For those seeking real-world examples of digitally powered manufacturing, MxD (Manufacturing x Digital) is a resource-rich institute that offers tools and practical projects making an impact today and paving the way for tomorrow’s innovation.
In partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD), MxD equips U.S. factories with the digital tools, cybersecurity, and workforce expertise needed to build every part better than the last. As a result, about 300 MxD partners confidently claim they have increased productivity, won more business, and/or are strengthening U.S. manufacturing.
In a conversation with Berardino Baratta, who has been with MxD for three years in tech strategy and engineering prior to being named CEO earlier this year, he shared his optimism for the future and insights from key initiatives at MxD, which operates from a state-of-the-art innovation center in Chicago, Illinois. As Baratta talked about the 22,000-sq-ft factory floor used to test and demonstrate new technology, he explained how it also serves as a hub to train the current and future workforce on new systems and tools, as well as demonstrates the mission-critical need for cybersecurity in manufacturing.
Formed in 2014, MxD started as the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII). “Digital gets to touch every aspect of the product development lifecycle, from design to manufacturing to supply chain to end of life,” Baratta said, adding that data is at the center of that digital focus. “In 2019 we became the Cybersecurity Institute. We’re the only institute that has a dual mission, whereas most focus on one area, such as materials or additive manufacturing. We can come into an organization and look at not only the creation of digital, but how the organization can secure those assets,” he explained, noting that the breadth across digital, workforce, supply chain, and cybersecurity shows MxD’s true impact.
First and foremost, Baratta said MxD is a convener that brings people together. “Stakeholders from DoD, along with industry and academia, get into a room and start talking,” he said. “Information is shared. Best practices are shared. But what’s really interesting is that problems are shared. Those pain points—the things that keep manufacturers awake at night—are what we start looking at to identify the problems that are crossing the industry,” Baratta explained. “It’s not necessarily about helping Boeing build a better airframe or Oshkosh build a better lift, it’s about what those problems are that Boeing, Oshkosh, and Dow have.”
Once they uncover those common problems, which are typically not ones that any one entity would have the ability to invest in alone, Baratta explained, the public/private partnership comes into play. “We work together to try and fix those problems,” he added.
A foundational function of MxD is to provide tangible and practical advice to those seeking information about digital manufacturing. In its simplest form, MxD offers an advice column called “Ask Deb from QA.” People can submit questions to debfromqa@mxdusa.org and “Deb,” likened to an industry veteran with decades of experience on the factory floor, will answer queries to demystify the digital manufacturing industry.
Recent questions include “What is predictive maintenance and why do I keep hearing so much about it?” and “What’s a human digital twin?” Baratta said MxD’s “Ask Deb” column helps people understand small nuggets of information, inspiring them to do their own digging into topics across digital manufacturing.
For those needing a deeper dive, MxD provides comprehensive resources in the form of playbooks, which guide people through a process, such as addressing cybersecurity concerns.
MxD knows what it is talking about. As the National Center for Cybersecurity in Manufacturing, designated by DoD, MxD recently launched the Cyber Resource Hub, which serves as a clearinghouse for MxD’s suite of cybersecurity tools and content. A critical asset within the MxD Cyber Resource Hub is the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 Playbook, which is designed to increase the preparedness and compliance of U.S. manufacturers. The playbook is geared toward manufacturers and their suppliers who have or seek to have contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense, which requires that contractors properly protect sensitive information.
Baratta emphasized that manufacturing faces unprecedented complexity as business owners seek to secure operations. In fact, risks of cyberattacks are expected to double by 2025, according to a World Economic Forum 2020 Global Risk Report. Of the nation’s 250,000 manufacturers, 75 percent have fewer than 20 employees and lack the expertise to prevent and address attacks. The report went on to say that among these small and mid-sized manufacturers (SMMs), attacks can go undetected for months due to a lack of training and awareness. “They don’t have a CISO, and probably don’t have an IT department or IT person,” Baratta said. “Our focus as the national center is to help empower those SMMs to understand their risks and prioritize the fixes.”
Collaborative projects bring MxD partners together to solve digital problems outside of their core competencies, connecting academic researchers, startups, and the U.S. government to launch digital manufacturing ventures with commercial potential.
Demonstrating the maturity of the institute, MxD has launched 120 projects to date—some complete and others ongoing—with more than $150 million invested in R&D, according to Baratta. He shared an example of a project spurred by conversations with various SMM representatives. When asked what was in the way of adopting digital, the response was, overwhelmingly, cost of entry and cost of failure.
“Small manufacturers can’t afford to play ‘what if’ and figure out how to succeed through failure,” Baratta said. “They need a higher level of confidence on how to do things.” As a result, MxD created an ROI calculator that shows an entire supporting business case for adopting digital manufacturing. SMMs can see what it’s going to cost in investment of money and people, what’s the payback period, and what success looks like, Baratta said. The ROI calculator will be made available to MxD members and, eventually, to the greater manufacturing community, allowing manufacturers to understand the challenge, the investment, the timing, and the results.
While the ROI calculator works for SMMs and has value for larger manufacturers, there are a host of projects geared toward a tier one manufacturer around computer vision, artificial intelligence, and other priorities.
Will the workforce of the future be prepared? MxD is working on that, Baratta said. “By 2030, more than two million jobs will be unfilled. Those jobs will not be the same jobs as 20 years ago,” he added, citing a report claiming 85 percent of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been created yet. To that end, MxD’s workforce development initiatives have developed taxonomies that define necessary skill sets. Bringing experts across industry, academia, and government together to inform both the digital taxonomy and a cybersecurity hiring guide with more than 417 roles defined.
Baratta said some members have adopted the roles and put them into practice. “One of the Dow engineers told our workforce team her job exists because of our hiring guide. It defined a role, Dow believed in that role, they created a post, and she filled that post.”
Success profiles and career pathing are also important pieces of the workforce development puzzle. MxD works with academic partners to build curriculum and make it available for people to see what success looks like at any stage of a career. There is also focus on helping companies train and retain skilled workers who are nimble and digitally savvy. This is to address a dire problem, as manufacturing is facing both a skills gap and a perception gap.
A key takeaway from speaking with Baratta is that careers in manufacturing are exciting, mission-driven, and fulfilling. After a recent conversation with his two predecessors leading MxD, Baratta reminisced that they planted the seed, made it sprout, and fostered growth. “Now, I get to take it to fruition and see what we can accomplish. How could you not love your job.”
Connect With Us
