Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1265351
22 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2020 make sense that people start building the fac- tory of the future today? Kelly: Absolutely. Money is money, but what are you going to use it for? It's great timing to see factory-of-the-future advancements take hold. A couple of interesting stats: You can't turn on your computer today without seeing droves of information regarding the factory of the future. It could be a webinar, an advertise- ment, etc., but it's the factory of the future. It's about digitization, analytics, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. We all know those buzzwords, but the reality is that in the electronics manufacturing sector, less than 20% have assessed themselves and said that they are ready. You can see a very low adoption rate. We have all this technology that is ripe and money to spend, but we haven't adopted it. Those are all good ingredients to see some forward movement. Matties: What does that factory look like to you? Kelly: First of all, there are a lot of people in it, which is contrary to some conversations. The idea of being lights out and fully autono- mous and replacing workers with equipment or machines? I'm not a subscriber to that. I'm not a subscriber to that as an engineer nor as someone who wants a gainfully employed industry as well. My view on a factory of the future is using all these technologies as tools in a toolbox, not replacements. Those tools enable a worker to become a superhero. Today, you have a worker who does a spe- cific task, which might be a lead on the front end of an SMT line. They are looking after maybe a couple of pieces of equipment at a maximum, and are very focused. When you bring in factory-of-the-future elements—digi- tal frameworks surrounded by proper security, data analytics, real-time machine/equipment control, etc.—you've enabled that worker to do many more things in a day. That's the power of what all this can be. Do you want that worker to go away? There will be some reductions, I'm assuming, but with your feet up on the desk, feeling comfort- able. Moving around and chasing supply chain elements is very taxing. You're always chasing quality and delivery and that sort of thing. Barry Matties: The case could be made, though, that now is an optimal time for several reasons. One reason is that there's plenty of money out there. From the financial side, money's cheap. With so much money available so cheaply, is this a move we're going to see because of that? DuBravac: Going back to your question about these changes being permanent, I would say yes, they're permanent, but they're not uni- versal. You're 100% going to see people move toward more regionally defined and designed supply chains, but it doesn't mean that solu- tion is going to be a one-size-fits-all. Would it be an ideal world if everybody dual sourced every component? Yes, but that's not realistic. Does it make sense to automate cer- tain pieces of your production line to main- tain costs so that you can enter into a devel- oped market? Yes, but again, it's not realistic because you're turning over these product lines every 12 months. It doesn't make sense in all cases. The economics will make sense for some, and they'll do it, but it won't make sense for others. It will make sense for large companies that have a lot of volume, but maybe not for others. Matties: But the timing now is pretty good con- sidering that there's a real mindset to have sup- ply chains shift. There's a lot of money avail- able. What are your thoughts on that? DuBravac: You're right. The timing probably makes more sense now than it has in the past, and partly because the factors that executives weigh are changing. To Matt's point, cost isn't as valuable as it once was. People are will- ing to change things and weigh other things besides cost. The timing makes sense now, but not for everyone. Matties: Matt, you're an expert in future facto- ries. If we see a supply chain shift, doesn't it