Every industrial revolution has eliminated old jobs and created new ones. In many cases, manufacturers weren’t aware that these new jobs were even necessary. To succeed in this age of Industry 4.0, manufacturers will need to do more than just develop a workforce capable of dealing with upcoming technologies, they will need to foster a workplace culture of problem-solving and continuous improvement.

Whether managing an assembly line or an entire plant, good management skills are something not often taught in engineering school.

In the circus world, tightrope walking requires incredible balance and finesse. One wrong move can have dire consequences. Optimizing workflow on an assembly line is not as dangerous, but it requires a similar set of skills.

Initiated in 2004, the Assembly Plant of the Year award showcases world-class production facilities in America and the people, products, and processes that make them successful. 

Brose Tuscaloosa Inc., Vance, AL, is the recipient of the the 2022 Assembly Plant of the Year Award.

Meet The ASSEMBLY Show's Keynote Presenter, Charles Wetherington. Chuck is the President and COO of BTE Technologies, a manufacturer of hi-tech medical devices for physical rehabilitation. 

At many manufacturers, continuous improvement experts are merely fixing problems that should have been avoided in the first place. They are essentially doing process development rework. 

Process improvement projects have traditionally struggled with obtaining accurate data quickly and easily. In many cases, various data sources provide competing sources of the truth. Smart technologies offer the means to provide a single source of the truth, without the time-consuming and labor-intensive efforts of the past.

While assembly work has always been physically demanding, little is known about the overall consequences of cognitive loading on assemblers' performance, well-being, and the speed and quality of production. Cognitive under- or overloading can cause a lack of focus or distraction on one hand, or overwhelm on the other.