There is a rapid sweep of digital technologies, customer and supply-side analytics and new tools of augmented reality, robotics, 3D printing and Internet of Things ( IOT ) which enable seamless vertical connectivity through the customer and order fulfilment processes. There is also horizontal integration of value chain partners across the industry in which each firm operates.
Engineers of tomorrow must have the ability to think beyond the set of machines, or even blocks of data and move towards true systems thinking. Smart manufacturing is the unity of data, technology, environmental prospectives and people-leading manufacturing enterprises — all this happening in real time.
Workmen will have the capabilities to deal with robotic processes,self healing machinery. We will have to move from the traditional TPM, 5S and Six Sigma to newer digital capabilities. We will have to deal with sensor-generated IoT data from shop floor which will co-exist with information generated by ERP systems.