(SOUTHFIELD, Mich., November 4, 2022) — SME, the professional association committed to advancing manufacturing and developing a skilled workforce, announced the appointment of Chief Workforce Development Officer Jeannine Kunz to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on Smart Manufacturing.

The NASEM Committee will develop options for a national plan for smart manufacturing technology innovation and deployment. The committee's report will examine technical frameworks and processes, identify timelines and necessary resources, and explore policies and roles for government, industry, and academia to address near-, medium-, and long-term challenges to improve the productivity and energy efficiency of the manufacturing sector of the United States and ensure U.S. competitiveness.

“The adoption of smart and digital manufacturing and the development of talent will be critical to our industry’s future,” said Kunz. “Working directly with thousands of manufacturers including some of the largest employers in the world, SME regularly sees practical applications and potential industry gains for adopting smart manufacturing, but often encounters common roadblocks to wide-scale adoption, particularly with those small and medium-sized manufacturers who comprise the majority of our industry’s critical supply chain. We put our nation at a competitive disadvantage if we do not understand together, as an industry and as a country, the prevailing issues and start taking strategic and unified actions.”

The 2022 Smart Manufacturing Market Survey, administered to more than 250 manufacturing personnel by SME and CESMII, the Smart Manufacturing Institute, revealed a current disconnect between industry’s positive acknowledgement of smart automation and level of staffing and other funding investments. As the Survey indicates, more than 75 percent of respondents recognized how smart technology would increase their company’s competitiveness, however only half of these same respondents indicated their company’s willingness to invest in smart initiatives.

Based on these realities, SME continues to invest and expand its efforts by aligning, organizing, and deploying needed resources, drawing upon industry experts and a deep pool of collaborative partners towards a common goal. As part of this, Kunz will leverage her work with NASEM and CESMII to drive smart manufacturing adoption faster and further, ensuring industry develops a modern workforce for achieving unprecedented levels of productivity, energy efficiency, and supply chain resiliency.

“The past decade has revealed an unprecedented flattening and even decline in our manufacturing productivity by worker,” said SME executive director and CEO Robert Willig. “Together, NASEM, CESMII and SME will optimize our strengths and resources to accelerate the transformation and democratization of the smart manufacturing ecosystem and jumpstart productivity.”

“The competitiveness of our nation, communities and manufacturing industry is at risk when we cannot leverage the technologies and connectivity available today. I am honored to part of our industry’s resolve to step up and take action,” said Kunz. “I look forward to connecting this Committee’s work with the Smart Manufacturing Executive Council of industry executives leading the way in smart transformations.”