(CHICAGO) March 31, 2022 – MxD today announced that it has been recognized as a winner in the 2022 Manufacturing Leadership Awards for outstanding project achievements as well as in next-generation leadership.
Projects were awarded in three categories: Engineering and Production Technology, Transformational Cultures, and Collaborative Ecosystems.
The Engineering and Production Technology award went to Pathfinder Phase I: Securing 3D Printers in Manufacturing. Pathfinder Phase I evaluates the risk assessment for additive manufacturing as 3D printers do not currently meet the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Cybersecurity Management Framework, which dictates how United States government IT systems must be architected, secured, and monitored. An evaluation of a 3D printer will produce the development of an extensive reference guide.
Advantages and Barriers to Smart Manufacturing for Medical Products won the Transformational Cultures award. The project identifies gaps in the supply chain and adopts and accelerates the implementation of digital technologies, which improve supply chain resilience, reduce time to market, or increase manufacturing capacity for medical diagnostics, therapies, and vaccines. MxD sought to deepen the FDA’s understanding of the factors that impact a manufacturer’s decision to invest in and adopt digital technologies by highlighting both perceived and demonstrated barriers from technical, business, and regulatory perspectives as well as related cybersecurity considerations.
The winner of the Collaborative Ecosystem award was Digital Twins for Process Manufacturing: Open Architecture project. This project focuses on the creation of an Open Automation testbed designed to provide low-cost, plug-and-play connectivity of equipment and software from different vendors. By leveraging an ADEPT (Advanced Distributed Environment for Production Technology) framework or other open automation architectures, manufacturers can benefit from low-cost unobtrusive experimentation where changes to the process and production equipment can be modeled and evaluated prior to making physical changes. This enables manufacturers to develop, test, and evaluate new technologies without interrupting production operations and without costly R&D investments.
Finally, Wildaline Serin, a project engineer at MxD, was honored with the next-generation leadership award. She is responsible for key processes and communications that touch the full range of MxD project participants and plays a hands-on role in the management of several key projects focused on providing digital manufacturing solutions to U.S. manufacturers.
MxD will be recognized at the Manufacturing Leadership Awards Gala, which will take place on June 29, 2022, in Marco Island, FL. A full list of winners and details on the gala can be found at https://www.manufacturingleadershipcouncil.com/leadership-awards/.
About MxD
MxD (Manufacturing x Digital) is where innovative manufacturers go to forge their futures. In partnership with the Department of Defense, MxD equips U.S. factories with the digital tools, cybersecurity, and workforce expertise needed to begin building every part better than the last. As a result, our partners increase their productivity, win more business, and strengthen U.S. manufacturing. MxD is also the National Center for Cybersecurity in Manufacturing as designated by DoD.
About the Manufacturing Leadership Awards
The Manufacturing Leadership Awards honor manufacturing companies and individual manufacturing leaders that are shaping the future of global manufacturing. Winning projects and individual manufacturing leaders have demonstrated achievement in one of a wide range of categories, and are chosen by a panel of expert judges for results that have delivered clear and compelling value, return on investment, and other tangible outcomes.
About the National Association of Manufacturers
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters of all private-sector research and development in the nation. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States.
Note: This release was modified on May 25 to correct a project description.