Smart Industry

Kenneth Swope at Boeing, one of the members of the ISO Strategic Group for Smart Manufacturing, believes that standards are creating opportunities for innovations to achieve maximum value.

What does the concept "smart industry/smart manufacturing" stand for?

That is a great question and one that the standards community has been grappling with, separating the facts and data from the marketing hype. In fact, Joint Working Group 21 between ISO and IEC has been formalizing a working definition to enable both organizations to move forward with a common understanding of the term. That said, I think of "smart" added to either industry or manufacturing as an indicator of advanced capability operating with information. Giving components in the value chain access to data and the ability to operate on that data through innovative use of computing is what makes the system smarter, so to speak. The key is making the information computer sensible and cognitively appropriate for the specific application in the system. By enhancing the overall system with access to the data and utilizing advanced algorithms in analytics and machine learning, we can achieve a step function productivity improvement.

What is your view on standards as a tool for innovation and development in the industry in general?

I view standards as the method by which innovation achieves maximum value. When I think about innovation or development, they both provide a rich foundation for leverage through standards. Innovation comes when a new business process has been developed, new intellectual property has been created or new discovery has occurred. All of these drive an advance in the state of the art for the innovator. While that is clearly of value to the innovator, the real value comes when the innovation becomes a best practice. When the best practice is established, the role of a standard becomes critical as I view the standard as a testament and baseline for industry wide value upon which further innovation can occur.

How does standards provide support to the business of Boeing?

Boeing utilizes standards in almost every part of the business. The aerospace industry is complex and involves an extensive supply chain. All manner of standards are used to support the business ranging from professional societal standards to national and international standards. We use standards in the definition of parts, the exchange of product data and even the transaction management of financial payments and billing. The role of a standard is critical at every junction between companies. When one thinks of the global supply chain and the multiple countries, cultures, languages, laws and regulations a standard is a critical tool that provides a consistent foundation for the operation of the business.

What is it that makes you want to contribute to the standardization work and process?

I have a two part response to this question. First, Boeing has identified industry data standards as a strategic enabler to leveraging the next generation of technology. In my work, I see and recognize the importance of standards and the need for industry to provide clear requirements to standards bodies. I am involved in several industrial consortium, trade organizations and professional societies. My experience with those groups show the value I can offer is to provide that industry perspective of both Boeing and aerospace. Second, I find the people that devote their professional life to standards development to be a motivated and passionate group. They truly believe that their work changes the world we live in and I am inspired by that dedication and want to help.

The ISO Smart Manufacturing Coordination Committee (SMCC) was established by the ISO Technical Management Board in 2016 to enhance coordination across all the Technical Committees of ISO on Smart Manufacturing. The TMB recognizes, appropriately, that the introduction of new technology into the manufacturing value stream coupled with the explosive increase in intelligent devices will require a coordinated effort across multiple TCs and SCs.

Summarizing from the resolution authorizing the SMCC, its mandate is:

• To enable the sharing of information among those ISO Technical Committees involved in Smart Manufacturing;
• To identify new work or identify harmonization areas of existing standards as early as possible and to optimize the use and sharing of resources for the development of standards or further harmonization of existing standards in Smart Manufacturing;
• To facilitate communication and coordination between Technical Committees and encourage joint development activities where appropriate, and where relevant expertise is distributed across several groups, both within ISO and with other organizations such as IEC; and
• To serve as the ISO focal point for interfacing with Smart Manufacturing bodies from IEC, ITU, and other recognized organizations, including consortia.