Smart Manufacturing Mindset™: When Two Paths Converge — UNS, i3X, and the Future of Manufacturing. Host Jeff Winter sits down with John Dyck, Jonathan Wise, and Walker Reynolds to discuss how Unified Namespace (UNS) and CESMII's i3X™ framework converge to address shared industry challenges and support interoperable, AI-ready manufacturing. Available on LinkedIn, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, with a "Top 5 Takeaways" recap on cesmii.org.
Also in this edition:
- Interoperability Forum recap. Scaling Smart Manufacturing: The Interoperability Forum drew nearly 1,700 registrants (about 800 live), with 4 manufacturers and 32+ automation vendors, cloud hyperscalers, and edge companies demonstrating real interoperability. It earned a 4.7 out of 5 average rating (96% rated it a 4 or 5), with praise from Brian Perlstein of Owens Corning and Colin Masson of ARC Advisory Group. Now available on demand.
- Maryland MADE 4.0 success story. "83 assessments, 190 workers trained: Inside Maryland MADE 4.0" covers the DOE-funded program delivered by Maryland MEP, where CESMII served as Technical Assistance Field Manager, reaching 250 manufacturers with a quote from Center Director Sara Keith.
- Workforce development at SACA National Conference. Conrad Leiva, CESMII's VP of Ecosystem and Workforce Development, presented on the skills manufacturers need to execute smart manufacturing strategy, citing that 85% of workers will need to substantially shift roles or tasks within five years. Full deck available for download.
- Membership news. A new podcast/video pairs Travis Cox and Tom Burke of Inductive Automation with John Dyck and Jonathan Wise on building open interoperability with SM Profiles, the i3X API, and Ignition. Separately, Flow Software's Jeff Knepper published a feature crediting CESMII's three imperatives as the architectural foundation for their Timebase product.
- Upcoming events and courses. The Starting Your Smart Manufacturing Roadmap Journey workshop runs October 1 in Cleveland (MX.0 Midwest), two MD&M Midwest workshops run October 27 in Minneapolis, the SMARP certification course runs virtually September 22 through November 17, and National Member Calls are set for October 21 and December 16.
