The education programme for Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week has been announced with nearly 150 free-to-attend sessions taking place across eight solutions theatres during the live events on 5th and 6th June 2024 at Birmingham’s NEC.
The full programme of keynote presentations and other sessions is available at: https://www.mandeweek.co.uk/educational-content-2024. Visitors are encouraged to plan their programme in advance, and this can be easily done using the individual theatre exploration tools available on the website. There are eight solution theatres in total covering the topics of: Digital Transformation, IIoT & Connectivity, Industrial Data & AI, Innovation, Maintenance, Drives & Technology, Air-Tech Solutions, Fluid Power & Systems.
Highlights from the keynote presentations include Neelofar Ansari, senior manufacturing engineer, BAE Systems who is presenting on the intriguing topic of Human Augmentation: Connecting with Manufacturing Environments in the IIoT and Connectivity Theatre on day one. Additionally, Daniel Smalley from Siemens, along with Ian Clarke from InControl Systems, will talk about Demystifying Digitalisation and Growth on day two.
Meanwhile, in the Design & Innovation Theatre, Sam Tilley from Omron will be joined by Carl Diver from Manchester Metropolitan University to give a presentation on day one entitled How does the Skills Gap Affect the Future Technology Sector. Also, Roy Haworth, Head of Digital Mock Up Process and Implementation, Airbus Defence & Space will be talking about Using CAD data to drive data fusion and 3D visualisation on day two.
Elsewhere in the Drives & Technology Theatre David Santos, Head of Manufacturing Engineering & Automation, Chelton will be talking about SMEs and Automation: Overcoming complexity and challenges during and after implementation whereas Krishna Mistry, VP of Series Engineering, Verge Motorcycles will be covering Agile Engineering Cycles: Optimising Design, Development, and Deployment in Manufacturing.
Also appearing in the Drives & Technology Theatre is David Barret-Hague from Schneider who will be joined by Grant Coffin from Rockwell Automation to give a presentation on day one entitled Industrial Automation Trends, Past Present and Future. This is followed on day two by Patrick Dion-Fehily from Mitsubishi Electrics who will be joined by Martyn Williams from COPA DATA to present The Importance of Sustainable Manufacturing.
Visitors to the Digital Transformation Theatre will be able to take in a presentation from Ian Kingstone, UK Director - Strategy & Change, Columbus entitled: Turning Green into Gold: How manufacturers must harness ESG for both the planet and the bottom line.
Also happening in the Industrial Data and AI Theatre is a technical discussion that will include real data from robot applications including welding, aerospace drilling and additive manufacturing. Entitled How IONA improves robot performance and why this is essential for modern-day manufacturing and presented by Craig Davey, COO - INSPHERE this session is suitable for anyone working within robots and automation.
Bringing together many of the common headaches in the maintenance sector is a presentation from Lewis Bratcher of ERIKS Industrial Services in the Maintenance Theatre entitled Improving productivity by changing the MRO supply chain dynamics. This presentation presents the findings of the 2023 Indirect Supply Chain Survey and the subsequent report, The MRO Supply Chain that was produced in association with the IET.
Meanwhile, in the Air-Tech Theatre Alice Quinn, Senior Manufacturing Technology Engineer, 3M will be talking about Why IT/OT Projects Fail whereas Ioana Hera, Head of Improvement, Rolls Royce will be presenting on Harmonising People, Skills, and Technology: The Path to Manufacturing Innovation and Efficiency.
Additionally, in the Fluid Power Theatre Colin Guttridge, Principal Manufacturing Engineer, Baker Hughes will be talking about Navigating the People and Skills Landscape in Manufacturing and Engineering whereas Dale Crow, Electricity & Automation Leader, Nestle will be covering Leveraging Technology to Maximise Functionality and Performance.
As well as the free to attend educational content there are also two summits that run alongside the exhibitions namely the Industrial Data and AI Summit and the Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit. Now in its 7th year the Industrial Data & AI Summit takes place on the 5th of June and focuses on Data Management and Data Insights. The structure of the summit includes four keynote presentations, a panel discussion and two 60-minute roundtable discussion sessions. The summit allows senior leaders to hear from the sector’s most respected experts as well as to share their knowledge and experiences with their peers. The roundtable sessions offer a unique opportunity for in-depth discussions on topics ranging from Data Integration and Management to Developing a Data Driven Business to Generative AI.
Taking place on both the 5th and 6th June is The Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit. This summit includes eight keynote presentations, two panel discussions and four 60-minute roundtable discussion sessions. The Summit focuses on how digitalisation is changing the way in which products are designed, produced, used and maintained as well as transforming the operations, processes and energy footprints of factories and supply chains. This summit is broken down into two streams, the Enterprise stream is for those working within businesses with revenues more than £100 million while the Growth stream is for those less than £100m (theoretically classed as SMEs).
As well as the two summits, the Automation & Robotics Accelerator Symposium, taking place on 6th June, is intended for manufacturing executives interested in leveraging automation and robotics within their organisations. This half-day event, organised by The Manufacturer, focuses on the implementation and optimisation of automation to drive business growth. It's an essential event for those at any stage of automation integration, offering insights into best practices, technology deep dives, and the impact of automation on the workforce. Attendees will benefit from discussions on a range of sectors including aerospace, automotive, and FMCG.
In addition to the education programme a myriad of other activities will be taking place at Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week. The main days are 5 – 6 June 2024 with Smart Factory Expo, Design & Engineering Expo and Maintec in Hall 4 at the NEC and Drives & Controls, Fluid Power & Systems and Air-tech in Hall 5.
Other exhibitions are also taking place at the NEC during the week, and these include TCT 3Sixty from Rapid News Group and Subcon from the Mark Allen Group. A single visitor registration to Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week 2024 provides access to these co-located expos.
