Digital transformation. It’s not just for the knowledge economy. With the advent of the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, and smart manufacturing, there’s a steep learning curve ahead for manufacturing businesses that want to futureproof their operations.
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Or is there? Despite what many may think, you don’t need to to discard your current systems, and fully invest in new technologies to get oversight over all of your data.

The great thing about data is that it provides rich insight – and probably most of the answers you’ll need for any given project. The challenge is sifting through data to make sense of it all.
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The potential to be buried under a data dump is real – and a continuing battle, without the right tools and mindset. Data science projects require data professionals to devote their energy toward different activities toward project completion.

The World Economic Forum has identified 69 factories (called Lighthouse factories) that combine growth, productivity, sustainability and workforce development. Key is the adoption of 4th Industrial Revolution methods including automation.
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The UK is behind. We only have one Lighthouse Factory. Today @The Engineer has published my observations of the possible barriers, based on my experience of leading engineering teams.
Do we engineers have it in us to adopt a more entrepreneurial mindset more like the digital world – where, instead of waiting for 100 per cent, we take calculated risks, testing out new forms of automation and data gathering and learning as we go?

Recent Reopenings Have Brought New Risks
​As cities across the country continue to reopen we have seen an acceleration of the spread of COVID-19. Like the mandate for masks, we need to have a mandate for contract tracing to reduce the spread. For employers and facility managers tasked with the responsibility of enabling employees to return to work safely, these latest developments have brought new headaches and challenges. Test and Trace remains the optimal method to control disease spread and allow phased reopenings to continue. 

​Real-Time Process Control For Green Economy ● Solar, SSL, environment, lean manufacturing ● Optical monitoring by distributed sensors ● Data aggregation and spectral analysis ● Machine learning and process modelling ● Dynamic action to improve outcome

Steven Seiden is CEO of Acquired Data Solutions (ADS), Inc., a 22-year old engineering services company specializing in solving customer’s complex engineering problems serving the Aerospace and Defense, Transportation, Critical Infrastructure, Medical, and Food and Beverage industries. These solutions include Internet of Things (IOT), software and hardware development and design, test, automation, and cybersecurity. ADS serves federal agencies such as TSA, NIH, DHS, DOD, and many large prime contractors including Northrop Grumman, AT&T, SAIC, Leidos, ManTech, and Raytheon.