Research

The U.S. and 17 other countries have agreed to “a set of guidelines to ensure AI systems are built to ‘function as intended’ without leaking sensitive data to unauthorized users,” The Hill reports.

What’s going on: The 20-page document—unveiled last Sunday and published jointly by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the UK National Security Centre—enumerates recommendations for everything “from AI system design and development to its deployment and maintenance.”

• The agreement discusses threats to AI systems, how to protect AI models and data and how to release and monitor AI systems responsibly.
• Other signatories include Canada, Australia, Germany, Israel, Nigeria and Poland.

Why it’s important: “This is the first time that we have seen an affirmation that these capabilities should not just be about cool features and how quickly we can get them to market or how we can compete to drive down costs,” said U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly.
 

The Environmental Protection Agency is considering an effective ban of a chemical compound called ethylene oxide. However, abruptly eliminating the chemical from use could have profound negative consequences for manufacturers and make modern life much more difficult.

The background: Ethylene oxide is a chemical used in a wide range of products, from textiles to plastics to antifreeze. It’s also used to sterilize certain medical devices—and in some cases, it’s the only chemical effective for that purpose.

The problem: The EPA is considering a new regulation that would set the acceptable levels of the chemical in the atmosphere so low that it amounts to a ban on the compound.

• “If you took a monitor outside in any U.S. city center, where no manufacturing production occurs, the level of ethylene oxide would be higher than the level the EPA is proposing,” said NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Brandon Farris.
• “So anywhere that manufactures or uses ethylene oxide would be above the level they’re suggesting. The EPA is effectively banning it by creating a level that’s so low it can’t possibly be met.”

The impact: Because there are no current substitutes for some uses of ethylene oxide, a de facto ban would have immediate and serious impacts.

• “If this rule is finalized, a large number of medical devices could no longer be sterilized, and a lot of items that are relied on for modern life, such as textiles, plastics, household cleaners and adhesives, could not be produced in their current form,” said Farris. “If the EPA moves forward with this proposal, there will be no alternatives for the critical uses of this compound.”

The timeline: The final rule is expected to be released in the next few months. If the EPA chooses to finalize the rule in its current form—which would create a de facto ban on production and usage—manufacturers would be required to find a replacement for the chemical immediately. Developing a replacement in such a short amount of time will be difficult if not impossible.

• “One of the problems with creating a regulatory timeline for replacement is that science doesn’t work on an agency’s timeframe,” said Farris. “With no off-the-shelf substitute, it could take years to replace essential products, if we’re able to replace them at all.”

Our actions: The NAM is pushing back aggressively on this rule and raising manufacturers’ concerns with the White House, Congress and the EPA.

The bottom line: “This as proposed is a bad regulation,” said Farris. “Policymakers need to go back to the drawing board, recognize the critical applications of ethylene oxide and develop a proposal that is grounded in reality.”

Learn more about the NAM’s efforts to fight regulatory overreach here. 

What sort of computer can evaluate 67 million potential solutions in 13 seconds? Only a quantum computer. But what sort of problem has 67 million solutions to begin with?

Many manufacturing challenges do, from optimizing supply chain logistics to finding the most efficient way to load millions of pallets. In recent years, another mind-bendingly complex problem has begun to occupy the industry: how to get potentially dangerous chemicals in a category known as PFAS out of use and out of our environment.

Quantum computing firm D-Wave says that quantum holds the key, as its massive computing power could find new ways to remove or remediate the chemicals, or even help identify which of the thousands of chemicals in this class are indeed dangerous. We recently spoke to D-Wave Global Government Relations and Public Affairs Leader Allison Schwartz to get the details.

How it works: As Schwartz explains it, quantum is “a completely different form of computing.”

• “Due to superpositioning and quantum entanglement, quantum can look at all possibilities at once and come back with an answer very quickly,” she said, in a way that classic computers just can’t match.
• However, some of the best solutions are a product of both classic computers and quantum, an option known as “hybrid” applications. For example, Davidson Technologies collaborated with D-Wave to create a hybrid solution that produced the aforementioned 67 million scenarios in 13 seconds.
• “Classical computing alone can’t do that,” Schwartz observed.

When quantum meets PFAS: So how does this help with PFAS? Schwartz told us that there are two different types of quantum computing that would prove useful.

• The first, annealing quantum computing systems, are superior at providing optimized solutions. These systems can quickly run through millions of scenarios that model potential chemical spills, methods of remediating the chemicals, techniques for removing them from operations entirely and much more. These systems are commercially available today through the cloud.
• Meanwhile, gate model systems offer another avenue for dealing with PFAS—they can potentially invent alternative molecules that could substitute for the dangerous chemicals. However, gate-model systems are not large enough yet to tackle real-world problems.

Doing the research: Quantum could also play a role in determining which chemicals are harmful in the first place, added Schwartz. There are thousands of PFAS chemicals out there, but so far, only a few hundred have been studied.

• To examine the effects of various chemicals, researchers and companies will have to undertake clinical trials. Quantum can help optimize the organization of those trials, as well as aid in analyzing the results—for example, by assisting with medical imaging reconstruction.

So what’s the holdup? With such a powerful tool at the ready, you might think policymakers would be jumping at the chance to encourage its use. In fact, quantum has yet to be used in a PFAS-related application, though Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) mentioned its use in 2019 legislation later incorporated into the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

• However, “The EPA or DOE could recommend using quantum to optimize the PFAS work. It doesn’t need a legislative fix,” Schwartz noted. Instead, policymakers are more focused on finding replacement chemicals, a process that could take years, while incremental solutions could have a huge effect today.
• “Policymakers are relying on manufacturers to address the problem, but they aren’t providing insight into how emerging technology, such as quantum computing, can help manufacturers better achieve success,” said Schwartz.

Making quantum work for you: For manufacturers looking at quantum as a potential problem-solver, whether for PFAS or something else, Schwartz explained how D-Wave approaches new clients.

• First, a company’s leaders sit down with consultants at D-Wave, who conduct an in-depth examination of its operations—for example, by investigating which PFAS chemicals might be in use, how remediation might be accomplished or how contamination should be modeled.
• Once a problem or problems are identified, D-Wave builds a demo to test out potential options. It might build a custom algorithm or even a digital twin, as it did in partnership with SavantX to optimize container loading at the Port of Los Angeles. This step helps to hone the algorithm so it can find the right solutions for the manufacturer’s specific problem.
• Then D-Wave will work with the manufacturer to pilot the solution, making sure it functions as expected.
• And finally, the solutions are integrated into the production process and become part of daily operations.

The last word: “Tackling PFAS is a multipronged effort that calls for industry, academic and government collaboration,” said D-Wave CEO Dr. Alan Baratz. “Instead of waiting for a replacement chemical that could be years away, it is time to break down this societal problem and identify which parts of the problem can be addressed with quantum technology today.”

What sort of computer can evaluate 67 million potential solutions in 13 seconds? Only a quantum computer. But what sort of problem has 67 million solutions to begin with?

Many manufacturing challenges do, from optimizing supply chain logistics to finding the most efficient way to load millions of pallets. In recent years, another mind-bendingly complex problem has begun to occupy the industry: how to get potentially dangerous chemicals in a category known as PFAS out of use and out of our environment.

Quantum computing firm D-Wave says that quantum holds the key, as its massive computing power could find new ways to remove or remediate the chemicals, or even help identify which of the thousands of chemicals in this class are indeed dangerous. We recently spoke to D-Wave Global Government Relations and Public Affairs Leader Allison Schwartz to get the details.

How it works: As Schwartz explains it, quantum is “a completely different form of computing.”

• “Due to superpositioning and quantum entanglement, quantum can look at all possibilities at once and come back with an answer very quickly,” she added.
• However, some of the best solutions are a product of both classic computers and quantum, an option known as “hybrid” applications. For example, Davidson Technologies collaborated with D-Wave to create a hybrid solution that produced the aforementioned 67 million scenarios in 13 seconds.
• “Classical computing alone can’t do that,” Schwartz observed.

When quantum meets PFAS: So how does this help with PFAS? Schwartz told us that there are two different types of quantum computing that would prove useful.

• The first, annealing quantum computing systems, are superior at providing optimized solutions. These systems can quickly run through millions of scenarios that model potential chemical spills, methods of remediating the chemicals, techniques for removing them from operations entirely and much more. These systems are commercially available today through the cloud.
• Meanwhile, gate model systems offer another avenue for dealing with PFAS—they can potentially invent alternative molecules that could substitute for the dangerous chemicals. However, gate-model systems are not large enough yet to tackle real-world problems.   

Doing the research: Quantum could also play a role in determining which chemicals are harmful in the first place, added Schwartz. There are thousands of PFAS chemicals out there, but so far, only a few hundred have been studied.

• To examine the effects of various chemicals, researchers and companies will have to undertake clinical trials. Quantum can help optimize the organization of those trials, as well as aid in analyzing the results—for example, by assisting with medical imaging reconstruction .

Read the whole story here.
 

Since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, supply chains have faced extraordinary challenges around the world. In the midst of shortages and disruptions, as well as global conflicts, how can manufacturers ensure that they receive the materials they need and deliver their products on time?

At a recent NAM event, attended by more than 75 executives from both manufacturing companies and association partners, Supply Chain Insights Founder Lora Cecere addressed the question of how the industry can build resiliency into the supply chain of the future. Here’s some useful advice from her keynote speech, called “Supply Chain Workshop: Connecting and Securing the Supply Chain for 2030.”

Defining resilience: As Cecere noted, in many cases manufacturers may have different ideas about what resilience represents—and it’s important to settle on a clear definition.

• “I define resilience as the ability to have the same cost quality and customer service given the level of demand and supply variability,” she said.

Differentiating supply chains: While most manufacturers talk about the supply chain as a unified system, Cecere encouraged participants to differentiate various kinds of supply chains from one another.

• “We have responsive supply chains that are all about time—things like flu vaccines and bathing suits,” which must be shipped during certain seasons, Cecere observed.
• “And then there’s the agile supply chain, which is very low volume and not predictable. We can’t measure that in the same way we measure the efficient supply chain, but we need to manage flow.”
• “We don’t have just one supply chain. We have multiple supply chains,” she emphasized.

Putting customers at the center: As businesses design and adjust their supply chains, customers can get lost in the equation, Cecere cautioned. In one exercise she has used in her research, she asks participants to draw a supply chain—and the results she’s received show how many manufacturers are leaving out an important piece of the puzzle.

• “Most people will start with a truck, smokestack, then a factory, a mill,” said Cecere. “But isn’t the supply chain really about the customer? And how do we align the customer from the customer’s customer to the supplier’s supplier? … The role of the supply chain is the delivery to the customer.”

Using data effectively: According to Cecere, about 80% of supply chain data is not used. She encourages manufacturers to look creatively at the wide range of data available to generate useful insights.

• “We’re not looking at all the data we have, and we’re not thinking hard enough about how we use it,” she said.

Developing purple unicorns: Cecere encouraged participants to develop teams of “purple unicorns”—people with strong supply chain domain knowledge who can also innovate—and allow them to test new ideas and learn from failure.

The last word: “Supply chain excellence is not functional excellence—it is the ability to drive outcomes,” said Cecere. “This cannot be about the lowest cost; this has to be about the best potential of flow for cost, quality, customer service and inventory.”

Learn more: For more information, check out the full presentation here.

Since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, supply chains have faced extraordinary challenges around the world. In the midst of shortages and disruptions, as well as global conflicts, how can manufacturers ensure that they receive the materials they need and deliver their products on time?

At a recent NAM event, attended by more than 75 executives from both manufacturing companies and association partners, Supply Chain Insights Founder Lora Cecere addressed the question of how the industry can build resiliency into the supply chain of the future. Here’s some useful advice from her keynote speech, called “Supply Chain Workshop: Connecting and Securing the Supply Chain for 2030.”

Defining resilience: As Cecere noted, in many cases manufacturers may have different ideas about what resilience represents—and it’s important to settle on a clear definition.

• “I define resilience as the ability to have the same cost quality and customer service given the level of demand and supply variability,” she said.

Differentiating supply chains: While most manufacturers talk about the supply chain as a unified system, Cecere encouraged participants to differentiate various kinds of supply chains from one another.

• “We have responsive supply chains that are all about time—things like flu vaccines and bathing suits,” which must be shipped during certain seasons, Cecere observed.
• “And then there’s the agile supply chain, which is very low volume and not predictable. We can’t measure that in the same way we measure the efficient supply chain, but we need to manage flow.”
• “We don’t have just one supply chain. We have multiple supply chains,” she emphasized.

Learn more: To hear more from Cecere, attend “Manufacturing in 2030: The Coming Data Value Revolution,” an event of the NAM’s digital-transformation arm, the Manufacturing Leadership Council, Dec. 6-7 in Nashville, Tennessee. Register here.    

Read the full story here.
 

In the push for more critical minerals, governments and companies worldwide are looking to “a new but also old source”: closed mines, or brownfield sites, The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports.

What’s going on: “[O]pening new mines takes years—particularly when faced with strong local opposition—and delays might hamper policymakers’ efforts to diversify these supply chains. Even with recent investment announcements, analysts are forecasting supply shortfalls.”

• Reopening shuttered mines is often a quicker and less painstaking process because it allows the companies to “avoid damaging new land and work with local communities that have a memory of economic activity the industry can bring,” as a source told the Journal.

A successful start: One Swedish mining company is seeking to reopen an old copper-and-zinc mine in Norway that closed 25 years ago owing to low copper prices. “Last month, the local municipality unanimously approved plans to reopen” the mine.

• Several American firms are now seeking to reopen closed U.S. sites in the Southwest, and other projects are being planned in Italy and Germany.

​​​​​​​A “shift” in the U.S.: A U.S. company with plans to reopen an old gold mine in Idaho recently received funding from the Defense Department, which recognized the importance of the site as a source of antimony, a much-needed mineral in the defense sector.

• “The shift we are seeing in the United States is a growing recognition that we must secure supply chains, and a way to do that is bringing mining home and that means getting the public comfortable to bring mining home,” an executive at the firm told the Journal.

A new COVID-19 vaccine is set for a September release as cases of the new virus variant “Eris” rise nationwide, according to Reuters (subscription).  

What’s going on: “Some public health experts hope that Americans will welcome the new shot as they would a flu jab. But demand for the vaccine has dropped sharply since 2021 when it first became available and more than 240 million people in the U.S., or 73% of the population, received at least one shot.”

• Health care providers and pharmacies will begin offering the updated shots—which target XBB.1.5, “a sub-lineage of the still dominant Omicron variant”—in the second half of next month.
• The new vaccines still need authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why it’s important: Though the COVID-19 public health emergency ended in May and the private sector has taken on “much of the duty of vaccinating America,” virus-related hospitalizations are up 40% from June’s lows.

• “CDC Director Mandy Cohen said last week in a podcast that … Americans should view these shots as an annual measure to protect oneself, in line with the annual flu shot.”

Ever wondered how best to contact your members of Congress? Or invite them on a tour of your facility? The NAM’s advocacy division, which helps manufacturers express their priorities to D.C. decision-makers, recently released a new and important resource: a suite of toolkits for different advocacy activities, including facility tours and more.  

Congressional contact: There is an art to contacting Congress, as the NAM’s advocacy team will tell you. Their “Engaging Congress” toolkit provides simple, easy to remember rules for all types of communication, as well as sample letters and phone messages. 

• By email: A few key tips include using a clear subject line, making sure that you identify yourself as a constituent and providing strong facts and data. And don’t forget to make it personal—the congressional office should understand that you yourself are harmed (or benefitted) by the policy in question.
• By phone: The advice for phone calls is similar—make sure you identify yourself as a constituent and a manufacturer, and that you have a clear request for the congressional staffer answering your call. Personal details matter in this format as well.

Lastly, consider attending a town hall or other event hosted by your members of Congress, where you can also voice your opinions and connect with their offices. 

Facility visits: Another way to make an impact on your representatives is to invite them over to your place. Hosting a facility tour can seem daunting or complicated, but the NAM’s toolkit breaks it down into eight easy steps. This collection of advice from the experts includes the following:

• How to create a guest list, send invitations and coordinate with congressional office staff
• How to prepare for media participation and craft a CEO message
• How to organize the tour itself, from preparing the premises to greeting the lawmaker to providing safety equipment and more
• How to show the visitors around while dropping key talking points into the conversation

That’s only a snapshot of this helpful toolkit, which includes many hints that you may not ever have considered—such as designating a notetaker to join the tour and keep a record of it.

Become an ambassador: If you are interested in making advocacy one of your missions, consider becoming an NAM Ambassador. Ambassadors share their stories with the media and policymakers, take public positions on key manufacturing issues, publish op-eds, host elected officials at their facilities and much more. 

Check it out: Explore the whole toolkit and learn how you can become an effective public advocate for your company, your industry and the American economy. 

Ever wondered how best to contact your members of Congress? Or invite them on a tour of your facility? The NAM’s advocacy division, which helps manufacturers express their priorities to D.C. decision-makers, recently released a new and important resource: a suite of toolkits for different advocacy activities, including facility tours and more.

Congressional contact: There is an art to contacting Congress, as the NAM’s advocacy team will tell you. Their “Engaging Congress” toolkit provides simple, easy to remember rules for all types of communication, as well as sample letters and phone messages.

• By email: A few key tips include using a clear subject line, making sure that you identify yourself as a constituent and providing strong facts and data. And don’t forget to make it personal—the congressional office should understand that you yourself are harmed (or benefitted) by the policy in question.
• By phone: The advice for phone calls is similar—make sure you identify yourself as a constituent and a manufacturer, and that you have a clear request for the congressional staffer answering your call. Personal details matter in this format as well.

Lastly, consider attending town halls or other events hosted by your members of Congress, where you can also voice your opinions and connect with their offices.

Facility visits: Another way to make an impact on your representatives is to invite them over to your place. Hosting a facility tour can seem daunting or complicated, but the NAM’s toolkit breaks it down into eight easy steps. This collection of advice from the experts includes the following:

• How to create a guest list, send invitations and coordinate with congressional office staff
• How to prepare for media participation and craft a CEO message
• How to organize the tour itself, from preparing the premises to greeting the lawmaker to providing safety equipment and more
• How to show the visitors around while dropping key talking points into the conversation

That’s only a snapshot of this helpful toolkit, which includes many hints that you may not ever have considered—such as designating a notetaker to join the tour and keep a record of it.

Become an ambassador: If you are interested in making advocacy one of your missions, consider becoming an NAM Ambassador. Ambassadors share their stories with the media and policymakers, take public positions on key manufacturing issues, publish op-eds, host elected officials at their facilities and much more.

Check it out: Explore the whole toolkit and learn how you can become an effective public advocate for your company, your industry and the American economy.