Automation & Digital Technologies
NWIRC on Your Side
Embarking on a path to new technologies requires understanding your specific business requirements and business objectives and aligning them with vetted technology solutions. We leverage extensive industry knowledge, along with a well-established network of equipment providers and automation integrators to facilitate a vendor and technology selection process.
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Assessment, Project Planning, and Implementation
NWIRC’s Operational Excellence Specialist provides comprehensive assessment and planning, and collaborates with regional experts for successful automation implementation.
Assessment and planning includes:
- conducting thorough analysis of the current manufacturing processes, infrastructure, workforce capabilities, and problems to be solved
- identifying the areas that can benefit most from automation
- considering factors such as technological complexities, integration challenges, workforce, and cost
- evaluating the potential benefits of automation
- choosing the appropriate automation technologies
- choosing the appropriate technology provider and/or integrators by asking challenging questions
- creating a plan for training your workforce
- reviewing an automation ROI analysis
Setting expectations for outcomes, along with a plan for monitoring results, is the key to implementing technology that will pay dividends not leaving you with buyers remorse.
Manufacturers have much to gain from a strategic approach that leverages their people and is guided by business goals. Download ‘Automation 101: How to Plan for Successful Implementation’– a 21-page whitepaper that leverages what national experts, throughout the Manufacturing Extension Partnership network, have learned about adopting automation, including how to use business goals to guide your process, why an automation checklist is so important, and the importance of involving your people in automation implementation.
Automation 101 Whitepaper
ERP Evaluation | Selection | Implementation
An Enterprise Resource Planning ERP system acts as the brain behind your business operations. It can centralize information and integrate with every department and every system used within your workplace. Whether you’re checking in on inventory levels, finding out more about a customer’s purchase history before calling them, or automating processes within the supply chain to get your products or services in your customers’ hands faster than ever before, an ERP system will provide the specific information and answers you need.
Opting to invest in an (ERP) system is a strategic choice. Evaluating, selecting, and implementing a system are critical steps to navigate. Yet, companies often don’t have the time and resources to conduct an in-depth assessment, identify solutions, and implement effectively – on their own.
- Engage key stakeholders to identify gaps, challenges, and needs for creating comprehensive list of requirements.
- Research vendors that align with industry and business size, assist in developing an RPF, and arrange meetings and demos.
- Compare system functionality, ease of use, scalability, integration capabilities, and total cost of ownership.
Cybersecurity
A cyber security breach carries serious potential risks: the loss of business-critical data, business interruption, the expense of a ransomware event, and even the potential for jeopardizing sensitive customer information. For the third year in a row, the IBM  X-Force Threat Intelligence Report ranked manufacturing as the most-attacked industry by cybercriminals. The sector’s low tolerance for downtime has historically made it an attractive target for cybercriminals seeking to apply pressure for financial gains. In fact, last year, manufacturers comprised more than 25% of security incidents, with malware attacks – primarily ransomware –making up the majority of those incidents. 85% of incidents could have been mitigated with patching, multi-factor authentication or least-privilege principles. NWIRC, along with our network of experts, provides
- Assessment and gap analysis to determine your company’s level of basic cyber hygiene
- Assessment and gap analysis to determine Department of Defense (DoD) compliance with the appropriate level of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)
- Create a plan of action based on assessment results
- Implement basic administrative cybersecurity remediation and training, along with providing third-party resources to address technical vulnerabilities