By Cathy Bonnstetter
In West Virginia, across the country and around the world, the fourth industrial revolution has arrived. Smart manufacturing or manufacturing 4.0—the use of big data and the artificial intelligence needed to sift through it—gives managers the information they need to be proactive rather than reactive with just the tap of a finger on their cell phones or computer screens, making their processes responsive and transparent and their operations sleek and profitable. Smart manufacturing could also be a catalyst for jump-starting the Mountain State’s economy.
“West Virginia desperately needs to diversify its economy,” says John Deskins, West Virginia University (WVU) assistant dean for outreach and engagement, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) and assistant professor of economics at the WVU College of Business and Economics. “Our recent problems have been caused by losses in coal and our lack of other growing industries. The biggest super sector we can look to in the future is manufacturing, and with natural gas in abundant supply in this region, we have limitless opportunities in the petrochemical sector if we can do the right things to be sure it comes here.”
Diversifying Our Economy
Those right things involve using smart manufacturing in small- to medium-sized operations—the majority of the state’s businesses—as well as large ones. European companies and large U.S. companies such as Toyota and Procter & Gamble are already savvy in the ways of smart manufacturing and are reaping the rewards. West Virginia companies of all sizes have to do the same.
“We can create good, high-paying jobs if we can do this,” says Deskins. “Smart manufacturing will attract these jobs. This is no longer just for the General Electrics and Teslas of the world. Medium-sized companies are increasingly adopting smart manufacturing, and smaller companies can profit from it as well. We have to be on the cutting edge.”
This manufacturing boom for the state is a process, not an overnight sensation. If this trend is embraced, the state will be looking at decades of movement toward diversification.
Defining Smart Manufacturing
The process of smart manufacturing includes anticipating machine wear and tear as well as monitoring all steps in the manufacturing process. Just as robotic automation freed humans from repetitive—and often dangerous—work on the shop floor, smart manufacturing releases humans from cognitive work that can easily and more efficiently be done by artificial intelligence.
Unlike a human, a robot can easily lift a car, and with smart manufacturing, the cognitive heavy lifting can be done by artificial intelligence, according to Thorsten Wuest, an assistant professor in industrial and management systems engineering at the WVU Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources and one of two inaugural J. Wayne and Kathy Richards Faculty Fellows in Engineering. However, Wuest is quick to maintain that this does not replace humans in the manufacturing process.
“With smart manufacturing, humans are freed up to do what they do best—innovate and solve problems,” he says. “There are still things automation can’t handle, and humans need to be there for the day to day. The human mind is not replicated in artificial intelligence and hopefully never will be.”
Smart manufacturing connects the manufacturing process to cloud storage using sensors to provide the data in real time. It is a flexible process, and it can be designed to do just what a manufacturer needs.
Embracing Smart Manufacturing
Currently, West Virginia is lagging behind the smart manufacturing curve. A study by the WVU Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources and the BBER found that even though more than half of business owners in the state have heard of smart manufacturing,
only about one-fifth of them are actively working on it.
“Part of the hesitancy is because this involves risk,” says Deskins. “Big companies are better able to take that risk than small companies.
Small manufacturers with tight profit margins also have more cost worries. However, smart manufacturing can be done with a small budget. Eagle Manufacturing in Wellsburg, WV, used a small-scale smart manufacturing intervention that fit its budget and freed it up for more expansion.
“Eagle had a pain point in its operation and did a small-scale solution,” says Wuest. “By spending less than a four-digit number, Eagle saved its company significant amounts of money.”
As smart manufacturing becomes more mainstream, more companies will supply the tools, such as the sensors, and competition should bring down prices and make the new technology more affordable. Even now, a little knowledge can cut a company’s smart manufacturing bill.
Impacting Education
Smart manufacturing is revolutionizing education as well as industry. A new category of manufacturing jobs is being brought to the table.
“In four-year post-graduate education, we are definitely taking action,” says Brian Lego, assistant professor at the BBER. “At WVU, we created a new master’s degree in business data analytics that will be completing its second year. We also have classes that emphasize economic issues and data.”
According to Lego, four-year institutions are not the only schools that need to play a role in this revolution. Two-year colleges will need to participate in preparing the next wave of professionals as well.
“Not everyone wants or needs to have a four-year degree, but we need to develop a workforce from the ground up and progress it along with these industries,” he says. “If you don’t have the people, you can get left in a lurch.”
Championing Broadband Infrastructure
This industrial revolution will have its place in history alongside other major historic changes in the way products are manufactured and society functions.
“From a historical context, we moved from an agrarian society to an industrial society that was manufacturing based and then to a service-oriented society,” says Deskins. “Most jobs are now in services rather than agriculture or manufacturing, but now we are moving toward a data-driven, information-based economy. That will be the newest revolution.”
For the state to move forward and create this new wave of jobs, internet connectivity is paramount. Smart manufacturers count on internet infrastructure.
“An important point is connectivity,” says Lego. “Without it, you will get left at the starting line. Smart manufacturing makes your operation more efficient and transparent. You have control over what happens at your fingertips, on your phone or Google Glass or on your monitor. Everything that is connected to the internet can provide you with insight.”
Stepping into the 21st Century
Major changes at any time make their mark on the socioeconomic landscape. Some companies will explode with growth because of smart manufacturing while others will be left to languish. However, Lego says companies can forge ahead by reaching out.
“Do not try to be everything by yourself,” Wuest says. “Find the right partners. Oftentimes a good partnership is when manufacturing experts get help on the IT side. The two worlds often speak different languages. Bring a translator or a research institute or university partner on board. This has saved a lot of projects.”
As West Virginia companies step into 21st century manufacturing, they will become beacons of encouragement for other businesses. Building these kinds of practices into how we manufacture in the state can only make us more competitive. According to Deskins, now is the time for West Virginia manufacturers to embrace this new way of doing things and stay ahead of the curve to move the state forward.
“There is an element of uncertainty,” he says. “It’s sometimes scary doing things differently because you don’t know how it’s going to unfold. But the world is changing, and we have to change with it.”
