty, Cemen Tech is on track for a year of unprecedented growth. Leaders of the company, the world’s largest manufacturer of volumetric technology, attribute a good deal of its success to its loyal workforce.

Allegiance creator: Just what contributes to that worker loyalty? The answer may well be Cemen Tech’s unusual generosity.

• “We considered a number of new and different ways to continue to attract and retain good people,” Cemen Tech President and CEO Connor Deering said. “In September 2021, we made the decision to cover 100% of employee health insurance costs, the net effect of which is essentially our folks taking home more of the money they earn. That has really helped with retention.”
• The Indianola, Iowa–based company also raised wages across the board and began offering employees season tickets for local sports teams. 

A new approach: Full health insurance coverage made a difference when it came to attracting and keeping workers, but the volumetric concrete mixer manufacturer was still hitting another roadblock when it came to employment: finding people with the right qualifications. So, it set out to solve the problem in house.

• As part of a planned facility expansion, the company is setting aside space for the new “Cemen Tech University,” an innovative answer to the question of how to develop employees with highly desired, specialized skills. Classes are tentatively set to start in January 2023.
• The company is also working with area high schools and technical schools to forge partnerships in which students work for Cemen Tech part time, while still pursuing their diplomas or degrees.
• “This way, we train applicants for immediate success on the job, helping to ensure a strong fit between the employee and the company from the start,” Deering said. “It also gives us an opportunity to teach new hires about our organizational culture. … I believe [our education efforts] will help support an educated team member who’s connected to our culture, resulting in a happier, better and more long-term employee.” 

More incentives: Last March, Cemen Tech found a way to boost shift-worker attendance with a points-based rewards system.

• “We implemented an attendance bonus—if an employee stays within a certain number of points [for coming to work], they can earn an additional $90 a week,” said Cemen Tech Director of Human Resources Emily Lyons. “We have seen that help in terms of attracting and retaining employees and further incentivizing employees to achieve consistent attendance.”
• The company has also increased the referral bonus given to existing employees who bring in new hires, Lyons said.

Advice: Manufacturers looking to see similar growth to Cemen Tech, which is set to expand 65% this year, should consider implementing some of the firm’s ideas (if financially feasible). But companies should be prepared to incur some financial cost along the way.

• “Our growth has helped offset the profitability loss [from the increased benefits], but the reality is that our business is people,” Deering said. “If we don’t have people—good people—we’re not going anywhere. So, the fact that we’re little less profitable at the moment is OK, as long as we can continue to grow.”

Washington, D.C. – National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons addressed the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s Manufacturers’ Summit today, where he made another call for policymakers to act on immigration, saying it is time to “fix this problem now.” Timmons called on Congress to act in the year-end government funding bill.  His remarks come as the NAM rereleased its immigration proposal “A Way Forward.”

Excerpts from Timmons’ speech:

“First and foremost, this is a humanitarian issue. We see it play out in tragic ways—including family separations at the border and confusion as families seek to reunite following a harrowing journey.”

“But as manufacturing and business leaders, we also know there are serious economic consequences. Research and development—the cornerstone of innovation and our industry’s success—depends on access to the best and brightest from across the world.”

“The broken immigration status quo is also preventing us from growing our talent pool, leaving jobs unfilled. There are around six job seekers for every 10 job openings in the U.S., and our population growth is slowing. Last year, the U.S. population grew at its slowest rate ever.”

“Last year’s infrastructure law and this year’s CHIPS and Science Act prove that Congress can still get bipartisan things done—and immigration should be next on the list, whether it’s one bill or multiple bills. We would absolutely support a long-term, comprehensive legislative fix that addresses all of these issues, but we also want to be realists. We have a workforce crisis that needs to be addressed now, so let’s take action where we can. We want to focus on the art of the possible. One approach would be to address some of these issues in the year-end government funding bill.”

First released in 2019 and updated to reflect current challenges, the NAM’s “A Way Forward” proposal identifies seven core areas of action for Congress and the administration to take:

• Strengthen border security through physical infrastructure and best-in-class technology.
• Prioritize America’s workforce needs through reforms to the legal immigration system.
• Reform nonimmigrant visas and temporary worker programs to reflect employer needs, including a fund to support STEM programs so that we can reduce the need for these types of visas in the future.
• Provide a permanent and compassionate solution for populations facing uncertainty, including the Dreamers, who were brought here as children and know no other home.
• Reform asylum and refugee programs for a more orderly and humane system, including asylum standards consistent with our values.
• Fix the problem of the unauthorized population with a firm reset, requiring an orderly process of review, including financial penalties for those who seek to become legal and deportation for those who choose to stay in the shadows.
• Strengthen the rule of law so that it is respected and followed by all, with a focus on gang violence and also on requiring localities to cooperate to advance the enforcement of immigration priorities.

View “A Way Forward” in full here.

-NAM-

The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12.8 million men and women, contributes $2.77 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 58% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org

The NAM is constantly working to support and strengthen the men and women who make things in America. That mission is upheld by outstanding members of the NAM Board of Directors and their commitment to promoting the industry’s competitiveness on the global stage—a goal laid out in the NAM’s “Competing to Win” agenda.

Welcoming new faces: A number of new members have been elected to the board and will begin their two-year terms in January. They come from many sectors of the industry and companies both large and small, holding an array of leadership roles and boasting a wide range of experience. All of them are dedicated to ensuring that manufacturers in the U.S. have the tools they need to prosper.

The new members include the following:

• Edward Blair, president, Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.
• Sara Beth Burton, senior vice president, global supply chain, Hallmark Cards, Inc.
• Richard Cammarano, president and chief executive officer, Tech-Etch, Incorporated
• Karl Ehemann, vice president, global manufacturing and quality, Corning Incorporated
• Ed Elkins, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Norfolk Southern Corporation
• Cynthia Farrer, senior vice president, global operations and integrated supply chain, Allegion plc
• Aimee Gregg, vice president and general manager, containerboard and recycling, International Paper
• John Hartner, founder, Digital Industrialist LLC
• Christopher Kastner, president and chief executive officer, Huntington Ingalls Industries
• Ram Krishnan, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Emerson
• Reece Kurtenbach, chief executive officer and president, Daktronics, Inc.
• Rose Lee, president and chief executive officer, Cornerstone Building Brands
• Thomas Long, co-chief executive officer, Energy Transfer LP
• Michael McGarry, chairman and chief executive officer, PPG
• Lori Miles-Olund, president, Miles Fiberglass & Composites, Inc.
• Christopher Perkins, president North America and senior vice president Taste & Beyond North America, Firmenich, Inc.
• Kimberly Ryan, president and chief executive officer, Hillenbrand, Inc.
• Karin Shanahan, executive vice president, global product development and supply, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
• Matt Shields, senior vice president, global animal health manufacturing, Merck & Co., Inc.
• Sachin Shivaram, chief executive officer, Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry
• Shruti Singhal, chief executive officer, Chroma Color Corporation
• Mark Smucker, president and chief executive officer, The J.M. Smucker Company
• Matt Wood, national industry leader, commercial products practice, FORVIS
• Brent Yeagy, president and chief executive officer, Wabash
• Renée Zemljak, executive vice president, midstream, marketing & fundamentals, Ovintiv USA Inc.

What we’re saying: “The diverse backgrounds of our new board members, and their varied experience across many manufacturing sectors, make their counsel invaluable to the NAM in its efforts to bolster the industry’s competitiveness,” said NAM Chief of Staff Alyssa Shooshan. “We are counting on their insights and dedication to help steer manufacturers through this turbulent time and into a position of even greater strength.”

Hurricane Ian’s devastating landfall in Florida Wednesday afternoon marked the second significant storm to hit the U.S. and territories in less than two weeks. But as is usually the case when catastrophe strikes, manufacturers are already among those leading the charge to help the communities affected.

Manufacturers mobilize: In Puerto Rico, where approximately one-third of all residents remain without power following Hurricane Fiona Sept. 18, manufacturers including Dow, UPS, Coca-Cola, Ecolab and Toyota are funding product donations across the island through NAM partners Good360 and SBP.

What’s happening: These NAM partner organizations are providing on-the-ground updates and working to get products where they’re needed most. Items of greatest need include:

• Solar-powered power generators;
• Nonperishable foods and ready-to-eat meals;
• Mold remediation products;
• Oxygen tanks;
• Hygiene kits and supplies;
• Drinking water;
• New clothing; and
• School supplies.

Meanwhile, the work is just beginning in Florida to respond to Hurricane Ian, with anticipated items including drinking water, nonperishable foods, hygiene kits, tarps, blankets and mold remediation products.

NAM in action: The NAM’s Emergency Response Committee is an employee-led, volunteer group that works year-round with nonprofit partners, including Good360, SBP and Project HOPE, to provide NAM members with disaster-preparedness resources and training.

• These resources, which include e-learning modules, fact sheets and webinars, enable manufacturers to support their employees ahead of, during and in the aftermath of disasters.
• The NAM’s ERC also helps manufacturers activate to aid their communities when disaster strikes—and it works to identify and highlight members that are leading this critical work.

Be prepared: In a webinar sponsored by the NAM’s ERC, Amanda Gallina, SBP community engagement manager, and Matt Woodruff, vice president of public and government affairs for Texas-based tank barge operator Kirby Corporation, gave their suggestions for hurricane preparation.

For businesses: Woodruff provided some commonsense advice for employers:

• Have a plan: Have a hurricane-preparedness plan and ensure that all employees understand it—before hurricane season starts.
• Make a list: Create a checklist of tasks that must be done during the season, starting with the first day.
• Set up: Create and offer remote work sites for affected communities and employees.
• Support: Provide support to the families of employees who live in disaster-hit areas.

The last word: “The NAM stands ready to provide resources and support for its manufacturing members and the communities in which they operate in all conditions,” said NAM Director of Member and Board Relations Isabelle Powell.

• “We urge members to contact their membership directors with questions on how to better prepare their team or support people in their communities.”

For more information on manufacturer disaster preparedness or to be added to the NAM’s ERC mailing list, please email [email protected].

How should companies design R&D teams and processes to create the best possible results? That’s the challenge that Babson College Professor of Innovation Management Gina O’Connor addressed in her talk at the Innovation Research Interchange’s annual conference back in June. The IRI is a division of the NAM that advances the field of innovation management by creating contemporary practices—in R&D and many other areas.

A common problem: In an extensive research project at Babson College, O’Connor worked with experts from Goodyear, Synthomer and Diageo to study companies and decipher best R&D practices. She noticed a recurring theme: R&D professionals were being used by companies to solve urgent technical issues rather than to discover and invent.

• “In many organizations R&D has this feeling of being an order taker and of having to solve problems that are finely tuned and narrowly scoped,” said O’Connor. “That erodes confidence—and eroded confidence reduces empowerment.”

Empowerment and autonomy: O’Connor described empowerment as the authority to determine which projects and initiatives to take on and what problems to tackle. Meanwhile, autonomy refers to the authority to make final decisions.

• So, what do R&D professionals need? According to O’Connor, most want a moderate amount of empowerment, but not complete control over what to do.
• “We want to make sure that there’s organizational commitment somewhere associated with what we are doing, but we don’t just want to be told what to do,” as she put it.

So, what works? O’Connor explained that organizations with structureless R&D systems often had erratic decision making, sudden disruptions and unexpected changes in direction that left employees feeling powerless.

• Similarly, organizations with R&D processes that were too formal were also alienating to employees, who felt there wasn’t any room for flexibility or discussion.
• In contrast, the best systems included strong project leaders, consistent back and forth between the R&D group and organizational leadership, constructive communication, clearly outlined goals and trust in employees.

A last piece of advice: Training and developing project leaders is among the most essential steps in achieving successful R&D, said O’Connor.

• “What you need to be doing as a team leader every day is checking in with every member of your team, seeing what they need, where they are, what has happened,” said O’Connor. “It has to be an interactive, interpersonal kind of a thing.”

Learn more: Head on over to the IRI website to check out more of its programs and events.

Heading to the beach? Take along the Manufacturing Leadership Council’s summer reading list to catch up on today’s top trends in digital manufacturing while you catch some rays. With these articles, you’ll discover new ideas, technologies and best practices to give your company a competitive edge.

Workforce: Leading the Way to Workforce Optimization. As digitization changes employees’ expectations of their employers, manufacturers must adapt. Examples include options for remote work, interactive training, agile and rapid collaboration platforms, career development, work-life balance and more.

Industrial automation: Camozzi’s Autonomous Vision. Successful autonomous manufacturing will depend on the fundamental relationship between humans and machines, says Camozzi Group CEO Lodovico Camozzi, whose company makes industrial machinery. In a recent interview with the MLC, Camozzi shared his view of manufacturing’s autonomous future, including:

• How advanced additive manufacturing approaches promise new production paradigms;
• The importance of collaboration in driving innovation and excellence; and,
• Why the industry must maintain a human focus in today’s digital world.

Cybersecurity: Ransomware Attacks Increasingly Targeting Manufacturers. Think your business is safe from hackers? Think again. Ransomware attacks against manufacturers are on the rise. All businesses should be on guard against cyber extortion, advises Peter Vescuso, vice president of marketing for industrial cybersecurity provider Dragos and a member of the MLC.

Supply chain: How Manufacturers Can Navigate Supply Chain Challenges.
As global supply chain woes, worker shortages and wage inflation challenges intensify, manufacturers everywhere want to know the best way to navigate them. In this article, a panel of industry experts shares top tips to sustainably and profitably overcome current obstacles.

Artificial Intelligence: AI Roadmap: How Manufacturers Can Amplify Intelligence with Artificial Intelligence. Artificial intelligence offers manufacturers a host of benefits, including better visibility into supply chains, insights from predictive analytics and the ability to quickly respond to unexpected changes in demand. A six-step road map can help manufacturers looking to integrate AI into their businesses.

5G: 5G Will Help Unlock M4.0’s Potential. 5G technology offers speed and capacity advantages to manufacturing companies. According to the MLC’s recent Transformative Technologies survey, 26% of manufacturers have already invested in 5G technology. More than half expect to invest or are considering investing in the technology over the next two years to take advantage of 5G’s benefits.

Sustainability: Overcoming Roadblocks to Advance Sustainability Programs.
The manufacturing industry is expected to improve its sustainability and keep leading the fight against climate change. However, making green changes to processes and procedures can be costly. To get the most bang out of their sustainability investments, manufacturers should focus on data-driven initiatives and indicators.

Looking for more digital manufacturing insights? Browse the Manufacturing Leadership Journal for additional information on technology, organizational structure and leadership in manufacturing’s digital era.