Tools to Transform Manufacturing: Digitalization, Lean Production, Safety

Since Thomas Edison and his team developed the first dynamos capable of powering neighborhood-wide lighting systems during the Second Industrial Revolution, GE has understood the intersection of manufacturing and innovation.

So now, 130 years later, as the world enters the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), GE is drawing on its global expertise to support discussion and action around the future of manufacturing, including through partnerships such as the one recently announced with the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS).

The partnership will explore the role of digitization, lean manufacturing, and workplace safety to support the regeneration and transformation of manufacturing globally These three levers can help manufacturers drive efficiencies, eliminate waste, lower costs, increase productivity and uptime, and enhance employee and customer satisfaction.

“GE will share learnings from its deployment of digitization, its ongoing implementation of lean manufacturing principles, and its clear prioritizing of safety, as well as how these support sustained manufacturing excellence for GE, our partners and our customers,” said Nabil Habayeb, Senior Vice President, GE and President & CEO, GE International Markets.

GE operates more than 1,000 manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities in 130 countries around the world.

Badr Al-Olama, Head of the GMIS Organizing Committee, sees this partnership as a “key enabler in shaping the future of the global manufacturing industry,” especially as manufacturers move towards the next level of industrialization by tapping into advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Internet of Things, Blockchain and other transformative innovations.

GE leverages the digital transformation to help customers connect factory machines and sensors to a secure cloud, with data collection and analytics used to help a connected workforce accelerate and sustain improvements across the production value chain for greater productivity and efficiency, lower total cost of ownership, and increased profitability. 

The lean methodology has been championed at GE by company Chairman and CEO Larry Culp, who has prioritized lean across the organization as a way to foster continuous process improvement. In manufacturing, the lean approach identifies systems and activities that do not add value for customers.

Safety is GE’s number one priority. Through continually revised best-practice processes, procedures, trainings, data, tracking, reviews, standards, and other tools, a commitment to safety not only protects employees but also reinforces excellence in all GE processes and operations

#GMIS2021 will position industrialization at the center of the global dialogue, reinforcing the sector’s important role in driving economic growth and global prosperity. The theme for #GMIS2021 is ‘Rewiring Societies: Repurposing Digitalisation for Prosperity’.

The fourth edition of the summit (#GMIS2021), to be held at the Expo 2020 Dubai Exhibition Center from November 22-27, is a joint initiative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.