Manufacturers’ Dilemma: The Benefits, Risks, Policies, Laws, and Ethics of Smart Manufacturing

Smart Manufacturing is touted to be the next or Fourth Industrial Revolution. At its core, SM is the integration of product development through production and servicing with the goal to optimize value and profitability for manufacturers. SM promises among other things, efficiency, predictive analytics, reduced costs/waste, and access to troubleshooting capability from anywhere in the world through Digital Twins. Yet, its true value for manufacturers lies in its ability to grow and change with the shifting needs of an organization. Despite some hesitation by U.S. manufacturers in its adoption, due to labor and technology costs and the legal and ethical uncertainties, the many benefits realized by Smart Manufacturing, more significantly, the opportunities it affords Small-and-Medium-Sized Enterprises to continue to manufacture increasingly high value, high-profit margin parts and products in the U.S., and to remain globally competitive, will eventually lead to manufacturers’ acceptance of Smart Manufacturing