Manufacturing in the 21st Century

The manufacturing sector faces more challenges than ever to remain a competitive force in Northeast Ohio. The evolution of manufacturing through the advent of Industry 4.0 poses the most pressing challenge, pushing manufacturers to adopt technologies that are driven by data analysis, cloud computing, and connectivity through the Industrial Internet of Things. Northeast Ohio is falling behind in the adoption of 4.0 technology, especially among small- and medium-sized companies, and some have even delayed adoption of 3.0 technologies like basic automation and the integration of computers into production processes. This research brief investigates the advantages of Industry 4.0 implementation and the potential consequences for Northeast Ohio’s reluctance to adopt new technologies in manufacturing. We examine the factors that led to Industry 4.0 adoption elsewhere and conclude with policy recommendations urging Northeast Ohio manufacturers to learn from early 4.0 adoptions at larger firms, identifying which strategies may be effectively implemented on a smaller scale

South Africa's emergent developmental state and the challenges of capabilities development - are universities at the cutting edge of ICT?

Dissertation presented for a Masters Degree in Development Studies in the Faculty of Humanities and School of Social Sciences, at the University of the Witwatersrand. 17 September 2014The manufacturing sector contributed to growth in the 20th century, which ultimately enhanced capabilities related to machinery and plants. However, towards the end of the 20th century, the manufacturing sector became less prominent as a catalyst for growth as the economy became increasingly bit-driven. A bit-driven or knowledge economy characterises the 21st century, where economic growth is created through the expansion of ideas and the enhancement of human capabilities (Evans, 2007). In order to analyse the requirements of economic growth in the 21st century, I relied on the New Growth theory and the capability approach of Amartya Sen. The capability approach reviews state policies in terms of its impact on developing its citizens’ capabilities, for instance, the ability to choose amongst Information and Communications Technology (ICT) courses at universities (Sen, 1990: 49). South Africa has several policies in place which acknowledge the importance of a knowledge-based economy. It has also referred to the efforts of the African National Congress (ANC) to build a Developmental State (DS). This research examined several policies aimed at creating a 21st century DS and asks whether they enhance the capabilities of citizens to partake in the knowledge economy. This paper looked at development during the industrialisation period (specifically after World War II). Here, economic growth was propelled through manufacturing. I drew on specific countries’ experiences such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan, which were 20th century DSs. However, as the 21st century approached, the industrial revolution was replaced with a knowledge-based economy (KBE). The 20th and 21st century DSs are linked in that the manufacturing sector in the latter DS needs the services sector as a catalyst for job creation and economic growth. Therefore the manufacturing industry needs to diversify to include the services sector (Zalk, 2014)

Innovation in the 21st century SME manufacturing environments

The environment in which we inhabit is shaped by technology and how as users we use it. This can be seen in the manufacturing SME environment. Manufacturing SMEs are dynamic and flexible but as the business environment is changing at a greater rate than ever before they have to adapt to changes more quickly and efficiently. The ability to adapt to change needs to be reflected in the organisations information management system. The information flows have to be dynamic and flexible to allow for change to occur more efficiently in the organisation not only at management level but throughout the organisation, for the shop floor operator to the managing director. Ambient intelligence (AmI) can assist in the development of more dynamic information flows in the organisation. AmI is a user centred technology concept. In involves including the user, process and environment in the system in a more dynamic way by integrating the various elements to interact together to create an environment that caters to need and requirements of user technologically. This can be achieved by developing an AmI system that can adapt to the different needs and requirements of the users of the system for information related to there specific requirements at any given time. The paper examines the concept of AmI within manufacturing SME. An AmI SME process typology is presented and applied to the manufacturing case study. The solution and implementation are examined through the typology. The business benefits of the system are highlighted

Meeting Global Cooling Demand with Photovoltaics during the 21st Century

Space conditioning, and cooling in particular, is a key factor in human productivity and well-being across the globe. During the 21st century, global cooling demand is expected to grow significantly due to the increase in wealth and population in sunny nations across the globe and the advance of global warming. The same locations that see high demand for cooling are also ideal for electricity generation via photovoltaics (PV). Despite the apparent synergy between cooling demand and PV generation, the potential of the cooling sector to sustain PV generation has not been assessed on a global scale. Here, we perform a global assessment of increased PV electricity adoption enabled by the residential cooling sector during the 21st century. Already today, utilizing PV production for cooling could facilitate an additional installed PV capacity of approximately 540 GW, more than the global PV capacity of today. Using established scenarios of population and income growth, as well as accounting for future global warming, we further project that the global residential cooling sector could sustain an added PV capacity between 20-200 GW each year for most of the 21st century, on par with the current global manufacturing capacity of 100 GW. Furthermore, we find that without storage, PV could directly power approximately 50% of cooling demand, and that this fraction is set to increase from 49% to 56% during the 21st century, as cooling demand grows in locations where PV and cooling have a higher synergy. With this geographic shift in demand, the potential of distributed storage also grows. We simulate that with a 1 m$^3$ water-based latent thermal storage per household, the fraction of cooling demand met with PV would increase from 55% to 70% during the century. These results show that the synergy between cooling and PV is notable and could significantly accelerate the growth of the global PV industry

Meeting Global Cooling Demand with Photovoltaics during the 21st Century

Space conditioning, and cooling in particular, is a key factor in human productivity and well-being across the globe. During the 21st century, global cooling demand is expected to grow significantly due to the increase in wealth and population in sunny nations across the globe and the advance of global warming. The same locations that see high demand for cooling are also ideal for electricity generation via photovoltaics (PV). Despite the apparent synergy between cooling demand and PV generation, the potential of the cooling sector to sustain PV generation has not been assessed on a global scale. Here, we perform a global assessment of increased PV electricity adoption enabled by the residential cooling sector during the 21st century. Already today, utilizing PV production for cooling could facilitate an additional installed PV capacity of approximately 540 GW, more than the global PV capacity of today. Using established scenarios of population and income growth, as well as accounting for future global warming, we further project that the global residential cooling sector could sustain an added PV capacity between 20-200 GW each year for most of the 21st century, on par with the current global manufacturing capacity of 100 GW. Furthermore, we find that without storage, PV could directly power approximately 50% of cooling demand, and that this fraction is set to increase from 49% to 56% during the 21st century, as cooling demand grows in locations where PV and cooling have a higher synergy. With this geographic shift in demand, the potential of distributed storage also grows. We simulate that with a 1 m$^3$ water-based latent thermal storage per household, the fraction of cooling demand met with PV would increase from 55% to 70% during the century. These results show that the synergy between cooling and PV is notable and could significantly accelerate the growth of the global PV industry

U.S. Manufacturing in International Perspective

The health of the U.S. manufacturing sector has long been of great concern to Congress. The decline in manufacturing employment since the start of the 21st century has stimulated particular congressional interest. Members have introduced hundreds of bills intended to support domestic manufacturing activity in various ways. The proponents of such measures frequently contend that the United States is by various measures falling behind other countries in manufacturing, and they argue that this relative decline can be mitigated or reversed by government policy. This report is designed to inform the debate over the health of U.S. manufacturing through a series of charts and tables that depict the position of the United States relative to other countries according to various metrics. Understanding which trends in manufacturing reflect factors that may be unique to the United States and which are related to broader changes in technology or consumer preferences may be helpful in formulating policies intended to aid firms or workers engaged in manufacturing activity. This report does not describe or discuss specific policy options

Study on particle-brush in magnetic field assisted machining : Finishing characteristics of grooves

ArticleProceedings of International Conference on Leading Edge Manufacturing in 21st Century (LEM21). Niigata in Japan, 2003-11, The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers，385-390(2003)conference pape

Integrating 21st-Century Skills into the General Curriculum: Evidence from Public Schools in Alabama

In the last century, humanity witnessed a drastic change from an agrarian society to a manufacturing culture; now the world is experiencing the same type of change, but with more complexity toward a society based on information. Concerned educators and citizens have acknowledged the future of competitive global economics that the current generation is moving towards. A call has been put forth for policy makers, administrators, and educators to collaborate in designing a curriculum that will prepare students to build the skills required for the new century. The current study expands the view by revealing the voices of students and reporting students’ ratings of their own 21st century skills. Students in three public schools in rural Alabama in grades 3-6 rated their abilities and enjoyment in using 21st century skills. Findings can help educators address the gap between the current school curriculum and the needed skills for the 21st century, as well as determine how prepared children in low-resource schools are to face the challenges of the new century. Keywords: 21st century skills, assessment, standards. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-12-01 Publication date: April 30th 202

Ethics in a Global Society (Chapter 12 of Organizational Ethics: A Practical Approach

Globalization is having a dramatic impact on life in the 21st century. We inhabit a global society knit together by free trade, international travel, immigration, satellite communication systems, and the Internet. In this interconnected world, ethical responsibilities extend beyond national boundaries. Decisions about raw materials, manufacturing, outsourcing, farm subsidies, investments, marketing strategies, suppliers, safety standards, and energy use made in one country have ramifications for residents of other parts of the world. Organizational citizenship is now played out on a global stage. Businesses, in particular, are being urged to take on a larger role in solving the world\u27s social problems

Digital factory in the University of Pannonia Nagykanizsa Campus - the Factory Subsystem

One of the new challenges of the 21st century is the Industry 4.0. Manufacturing companies moving away from mass production and getting closer to customized production and manufacturing of customized products through digitization. The expectations are high, meeting the requirements is a real challenge to industrial partners. In order to help meet the challenges the University of Pannonia Nagykanizsa Campus started to establish a fully automatized industrial laboratory. In this paper the architecture of the Industry 4.0 laboratory and the purpose of the Factory Subsystem is presented