Smart Factory Implementation, Part 2

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

As we put together this issue of SMT007 Magazine, the entire world has been responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, adjusting to everchanging challenges. I-Connect007 has always been a virtual company, so working from home has been the norm. Although I’m still a relative newcomer to the team, I had worked remotely before, so it was an easy transition for me. Thus, our team had one less variable of disruption to our work life than most since we were already home.

But for many families across the industrialized parts of the globe, the home has suddenly become the office, gym, classroom, etc., as well. While we may have done all of these things within the walls of our home before the outbreak, it’s different when the whole family is present and must perform all of these roles in the same space, often simultaneously.

During one of our recent interviews, conducted as government leaders around the globe were issuing lockdowns, an industry expert had to pause and whisper some gentle and loving “goodnight and sleep well” words to a small child who was headed off to bed. Under these conditions, we’re working with our families and loved ones gathered close. It reminds me that we all have people for whom we do our work, strive to build successful businesses, and make the world a better place.

Making things work while under a COVID19 sequester can be challenging. The situation requires new thinking and new solutions to long-standing obstacles. The stay-at-home orders have forced the hand for many companies, governments, and institutions to find new ways of doing things, sometimes in as little as 24 hours. Adaptability, along with nimble and quick responses, is the key to success in these times, as well as with digital factory implementations—this month’s theme.

To read this column, which appeared in the April 2020 issue of SMT007 Magazine, click here.