Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1424540
46 SMT007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2021 As humans, we learn facts, gain impressions, create solutions, put practices into place, and move onto our next challenge. Over time, our intent is to create a legacy of value, but in many cases, we are creating legacies in a different sense. Our knowledge, experience, and cre- ations age or become superseded, but there is resistance to replace or update. An increasing gap develops between perception and reality. Younger, more agile peers take advantage, get ahead, and we look away, thinking that they don't know what they are doing. ough a nat- ural human phenomenon, decision-makers in manufacturing today need to bear this mind more than ever. As a civilization, we have achieved so much— men on the moon, supercomputing power in the palm of our hands, and we've even made the planet just a little bit warmer. In manufac- turing, we benefit from faster, more flexible automation; smaller, lighter materials; great- er throughputs; near-perfect quality; and de- creased costs, with a supply-chain to die for. Our intent was to create excellence. Being in control in manufacturing is paramount, having removed as many unknown sources as possible of variation and change. Practices put in place address challenges that once plagued opera- tions, and that maximized benefits and profit. It has meant we took our eyes off the ball. e world is going through another funda- mental change. In fact, this time, a few differ- ent interacting changes, are occurring at the same time. Whether it is global or local poli- The Costs of Legacy Thinking Smart Factory Insights by Michael Ford, AEGIS SOFTWARE