Siemens and Electro-Matic will hold the Manufacturing in America (MiA) 2018 industry event March 14 and 15 inside Ford Field in downtown Detroit, MI. "Attendees will learn about the newest technologies, share best practices and ideas, and be a part of advancing the future of manufacturing," said a spokesperson.
"Collaboration around the topic of U.S. manufacturing and modernization is critical to the future growth and success of the industry," continued the spokesperson. "Synergies happen when the best minds in manufacturing come together-good ideas are transformed into great ideas. That is the spirit of this year's MiA event.
"U.S.-based manufacturing is experiencing a rebirth, and convergence of digitalization technologies is one of the key reasons for the new growth. Whether it be artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation, blockchain, digital twins, intelligent sensors and analytics, virtual reality, augmented reality, advanced connectivity or predictive maintenance, new and affordable ways to drive process improvements and automation modernization are possible at all levels of manufacturing operations. According to a recent Manufacturing Institute report, more than three million manufacturing positions will need to be staffed over the next 10 years. The vast majority of these new jobs will be impacted by digitalization."
Community Collaboration and Innovation
The MiA event will host over 2,600 individuals including engineers, manufacturing executives, students, academic researchers, regulatory body representatives, machine OEMs and technology business partners. Collaboration will be a key theme and Siemens has designed the event to optimize opportunities for education, networking and innovation. Entrance to the event is free although registration is required.
This year's event places a heavy emphasis on educating the incoming generation of young men and women who will need to fill the great demand for specialized jobs that digitalization will create. The number of open manufacturing jobs in the U.S. is at its highest point since 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Many of these jobs have gone unfilled because of a lack of qualified candidates.
MiA 2018 will be hosting a customized "Student Zone" event. Over 180 students from local Detroit area high schools, many of them young women with a keen interest in learning about the new world of manufacturing, will participate. Hands-on workshops will be held and students will be organized into small groups, participate in a series of technology rotations, and then tour the exhibit floor.
Digitalization as a Central Theme
On many levels, digitalization increases process efficiencies while lowering costs and makes each individual along the line more productive, faster and more empowered to better execute their jobs.
Digitalization added-value kicks in at the very start of the product lifecycle. Design and engineering can now build machines and even entire plants in a virtual world where they can be tested as a proof of concept without any up-front investment on physical infrastructure. Such an approach makes it much easier to avoid building machines that do not work right. Thorough upstream testing allows for improved downstream efficiency, uptime and safety. Once the machine or factory is built and into production, its prebuilt digital twin can then be leveraged to test adjustments and compare to real situation outputs so that efficiencies can be further increased.
Cloud-based open Internet of Things (IoT) operating systems (like Siemens MindSphere) serve as a connected platform loaded with new apps that provide a range of new functions for OEM machine builders and systems integrators, such as reducing security risks or improving the availability of connected machines and plants. For Siemens partners, this opens up new opportunities for offering new services to end users.
MiA Summary
The MiA agenda will feature activities designed to stimulate new thinking around digitalization-driven innovation:
- The Summit-At the Summit, which kicks off the MiA event, 300 executives and thought leaders will gather to share insights on manufacturing trends and directions. This year's keynote speaker is Dr. Alan Beaulieu, President of ITR Economics. Co-author of the book Make Your Move, Dr. Beaulieu has been delivering workshops and economic analysis seminars in countries around the world over the last 25 years.
- Digitalization-Throughout the show the digitalization theme will be evident. Data is being analyzed in ways never seen before. New ways of executing traditional tasks will result in significant cost savings and in faster time to market. Concepts like predictive maintenance are now not only possible, but also advisable.
- MindSphere-This open, cloud-based IoT operating system from Siemens lets users connect their machines and physical infrastructure to the digital world.
- Exhibitions and seminars-An exhibition floor with over 50 vendors will host a variety of new demos. Over 100 seminars will address everything from engineering management, electrical engineering, controls engineering, facilities management, energy and sustainability to plant safety, operations and maintenance.
- Food & beverage industry experience-This is a special track that will feature food & beverage-focused seminars, a private networking event and the Food & Beverage Futures Forum.
- MIA achievement awards-This year's award nominees will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to community innovation and collaboration. The awards will be presented at the Summit and highlight Siemens and Electro-Matic customers and partners who advance business practices using Siemens technology.
For more information contact:
Manufacturing in America 2018
www.attendmia.com