From the US to Uganda, manufacturing touches all corners of modern life. In 2016, global manufacturing economy employed 771 million people, created $750 billion in industrial waste and used 54 percent of the world’s delivered energy. The annual impact of the industry is immense and through advances in technology, its processes are continually evolving. For Nate Hartman and his research team, we are on the cusp of a fourth industrial revolution—digitalization.
“Manufacturing is a complex, sociotechnical ecosystem that requires a multidisciplinary approach with close coordination. It brings immense benefits, but it also creates challenges,” says Hartman.
Hartman’s team will work with stakeholders to create and increase efficiencies in the manufacturing industry to reduce resource use and waste creation, better manage the workforce and economy and create a competitive edge for U.S. manufacturers. The team hopes these advances will catalyze changes, and through diffusion, will greatly improve global sustainability.
The team’s proposal has an interdisciplinary four-pronged approach, which includes: engaging with Purdue’s stakeholders to develop relevant research thrusts and action plans; creating research opportunities for Purdue and its partners; developing policy solutions that lower barriers and increase knowledge sharing and efficiencies; and further develop integrated enterprise environments to prototype manufacturing methods, technologies and tools.
Hartman’s team will engage industry and government partners to fold in these new efforts and create better solutions for the manufacturing industry. Hartman and his team believe that this initiative will lay the foundation for a comprehensive and revolutionary new manufacturing infrastructure and will position Purdue at the forefront of next-generation smart manufacturing, all while improving global sustainability.
