Registration Hours
EAST Session:
EAST Session:
EAST Session: Abstract : Every leader wants better results – higher sales, greater profitability, stronger talent retention. But results don’t appear out of thin air. They are outcomes, effects—each with a cause. If you want to change the results your organization is getting, you must influence what’s driving them. It’s a simple concept: for every effect, there is a cause. Yet, in the manufacturing industry, many leaders struggle to connect the dots between the two. What’s really behind your key performance indicators? The answer lies not just in the actions and behaviors of your workforce but in what drives those behaviors. This session will take you beyond the surface—the visible metrics, processes, and results—to the unseen forces shaping them. The real game-changer? The quality of thinking within your organization. Your employees' beliefs shape their thought patterns, which drive their daily decisions, actions, and ultimately, your bottom line. An organization can never outperform the mindset of its people. Join us to discover how shifting the beliefs of your workforce can elevate performance and push your organization to new heights. Significance/Importance : Manufacturing leaders strive for higher sales, profitability, and talent retention, but these results stem from deeper causes. But there are unseen forces behind key performance indicators—employee beliefs and thought patterns. Only by shifting mindsets can leaders drive better decisions, behaviors, and outcomes. You can unlock the power of thinking to elevate performance and position your organization for long-term success. And you must if you want to set yourself apart from the masses.
EAST Session: Effective data collection is critical for optimizing production lines, yet traditional methods such as manual recording and PLC-coded data collection are fraught with inefficiencies and inaccuracies. Manual data entry often misses short downtime events and is subject to operator bias, while PLC-based systems suffer from inconsistencies, excessive costs, and revalidation challenges. The future of data collection lies in automation, modular modeling, and intelligent data processing, providing a foundation for digital transformation and sustainable manufacturing excellence. This session will explore the following concepts: · Advanced data collection goes beyond monitoring bottleneck operations, incorporating machine-level insights across all assets. · A multi-layered approach – integrating real-time signal processing, logic engines, and high-speed data acquisition – enhances fidelity, reduces integration costs, and improves root cause analysis. · Additionally, Aa Fault Learning approach dynamically identifies and ranks faults, leading to better diagnostics and predictive maintenance. · By leveraging digital twins, synchronizing multiple data streams, and enabling fast data validation, companies can significantly improve operational efficiency. · A robust data collection strategy supports MES, OEE, and AI/ML applications, ensuring accurate modeling, predictive analytics, and enterprise-wide standardization.
EAST Session: Moderated by Colin Gilchrist For many small and medium-sized manufacturers, the overwhelming volume of information on security best practices can make organizational adoption seem daunting. From establishing basic network hygiene to tackling complex frameworks like CMMC and NIST 800-82, the journey requires careful navigation through a maze of advice, regulations, and consulting services. This panel discussion will demystify the process of implementing security at various scales, exploring practical approaches, key technologies, and industry best practices. Executives from machine monitoring, advanced security, digital numeric control (DNC) solutions and regulatory compliance, resilience and data protection — moderated by a strategic integrator serving both additive and subtractive manufacturing for the federal government—will share their insights. Designed for decision-makers, this interactive conversation will provide a clear roadmap to help organizations begin or advance their security journey. Attendees will gain a conversational understanding of the critical choices, trade-offs, and strategies needed to safeguard their operations in today’s evolving threat landscape.
EAST Session: Abstract : Manufacturers are keen and pragmatic on how their capital is used to advance their state of manufacturing. And it is clear to them how investments in physical assets bring operational value. What is not so clear is the value-add of technology to their operations. In this session, you will learn how to translate the value of technology to operations to facilitate internal planning and justification for technology investments. You will learn how to build a business case around technology to show the expected value and ROI of that investment. Using this approach, the project team can report the financial gains to key constituents to help with continued funding and support. Significance/Importance : Manufacturers are keen and pragmatic on how their capital is used to advance their state of manufacturing. And it is clear to them how investments in physical assets bring operational value. What is not so clear is the value-add of technology to their operations. In this session, you will learn how to translate the value of technology to operations to facilitate internal planning and justification for technology investments.
Speaker at EAST: James Cooper, Senior Account Executive, SmartSights
Speaker at EAST: Eric Swezey, Senior Enterprise Account Executive, Zoovu
EAST Session: Abstract : Enterprise-scale manufacturers continue to expand the use of precise 3D data and connected annotations, called Model-Based Definition (MBD), in place of traditional engineering drawings. The extent to which downstream suppliers are able to respond effectively to this ongoing, cross-industry change will be a significant determining factor on the structure of the manufacturing supply change in future decades. Guidelines from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) are major agents for change in this process. The DoD recognizes that MBD's capacity to support interoperable reuse of data across multiple production systems can accelerate engineering and manufacturing, improve quality, and reduce costs. When major private sector institutions like Deloitte produce findings showing how larger enterprises can gain efficiencies through these practices, expectations grow for the downstream suppliers to align themselves to these changes. For example: Lockheed has already made public that it expects its suppliers to be able to provide inspection data generated in downstream processes to be returned to them, a level of data exchange — the Digital Thread — only possible through integrated MBD processes. Understanding the factors that are currently limiting the expansion of MBD practices, and how technologies are being deployed to overcome those limits, gives perspective to today's manufacturing supplier on how they can prepare for the most imminent developments likely to arise. Significance/Importance : Industry advancement towards model-based definition (MBD) grows with each passing day in many key industries; leading the way are aerospace and defense. Major OEM manufacturers are deeply invested in this process evolution, and there are few if any market pressures influencing factors towards any other direction. Only inertia and cost of entry are acting to constrain this fundamental change.
EAST Session: Abstract : As factories and job shops move towards Industry 4.0, machine tools are becoming more connected, opening up new possibilities for productivity and efficiency. However, this connectivity also brings new cybersecurity risks. Many manufacturers think cybersecurity is just an IT issue, but the reality is that the shop floor is now a prime target for cyberattacks, ransomware, and system breaches that can halt production and damage equipment. In this session, we'll dive into practical, actionable strategies to boost cybersecurity specifically for machine tools and manufacturing systems. You'll learn why modern CNC machines, robots, and connected equipment are at risk, discover common vulnerabilities in connected manufacturing environments, and explore cost-effective cybersecurity best practices tailored for small and medium manufacturers. We'll also discuss how to collaborate with machine builders, software providers, and integrators to build resilient systems, share real-world case studies of attacks and lessons learned, and outline key steps you can take today to reduce risk without slowing down production. Whether you're running a high-mix job shop or a high-volume plant, this session will help you understand cybersecurity from the perspectives of operators, plant managers, and owners, and provide you with a roadmap to protect your business as you modernize operations. Significance/Importance : This presentation is crucial because it equips manufacturers with practical strategies to protect their connected systems from cyber threats, ensuring productivity and safety as they embrace Industry 4.0. Additionally, it will help the shop owner to be compliant with the cybersecurity requirement from the U.S. Deportment of Department of Defense (DoD) and European regulations.
EAST Session: Manufacturing sales have hit a wall. Deals are taking longer to close and costing more to win. Since 2022, sales cycles have increased by 22%, while win rates have slipped by 17%. In this engaging fireside chat, industry experts will discuss why investing in ecommerce is essential—but notoriously difficult—for manufacturing companies with complex sales environments. From managing global sales teams and navigating intricate buyer journeys to configuring millions of product options, the challenges are vast. Join us to learn: - How to create product discovery experiences that reduce complexity for buyers. - Best practices for optimizing product data to ensure your entire catalog is discoverable and configurable online. - How to leverage insights from digital interactions to drive better business decisions. Don’t miss this candid conversation on how manufacturers are transforming their digital sales approach to boost efficiency, drive revenue, and enhance the buying experience. Significance/Importance: This topic is critical because manufacturing sales are increasingly complex, with deals taking longer to close and win rates declining—sales cycles have increased by 22% and win rates have dropped by 17% since 2022. As manufacturers face mounting pressure to streamline operations and drive revenue, adopting ecommerce solutions is essential. However, the complexity of managing global sales teams, serving thousands of buyers, and configuring millions of product options poses significant challenges. Understanding how to reduce this complexity through effective product discovery, optimized data, and actionable insights is vital for manufacturers striving to remain competitive and enhance their digital transformation journey.