PM Blog

Industry 4.0 is often referred to as “smart manufacturing,” where technology enables interconnectivity for machines and manufacturing software and systems. It also provides big data, increased visibility and remote access to manufacturing assets. The rush toward smart manufacturing that drives manufacturers to connect their systems to the IoT has unfortunately led to an inviting number of security gaps that are easy targets for hackers. Manufacturing companies are trying to achieve the smart manufacturing goals of increased production efficiency, reduced waste and downtime, improved quoting and improved inventory management from the IoT connectivity. Therefore, the manufacturing industry is the top buyer of IoT devices, and those connected devices on the shop floor are prime targets for cyber threats. According to a report released by NTT Security in 2017, manufacturing was the most cyber-attacked industry in the U.K., accounting for 46% of all cyber attacks.

Hackers of industrial networks are interested in company assets such as customer data, intellectual property, banking information, and control of machines and robots, which can unfortunately cause damage and injuries in manufacturing plants. Cyber thieves routinely sell such proprietary data on the dark web, potentially to a manufacturer’s direct competitor or even foreign governments.

As we start a new decade, there will be inevitably lots of changes in the business world. Often people feel that changes happen to them. Changes can come from clients, from employees, from government regulation and several other sources.

Change can also come in the form of needing to shake up stagnation. Is your company doing business the same way it did 10 years ago? The phrase, “We’ve always done business this way,” is the sure kiss of death for long-term success. I’m giving you permission to recognize that it’s not OK, to be “just OK.” In order to create change, you must be unwilling to except the status quo.

Darren Williams, Ph.D, and Lori Beckman will serve as the Parts Cleaning Conference technical chairs at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) 2020, in Chicago on Sept. 16.

Dr. Williams, a professor at Sam Houston State University, has been involved with the Parts Cleaning Conference for many years, and is a long-standing member of the cleaning industry. Lori is parts cleaning editor of Production Machining and Products Finishing brands and will help provide attendees a quality program with a top-notch speaker lineup.

My least favorite aspect of shopping is shopping.
— AJ Lee

I have a strong disdain for shopping. While visiting any type of store can be enough to ruin my day, the grocery store may be my least favorite place on earth. I was quite thrilled when online shopping began gaining popularity (and as I gained confidence in its security). It often eliminates the need for traveling to a store, it eases the pain of dealing with crowds, and it speeds the process of finding items and processing payment. Now even my grocery store offers the option to shop online, with the opportunity to either pick up my groceries, pre-bagged, via a drive-through or have them delivered to my house.