IndustryWeek Weekly Review: AI Kaizens, MEP Defense, and Lean Warnings
This week's top manufacturing stories include TE Connectivity's AI kaizens, bipartisan support for Manufacturing Extension Partnerships, and warning signs for lean initiatives.
The IndustryWeek manufacturing community engaged with a diverse range of topics over the past week, highlighted by TE Connectivity's successful deployment of AI kaizens, a bipartisan bill to protect Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEPs), and warnings about lean initiatives losing their way.
Key Highlights
* AI Kaizens at TE Connectivity: Three real-world examples demonstrated how AI-based manufacturing technology is driving tangible gains and expanding leadership's toolbox.
* Bipartisan 'Defend American Manufacturing Act': The Senate bill aims to shield MEPs from political threats, particularly from attempts to eliminate the program that supports small and medium-sized manufacturers.
* Lean Initiative Warnings: Experts John Dyer and Dr. Mohamed Saleh discussed signs that continuous improvement efforts may be failing, including shallow problem solving and centralized teams.
* Reshoring and Work Permits: Immigration policy bottlenecks are creating chaos, with work permit delays hindering reshoring efforts that depend on immigrant workers.
Top Stories
- AI Kaizens Broaden Leadership’s Toolbox at TE Connectivity
- Bipartisan ‘Defend American Manufacturing Act’ Aims to Protect Manufacturing Extension Partnerships
- Has Your Lean Initiative Disconnected From Its Original Purpose? That's a Warning Sign
- Reshoring Needs Immigrant Workers, Not Work Permit Chaos
- Industrial AI Will Fail Without a New Pricing Model
Other notable stories include a July 4th manufacturing quiz, Toyota's US assembly expansion, Revere Copper's history, Lucid's restructuring news, and more. The review also notes that AI services in manufacturing need outcome-based pricing rather than consumption-based models.
For the full list of top 10 articles, visit the original review on IndustryWeek.