The manufacturing industry is undergoing an era of rapid, profound change. From the connected systems of the Industrial IoT to new tools like augmented reality and artificial intelligence, manufacturers have the high-tech backing they need to achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency, quality, and productivity all the way through the value chain. In the process, they have the opportunity to transform the industry from the dark, dirty, and dangerous days of the past into a true, 21^st century digital adventure. Read More >

In this presentation, Hessman walks through what some of the most successful manufacturers are doing to lead this transformation along with the strategies, technologies and practices they deployed to make the changes stick.   Read Less ^

Most Industrial Internet of Things projects will fail. Particularly among small and midsized manufacturers where investment is light and IT talent is scarce, the majority of IIoT experiments will either fall short of expectations or dwindle a slow death at the margins of the core manufacturing business. Read More >

For many, the failure of these doomed projects can be pinned to one underlying deficit: strategy.

To make IIoT work and to drive their businesses fully into the digital transformation, manufacturers need to develop a robust, long-term strategy that solves real problems and evolves traditional processes from the bottom up. From implementation to transformation, this presentation will uncover the strategy-building tools manufacturers need to make their IIoT journey succeed. Read Less ^

In the factory of the future, everything is illuminated. Read More >

It is gleaming white—a shining, interconnected web of information and production. The whole facility hums in quiet efficiency as smart machines collaborate with each other, with a global team of savvy workers, with customers and clients, intelligent analytics and dynamic systems all across the farthest extremes of the supply chain.

The factory of the future—the smart factory—is a paradise of efficiency where defect and downtime, waste and waiting are long forgotten issues of a long-forgotten age. In it, plant managers and CIOs scheme together in a seamless blend of data and production, of IT and manufacturing, to illuminate every turn of every machine, every cut of every blade, every move of every piece in its global dance to delivery.

The journey to this ideal isn’t easy, though. There are many traps to avoid and many difficult changes to make. Read Less ^

Throughout its 30-year evolution, additive manufacturing has been dubbed a rough prototyping tool, it has heralded the end of machining, been hyped as a consumer appliance craze, and promoted as the catalyst for a full-scale industrial revolution. Read More >

None of these have ever quite panned out.

But today, additive technologies have finally found firm footing—and its not nearly as revolutionary as we thought.

Modern 3D printing churns out parts for prototypes and finished goods, for jet engines and sneakers, for machine fixtures and robot tooling, in materials ranging from the softest plastics to the hardest metals. And it exists not in the pace-age, high-tech factory of the future, but as a comfortable and natural part of the traditional manufacturing ecosystem.

In this presentation, Hessman takes on the myths and hype of additive manufacturing and demonstrate how all manufacturers—regardless of size or industry—can harness its potential to evolve their businesses. Read Less ^

There is an industrial cybersecurity crisis occurring all around us, but no one is talking about it. And it is a crisis specifically because no one is talking about it. Read More >

Besides coverage of high-profile attacks and macro-level reporting on the industrial hacking market, there remains a culture of silence regarding cybersecurity. It is a silence eerily reminiscent of the dark, pre-OSHA era of industrial safety.

Overcoming this cyber challenge will take an approach that mirrors the safety movement of the 1970s—one that promotes transparency and openness throughout the industry and a culture fully engaged with cyber hygiene.

This presentation will trace the similarities of the two movements, highlighting the dangers of cyber silence and how a community safety approach will lead us to a secure future. Read Less ^