Jennifer Herron, founder & CEO of Action Engineering, joined Sam Gupta on the WBSRocks podcast to discuss 3D Digital Data in Manufacturing Processes.
- What are the advantages?
- How rich is the 3D data over 2D drawings?
- What industries does it apply to?
- What are the challenges?
Jennifer notes how the growth in using CAD data has dramatically evolved over the past decade; the fundamentals didn’t change, but there is so much more to talk about beyond how to manage CAD models beyond the designer perspective. Research at Action Engineering has opened our eyes to the need for training and support systems for the consumers of 3D data. Those are the machinists, assembly technicians, welders, inspectors, and purchasing folks.
Today, companies that don’t utilize 3D models are missing out on financial and quality savings. Supply chain part costs have realized up to 40% savings; companies with $1 billion annual supply chain costs aren’t realizing the potential of $400M in annual savings. You won’t see that all in one year, but it’s certainly a goal worth achieving. There is also a significant cost of poor quality today in our manufacturing processes. During a Model-Based Definition (MBD) transition, folks end up discovering that their drawing-based practices have a ton of hidden quality costs. Robust 3D models are a mechanism to overcome tribal knowledge and increase the capture of accurate engineering requirements.
Although many executives perceive MBD as a risk to their production schedules, there are a lot of manual handoffs and undocumented processes that occur during manufacturing today that are adding to the time to market, rather than reducing it. MBD turns tribal knowledge into digital data that can be automated. Without this rigorous documentation process, organizations can’t achieve the prospects of ROI from machine learning or AI. Jennifer encourages digital transformation visionaries to be brave during this difficult transition; too many people only see the learning dip and miss out on the growth and savings.
The podcast discusses how coaching can provide a lighthouse beacon to guide organizations through the digital transformation storm to become more modern, more efficient, and more resilient. Sharing why your drawings cost you time and money lights your way.
The WBS Podcast
Growing Businesses With the World of Business Systems
There are several approaches to growing or scaling a small business. Some would recommend growth hacking strategies for aggressively marketing your products or services. In contrast, others would say that the only way to cross $10 mil in revenue would be through inorganic growth.
If you asked any business owners or executives, 90% of them, including ME, suffer from dream-reality confusion—some claiming their growth ambitions to be as high as 3x in the next three years. Yet, the stark reality is that 90% of the SMB businesses rarely grow and join the list of fastest-growing companies–or would ever become fortune-500 companies. Marketing calls it crossing the chasm, while others blame it on the “people,” “mindset,” or “culture” issue. In the ERP or business system world, they call it people, process, and technology.
This group takes a holistic and unique approach to crossing the chasm with business systems or technology. This group is relevant for business owners, consultants, researchers, and executives (CFO, CEO, CIO, and COO) who have gone (or who aim to go through) through a process of scaling a business with the help of technology. But, most importantly, leaders like you who have their feet on the ground and working tirelessly to manage their P&L.
Jennifer Herron
Founder & CEO
Jennifer Herron is the CEO of Action Engineering, a registered Women-Owned Small Business specializing in guiding organizations through their transformation into a Model-Based Enterprise (MBE) using Model-Based Definition (MBD). She serves on the Digital Metrology Standards Consortium (DMSC) Board of Directors, which maintains the QIF and DMIS standards. Ms. Herron has extensive experience with the hardware design for spaceflight and military systems, and as such, is an expert in multiple CAD packages (e.g., Creo, NX, SOLIDWORKS, Inventor). She holds a patent for a snake propulsion mechanism and is the author of Re-Use Your CAD: The Model-Based CAD Handbook. Because standards are the lynchpin to a digital transformation, she serves on the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) to write standards that empower all industries to do business differently.