Expert Outlines Driving Forces Behind Future Factories.

Expert Outlines Driving Forces Behind Future Factories.

In an article about "the factory of the future," IndustryWeek (12/1, Teresko) reports, "At the highest level, three essential trends are the driving forces behind tomorrow's factories, says Georgia Tech's Leon McGinnis, associate director of the university's Manufacturing Research Center." First, "globalization of the supply chain" is greatly "increasing the number of 'non-transparent' interfaces and presents the challenge of integration between functions that are dispersed across many corporate entities." McGinnis said that "the production and assembly process for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner as a typical example." Another trend is "technology that simultaneously de-materializes the product while vastly increasing complexity." For example, "electrical actuation is replacing the bulky physical presence of cumbersome hydraulics in automobile power steering and aircraft landing gear." Lastly, "demographics and the impact on demand patterns. In the factories of the future McGinnis predicts shorter product lifecycles, more 'nameplates' per unit sold and faster transitions between products."