Future Trends in Manufacturing Essay Example

Introduction

The future of manufacturing in the world is significantly dependent on the state of technology of the time. Use of technology in manufacturing provides basic tools and equipment that facilitate easier production of good and services. (Herrmann, Schmidt, Kurle, Blume, & Thiede, 2014). These primary tools of manufacturing industries enlarge the attempts of individual workers to increase the productivity of their manufacturing plants. It also provides industrial country the ability to convert the raw materials into finished products that can be affordable, accessible and of high quality goods are services in the current world and the world to come. The United States of America will need to consider the following so as to remain relevant and to maintain their global ranking as the largest manufacturing economy.

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Industry-University Collaborations

This kind of collaboration is critical as it helps in training personnel that will be able to run manufacturing organizations on a professional basis. The future of manufacturing therefore significantly depends on partnership between academia and the industries. This relationship will go a long way in exploitation of knowledge and skills that will positively impact the manufacturing sector. (Herrmann, et al., 2014).Cyber Security

Cyber threats are often there and the will remain to dominate as long as technology use is in place. Cyber threats get worse with the advancement in technology which is getting better every day. Companies and other manufacturing sectors have embraced use of digital technology. This makes them susceptible to cyber-crimes that can impact negatively what they do. The manufacturing firms therefore must get innovative means to secure themselves from cyber-attacks. The manufacturing businesses must therefore come up with ways of securing their operations with a growing firewall approach.

5G Network Rollout

With the current developments taking place in the networking systems which is advancing to 5G, will deliver massive improvements when it comes to online services and downloading speeds. For the manufacturers who seek to invest in the internet this will be a critical game changer which will offer them a true real-time internet control and an insight which will have an effect in the ability to make faster and more effective decisions. (Gupta, & Jha, 2015).Expansion of the Internet of Things

With the develop and improvements that are taking place currently in the internet and network sectors will have an impact in how the future manufacturing business will look like. Currently, over 3.6 billion people world-wide are connected. The manufacturers that will rely on the internet and online transactions will reap a big deal as the expectations of the future are that more people will be connected in the future. These advancements are achieved due to the plans of rolling out 5G network that will facilitate fast speed internet. (Gupta, & Jha, 2015).Use of Machines

We expect that as we advance into the future, effective machines will be invented which will cause essential changes to the manufacturers and manufacturing firms at large. (Herrmann, et al., 2014). These machines will influence production of quality goods as well as large quantities of goods due to their effectiveness. Better machines will also have an impact on job security of many people as one machine may be able to perform the roles of multiple works which may result to retrenchment of the workers. However this might not be a good impact to the sector as many might be rendered jobless.

Effects of Manufacturing to the Environment

While manufacturing may have excellent impacts to the economy of the US, it also has some negative effects on the environment of America and many other countries that do manufacturing. (Thiede, Seow, Andersson, & Johansson, 2013). Some of these effects include pollution which had brought a lot of damage to the environment which has caused environmental degradation such as deforestation, crude dumping of wastes from manufactured products, and many other effects. The US and other countries should consider effective ways to control pollution from their industries.

Training of the Workforce

Due to the advancement in manufacturing technology, the workforce should be trained in a way that helps them to conform with the inevitable changes that are taking place in the manufacturing sectors to remain productive. (Russmann, Lorenz, Gerbert, Waldner, Justus, Engel, & Harnisch, 2015). Digitalization holds vital promises to manufacturers in the world. The laborers seeking to work in the manufacturing organizations must focus on acquiring high levels of digital skills. Adequate knowledge in computer will help them remain relevant in the market. Learning proper customer relations is another crucial bit that they must be well educated about as the future holds more informed customers than the way it is currently. These requires the manufacturing countries to work together with training institutions such as universities and colleges to help in production of workers who are equipped with good knowledge in the computers as well as other digital technology aspects.

Conclusion

Manufacturing is taking a new trend in the future where massive transformation will be experienced. The current development in technology is holding significant basis for transformation of manufacturing industries. Additionally, these transformations will lead to growth of bigger economies in the world. However it might cause disadvantages of unemployment as a job that required several workers will effectively be done by a machine that will be controlled by one or a few people. Several people will face retrenchment. To the environment, the expected transformations may have positive benefits as they may assist in reducing pollution. On the other hand, manufacturing firms might mushroom posing a threat of pollution to the environment. (Thiede, et al., 2013)

References

Gupta, A., & Jha, R. K. (2015). A survey of 5G network: Architecture and emerging technologies. IEEE access, 3, 1206-1232.

Herrmann, C., Schmidt, C., Kurle, D., Blume, S., & Thiede, S. (2014). Sustainability in manufacturing and factories of the future. International Journal of precision engineering and manufacturing-green technology, 1(4), 283-292.

Russmann, M., Lorenz, M., Gerbert, P., Waldner, M., Justus, J., Engel, P., & Harnisch, M. (2015). Industry 4.0: The future of productivity and growth in manufacturing industries. Boston Consulting Group, 9(1), 54-89.

Thiede, S., Seow, Y., Andersson, J., & Johansson, B. (2013). Environmental aspects in manufacturing system modelling and simulation-State of the art and research perspectives. CIRP Journal of manufacturing science and technology, 6(1), 78-87.