POST BY JON LIEBOLD, CONSENSUS VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER

Consensus has rolled out the first in a series of Workshops to help small and mid-sized Manufacturing companies leverage technology and best business practices to further automate, simplify, and streamline their operations and move towards true “Real-Time” Manufacturing.  Our mission is to make Domestic Manufacturing companies more globally competitive and bring back many of the manufacturing operations that left this country that were in search of reducing costs to compete better.

Our first Manufacturing Workshop was hosted by Cold Chain Technologies at their spectacular new facilities in Franklin, MA.  Mr. Rob Gallo, the IT director, and Mr. Dave DeNorscia, the Plant Manager, took the entire group on a tour of their manufacturing operations and showed how their use of technology and real-time automation makes their Manufacturing Execution System perform at an impressive level.

Challenges

The new digital economy has placed tough challenges as well as great opportunity for manufacturing companies to thrive. Listening and Interpreting customer demands, and responding quickly to ever-changing market trends are at the very front of this transformation.  Acting on these changes is the challenge most organizations struggle with. To capitalize on this, an entirely new level of Agility is required to be successful.  “It is no longer the large eating the small, it is the fast eating the slow”.  Critical tools to plan and schedule using real-time data are needed like never before…. KPI’s, Critical Operating Metrics, and real-time dashboards are mandatory.

“It is no longer the large eating the small, it is the fast eating the slow”

This workshop series is being organized by Consensus as well as some impressive organizations that understand the opportunity transformative technology, innovative business practices, and customer-centric mindset bring to this battle.  Our next Workshop will be held in Groton, Massachusetts at the Groton Inn where we will celebrate national Manufacturing day on October 4^th and showcase the success of Plastic Injection Molding companies in the region, as well as show innovation around the Internet of Things as they relate to shop floor automation.