The Fabricator - Sample Issue

S M E speaks THE SOCIETY OF MANUFACTURING ENGINEERS

SME Honors the Best and Brightest in Manufacturing

F. Brian Holmes, CMfgE SME President

Excellence. World Class. Global Leadership. These terms all refer to results of the best and the brightest. We need these people in all facets of manufacturing today if we are to be world leaders in products and value. The best and the brightest have contributed to all the manufactured goods that we enjoy today, from the ever more efficient and capable aircraft to the electronics that make so many things possible. They keep developing and improving products to make them more affordable for all. They reduce the energy and materials that are consumed in production to improve the sustainability of the planet and those of us who live here.

This month the Society of Manufacturing Engineers will gather in Los Angeles for the 2007 SME Annual Meeting, where will honor some of our industries’ best and brightest at the SME International Awards Gala. We honor them for their contributions to manufacturing processes. We honor them for their contributions to manufacturing science. We also honor them for

their contributions to manufacturing education. It is critical that we support and encourage the next generation of manufacturing practitioners, for it is the only way we will continue to attract the best and brightest for our future.

At other times throughout the year we honor our Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers and our class of Fellows as well, but it is at the Annual Meeting where we focus our spotlight on the honorees for an entire evening.

The best and brightest are leaders in manufacturing. It is they who have, for instance, developed much better machining and material removal techniques that allow for faster, cheaper, simpler aircraft. These aircraft can carry a higher payload for a longer distance, using less fuel than earlier versions. New forming methods allow for fighter jets to supercruise at over mach 1. These planes have fewer, more robust parts that allow for increased duty cycles. These changes help the sustainability of our fixed natural resources.

The best and brightest in manufacturing have also developed new methods to improve our process yields.

This applies to alternative energy generation and better conversion of old fuels into energy just as much as it applies to improving manufacturing processes. For example, there is more and more pressure on oil and gas companies to maximize the amount of usable product or energy that is made available for every barrel of oil that is extracted from the ground or the tar sands. They are in a race to ensure they get the most value from each step in the recovery and refining processes. As manufacturers, we can help them. We can develop and make the most efficient tools and equipment for their use. We can provide the products they need where they need them, when they need them, and only as many as they need.

If we all think of ourselves as the best and brightest and focus on keeping our methods lean, we will reduce the energy and time we take to provide products, obtain customer feedback, and deliver new improved versions sooner and with less cost. That helps the continuous improvement continuum develop and increase its speed. Our focus must stay on the supply chain and how to make not only

our customer, but our customers’ customer successful. It is only at that point when we truly gain insight of what the real value is in whatever we are making, and can consider the potential for sustainable growth.

I invite you to join me in honoring the best and the brightest in manufacturing. I hope to see you in Los Angeles when we gather to let these individuals know how important they are to our industries’ futures.

The 2006 SME International Awards Gala will be held in

Los Angeles on March 26, 2007. For details, visit www.sme.org/westec.

SME... Who We Are

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers is the world’s leading professional society supporting manufacturing education. Through its member programs, publications, expositions and professional development resources, SME promotes an increased awareness of manufacturing engineering and helps keep manufacturing professionals up to date on leading trends and technologies. Headquartered in Michigan, SME influences more than half a million manufacturing practitioners and executives annually. The Society, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2007, has members in more than 70 countries and is supported by a network of hundreds of technical communities and chapters worldwide.