Exploring CME LeanCon

Published on: February 29, 2024

This past week AI4M had the pleasure to attend LeanCon 2024 conference in Dartmouth, the event brought together manufacturers, technology partners, and industry leaders from across Atlantic Canada Dartmouth, to share expertise and experience in deploying Lean manufacturing practices. The event, organized by CME Nova Scotia, provided a unique platform for attendees delve into the world of Lean philosophy, continuous improvement practices and related technologies.

 The conference's overarching themes were focused on AI adoption, operation excellence, and cyber security to ensure that manufacturers are informed and ready for future challenges. The event enabled participants to explore the event themes and technologies in focused workshops with industry leaders. Participants, ranging from those new to Lean practices to seasoned leaders, found themselves immersed in discussions covering manufacturing, robotics, service, and other key technological areas. 

The ABB Robotics team kicked off LeanCon 2024 with a workshop focused on understanding and gaining experience with cobots, this workshop provided participants with hands-on experience and in-depth knowledge about collaborative robots (Cobots). The workshop showcased the effectiveness of Cobots in various tasks, emphasizing their ease of setup, programming, operation, and scalability. Attendees explored Material Handling and Arc Welding applications with two ABB GoFa™ Cobots, gaining valuable insights into automation's transformative potential in manufacturing. 

AI4M member, KPI Digital lead a session on "How to Get Your Why: Understanding the ROI of AI", addressing the common challenge of grasping the practical applications of AI within the manufacturing context. While acknowledging the conceptual value of AI, the session emphasized the difficulty in translating that understanding into specific benefits for individual business landscapes. By guiding manufacturers in the crawl, walk, run method of exploring what’s achievable with AI, the talk aimed to empower manufacturers to find their unique answer to "Why AI?" and kickstart their journey toward enhancing business processes through technology.

Throughout the many sessions we attended it was motivating to hear the many actionable takeaways that were being shared from industry experts. Whether attendees learned how to empower employees, fostering a culture of innovation or dive into technology, participants left inspired and motivated to continue their journey in continuous improvement. LeanCon 2024 proved to be an excellent event bringing together Atlantic manufacturers to share information and navigate the evolving landscape of manufacturing together. The integration of AI into Lean practices showcased a commitment to embracing technological advancements for a more efficient and sustainable future.

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