AI, Autonomous Operations Seen as Having Major Impacts by 2030

In a roundtable discussion, MLC Board members also opine on the evolution of supply chains, sustainability, and leadership requirements in the years ahead. 

TAKEAWAYS:
● Artificial intelligence technology will have a substantial impact on operations and supply chains well before 2030.
● Autonomous factory and plant operations will happen but it will not make sense for every type of operation.
● Leaders will need to be able to manage the interface between the AI world and human world.  

In October, six members of the Manufacturing Leadership Council’s Board of Governors gathered virtually to talk about what manufacturing might look like in 2030. The Board members discussed the potential impact of AI, autonomous operations, how supply chains may be architected, what status sustainability will have by the next decade, and the leadership behaviors and skills executives will need to lead digital businesses. The following are excerpts from that roundtable.

John D. Gagel: I think I’ll go back to something that Ron said. This is a material science issue in my opinion. Sustainability is well established in the market. We all know the increasing regulatory requirements for reporting. So there is going to be a need for a lot of data now coming off of manufacturing and that’s where I think all the things we talked about will help. But the material science issue is the one that that it is getting increasingly challenging. For example, one of the most recent topics is PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) compounds. If you have those in your products, how do you replace them?

So as you look at what we make our products out of, you can’t use what you used to use. For example, you all those PFAS compounds. If you have those, how do you replace them?

On the product sustainability side, we’re not talking about climate impacts at the start. We’re talking about what raw materials are you using to make those products and what is the impact of that material in its entire life cycle on the planet and on people. And I think that’s where sustainability will continue to be top of mind.

Rebecca Teeters: Gone are the days when industry can say I have a right to discharge because I have a permit. The world expects industry to move towards a pollution prevention, environmental stewardship mindset, period, and it’s time that we, as industry, accept that our job is to not impact our environment while we make the specialty materials we need to make to empower the world, we need to accept that reality and we need to get after it.

We’re a little comfortable with this idea, though. Many feel we have a regulatory regime and all I have to do is be in compliance with my regulatory regime. That’s antiquated thinking. I’ve been involved in round table debates globally around environmental stewardship and the chemical industry, and this is a very tough mindset shift for the chemical industry.

Q: What skills and behaviors will manufacturing leaders need by 2030?

Rebecca Teeters: So I’ve been thinking about this recently with respect to our plant managers. First of all, we need to acknowledge the fact that the scientific first principles of manufacturing are operational excellence. You still have to know them.

Then you need to have what I call floor presence. You need to be able to actually talk to people. You need to be able to engage with people to have really good conversations and that won’t change even in the face of all this digital stuff.

We need executive presence because we need to be able to communicate well and be heard, not just speak, but fundamentally be heard in order to, I think, address the most challenging part of being a leader in the new era, which is being able to see the macro changes like the environmental stewardship view and understand how to head in that direction.

You have to be visionary and you have to be able to manage the change and bring the people with you. Leaders need to be very humble and really believe that a good idea can come from anywhere and then once they see it, knowing how to apply it with good scientific rigor and bring their people along with it.

You just have to choose wisely where you’re going to accept more risk and try new things.

Dan Dwight: I think we need digital proficiency. It is an absolute qualification for any kind of new talent, including at the leadership level, And next generation leaders need to have a collaborative nature –whether it is with the supply chain, with AI, or in extending sustainability.

Ron Castro: A global mindset, but also more of a growth mindset.

Jai Sundararaman: There are two key elements to consider. Firstly, digital literacy, as Dan highlighted, and secondly, the digital mindset. The distinction lies in understanding that leading in a digital world necessitates a different approach than simply acquiring skills.

John D. Gagel: I’ll say speed and agility. The ability to process multiple data points in in real time. And then I think the other thing is being able to manage the interface between the digital AI world and the human world. So it’s a classic leadership thing: good people skills, good communication skills.  M

About the contributors:

Daniel R. Dwight is President and Chief Executive Officer at Cooley Group.
Ron Castro is Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer at IBM.
Dr. Jim Davis is Vice Provost IT Office of Advanced Research Computing at UCLA
John D. Gagel is Chief Sustainability Officer at Lexmark International
Jai Sundararaman is Chief Transformation Officer at Intertape Polymer Group
Dr. Rebecca Teeters is President and Senior Vice President, Chemical Operations and Fluoromaterial Stewardship at 3M