It was great to join fellow industry peers this week at the National Manufacturing Summit 2023, organised and held at the MTC - Manufacturing Technology Centre.
The National Manufacturing Summit is an annual event run by the Manufacturing Technology Centre at its training and conference centre at the Ansty Business Park in Warwickshire.
Launched in 2021, the 2023 event was the third edition of the Summit which has quickly grown in importance and influence as a summit of national significance for the UK manufacturers, engineering, supply chain and wider funding, government and academic stakeholders.
Our Product Manager and Head of Marketing & Communications joined the first day of the summit, listening to a number of thought-provoking talks covering the micro and macroeconomic conditions and the role technology can and is playing in making manufacturers more efficient, sustainable and profitable.
Our Product Manager, Hannah Melia also joined one of the panel sessions which discussed topics around the theme 'The digital journey from concept to customer'.
Hannah talked about a number of use cases where manufacturers (of all sizes) have benefited from using FourJaw's manufacturing analytics technology. Sharing insight about the importance of ensuring any 'digital project' is led, from the start, with 'people' at the heart of the strategy. Ultimately, the success or failure of any technology is reliant on the 'people' who operate it, and therefore ensuring cultural adoption of any new technology is key.
Our Head of Marketing, James Brook commented...
There were so many use cases shared about how technology has provided the 'data insight' to improve manufacturing processes and drive efficiency, sustainability and profitability.
The FourJaw team is here because we believe in one common purpose, manufacturing is the bedrock of society, and technology is an enabler to support productive manufacturing which in turn improves the lives of people, society and community.
It was therefore inspiring, from a personal and professional perspective, to hear from Lina Huertas, Manufacturing Industry Advisor at Microsoft, who shared her personal story about her family's manufacturing business in Colombia, where she grew up.
In 1979, her parents took the opportunity to change their lives and the lives of people, society and their local community by establishing Emparlar Ltd. Lina talked about the impact this business has had on people's lives and spoke about the importance of manufacturers adopting technologies to enable them to remain competitive, attract talent and drive sustainable initiatives to have a positive impact on future society.
The takeaway we took from the day was as follows.
The UK manufacturing sector, as a whole, is starting to ramp up its investment in technology, especially technologies that offer immediate increases in productivity gains and provide a fast payback. It, therefore, makes us very excited, with the UK already a world leader in manufacturing, about the possibilities for the sector as a whole when the momentum of adopting technology increases.
Putting all of the hype and buzzwords that are so often associated with technology, it boils down to the fact that whether a manufacturer needs to increase capacity, improve processes, respond to production issues more quickly, improve quality, or lower their carbon emissions, technology is a lever that they can pull to help them.
As we know from the manufacturers who use our productivity improvement software, technology does not have to be feared. It is here to help manufacturers facilitate the change required to remain competitive, and at its simplest level, to let you know 'at the end of the month whether your billing is accurate!
So don't let fear get in the way, start small and start by understanding the true productivity of your machines.
