It's Time to Get Smart About Smart ManufacturingIt's Time to Get Smart About Smart Manufacturing

Develop a smart manufacturing strategy & find the resources needed to support it at this upcoming MD&M West 2025 workshop.

Daphne Allen, Editor-in-Chief

January 16, 2025

3 Min Read
smart manufacturing
Companies should develop a master plan for smart manufacturing that extends throughout their operations.Thinkhubstudio/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

At a Glance

  • Mike Ungar of Industry 4.0 Club & Conrad Leiva of CESMII will lead “Smart Manufacturing—Why It Matters and How to Achieve It”
  • Attendees will learn about resources available through CESMII, which is a member of Manufacturing USA
  • The smart manufacturing workshop will take place Feb. 3 at MD&M West 2025, the day before the show opens Feb. 4

Smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 definitely aren’t new concepts—they may actually have been around for more than a decade, according to Design News’s 2013 interview with Dr. James Truchard, then CEO of National Instruments.
So why are many manufacturers still struggling to make the leap? Smart manufacturing offers opportunities for greater productivity, efficiency, visibility, and quality, which all could lead to gains in competitiveness and profitability. 

The challenge isn’t necessarily a lack of awareness. It may be “pilot purgatory,” says Mike Ungar, CEO of Industry 4.0 Club.

“What we are seeing today are silos in factories,” he says. “Smart manufacturing technology is being used in one area but isn’t being extended to other parts of the plant.

“These manufacturers never took the time to develop a strategy or master plan,” he continues. “They were too micro focused, looking at solving just one problem, not building a strategy.”

Ungar hopes to help these manufacturers develop their smart manufacturing strategies. He will be leading the half-day workshop “Smart Manufacturing—Why It Matters and How to Achieve It” at the upcoming MD&M West 2025 show on February 3. He will be joined by Conrad Leiva, vice president, ecosystem and workforce education at CESMII, and together they will explore the importance of smart manufacturing, its essential building blocks, and how to get started. 

Related:Smart Manufacturing Isn’t Just for the Big Guys

CESMII has developed a Smart Manufacturing Assessment as the first step. CESMII is a member of Manufacturing USA, a network of 16 manufacturing institutes that are public-private partnerships each dedicated to a specific technology designed to advance U.S. manufacturing. Focused on smart manufacturing, CESMII is partially funded by the Department of Energy as well as through a UCLA partnership.

Ungar shared the six key elements that are evaluated by CESMII's assessment:

  1. Management strategy and leadership

  2. Manufacturing excellence culture

  3. Data-driven processes

  4. Systems infrastructure and integration

  5. Workforce optimization

  6. Supply chain resiliency and agility

Once the assessment is complete, companies can then develop a roadmap based on company needs, Ungar says.

Another challenge that small- and mid-sized manufacturers may face is a lack of resources to scale up, says Ungar. So, he and Leiva plan to introduce attendees to a range of resources, particularly those available through CESMII. CESMII has established a national network of Smart Manufacturing Innovation Centers (SMICs). According to its site, CESMII offers “industry networking, education and workforce development, funded research projects, and a Smart Manufacturing Innovation Platform to enable your digital transformation.”

Related:Smart Manufacturing: A Roadmap for Small Shops

Move forward in your own smart manufacturing journey

When we asked Ungar whether he is generally seeing progress in smart manufacturing, he offers a “muted yes.”

“There are companies taking on the activity, but it is still a drop in the bucket in manufacturing in general,” he says. “My concern is that if companies don’t get started they won’t be competitive. And given the shortage of workers, it is even more important to get started.”

Interestingly, nearly 10 years ago, a former editor of Design News wrote: “Change is hard. People don’t like change, but as did the three industrial revolutions before it, Industry 4.0 will deliver painful change and irrecoverable harm to those that don’t adapt.”

Don't fall victim to that harm. It’s time to develop a smart manufacturing strategy. Join Ungar and Leiva February 3 at MD&M West 2025 for “Smart Manufacturing—Why It Matters and How to Achieve It.”

To learn even more, check out this report from McKinsey & Company, "Capturing the True Value of Industry 4.0."

And to learn about sustainable manufacturing, be sure to check out sister show Sustainable Manufacturing Expo held February 4-5. Both events will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Related:Sustainable Manufacturing Expo Announces Key Industry Partners

About the Author

Daphne Allen

Editor-in-Chief, Design News

Daphne Allen is editor-in-chief of Design News. She previously served as editor-in-chief of MD+DI and of Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News and also served as an editor for Packaging Digest. Daphne has covered design, manufacturing, materials, packaging, labeling, and regulatory issues for more than 20 years. She has also presented on these topics in several webinars and conferences, most recently discussing design and engineering trends at MD&M West 2024 and leading an Industry ShopTalk discussion during the show on artificial intelligence. She will be moderating the upcoming webinar, Best Practices in Medical Device Engineering and will be leading an Automation Tour at Advanced Manufacturing Minneapolis. She will also be attending DesignCon and MD&M West 2025.

Daphne has previously participated in meetings of the IoPP Medical Device Packaging Technical Committee and served as a judge in awards programs held by The Tube Council and the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council. She also received the Bert Moore Excellence in Journalism Award in the AIM Awards in 2012.

Follow Daphne on X at @daphneallen and reach her at [email protected].

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