NIST recently published Sometimes It’s Not Easy Being a Small Manufacturer, outlining a few of the unique challenges small manufacturers have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We desperately need the MEP National Network… to ensure that there’s a focus in the next year on efficiency.” That focus on efficiency, [the panelist] said, should include the factory floor efficiency, as well as the front office, where many companies struggling to survive the current economic downturn may have been forced to cut staff.
Sometimes It’s Not Easy Being a Small Manufacturer, Mark Schmit, NIST
The need to focus on efficiency has never been greater. Recent challenges have highlighted the benefits of NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a public-private partnership dedicated to small businesses.
Jennifer Herron recently discussed the essential capabilities of the supply chain and how they can increase efficiency at IMTS spark 2021. To realize the benefits of Industry 4.0, the Digital Twin, and Model-Based Enterprise (MBE) in the supply chain, foundational Model-Based Definition (MBD) capabilities are required. She noted, “Suppliers are dealing with a shit-show of data from all their customers. That lack of standardization in the type, presentation, and structure of 3D data they receive is killing the adoption of MBD.” Model-Based Definition MBD reduces variability during data translation, provides more accurate product definition information, and enables wider and faster dissemination.
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/JkHOPLsvq2o?
The adoption of Model-Based Definition supports efficiency on both the factory floor and in the front office. Clear, unambiguous definition is key to manufacturing effectiveness across every area of the business, from procurement clarity to quality and inspection.
Action Engineering offers OSCAR to support manufacturing organizations, large and small, on their Model-Based Enterprise MBE journey.
