This past summer MSSC publicly launched an “Industry 4.0” update of its signature Certified Production Technician (CPT) industry-wide training and certification program. Based on extensive research with leading industry subject matter experts, MSSC selected a list of nine rapidly emerging, data-intensive, “Industry 4.0” technologies that will profoundly influence manufacturing production processes and quality control: 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), Additive (3D) Manufacturing, Autonomous Robots, Augmented Reality, Data Analytics, Nanomanufacturing, and Advanced Materials. MSSC has embedded these technologies in its 2020 “Industry 4.0” Edition of its National Production Standards.
Our nation is now seeing the emergence of a “mega trend” in American manufacturing towards optimally self-sufficient domestic supply chains. By leveraging a production workforce upskilled to the “4.0” level, this trend will also produce higher levels of productivity, competitiveness, and economic growth.