MAKING VALUE
Integrating Manufacturing, Design, and Innovation
to Thrive in the Changing Global Economy
Summary of a Workshop
Kate S. Whitefoot and Steve Olson, Editors
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: This publication has been reviewed according to procedures approved by the National Academy of Engineering report review process. Publication of signed work signifies that it is judged a competent and useful contribution worthy of public consideration, but it does not imply endorsement of conclusions or recommendations by the National Academy of Engineering. The interpretations and conclusions in such publications are those of the authors and do not purport to present the views of the council, officers, or staff of the National Academy of Engineering.
This project was supported by a generous gift from Robert A. Pritzker and the Robert Pritzker Family Foundation. Any opinions, finding, or conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the workshop participants.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
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WORKSHOP STEERING COMMITTEE
LAWRENCE D. BURNS (Chair), Professor of Engineering Practice, University of Michigan
CURTIS R. CARLSON, CEO, SRI International
NICHOLAS M. DONOFRIO, IBM Fellow Emeritus and (Retired) Executive Vice President, Innovation and Technology, IBM Corporation
ANITA GOEL, Chairman and Scientific Director, Nanobiosym; Chairman and CEO, Nanosym Diagnostics
SUSAN R. HELPER, Chair, Economics Department, and AT&T Professor of Economics, Case Western Reserve University
MICHAEL F. MOLNAR, Chief Manufacturing Officer, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
PANOS Y. PAPALAMBROS, Executive Director, Interdisciplinary and Professional Engineering, Donald C. Graham Professor of Engineering, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan
JONATHAN J. RUBINSTEIN, Former Executive Chairman and CEO, Palm, Inc.
JEFFREY SMITH, Professor of Economics, University of Michigan
CHAD SYVERSON, Professor of Economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
REBECCA R. TAYLOR, Senior Vice President, National Center for Manufacturing Sciences
Staff
KATE S. WHITEFOOT, Program Director and Senior Program Officer
LANCE A. DAVIS, Executive Officer
PROCTOR P. REID, Director, Program Office
CAMERON H. FLETCHER, Senior Editor
PENELOPE J. GIBBS, Senior Program Associate
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Preface
Manufacturing is in a period of dramatic transformation . But in the United States, public and political dialogue is simplistically focused almost entirely on the movement of certain manufacturing jobs overseas to low-wage countries. The true picture is much more complicated, and also more positive, than this dialogue implies.
After years of despair, many observers of US manufacturing are now more optimistic. A recent uptick in manufacturing employment and output in the United States is one factor they cite, but the main reasons for optimism are much more fundamental. Manufacturing is changing in ways that may favor American ingenuity. Rapidly advancing technologies in areas such as biomanufacturing, robotics, smart sensors, cloud-based computing, and nanotechnology have transformed not only the factory floor but also the way products are invented and designed, putting a premium on continual innovation and highly skilled workers. A shift in manufacturing toward smaller runs and custom-designed products is favoring agile and adaptable workplaces, business models, and employees, all of which have become a specialty in the United States. Future manufacturing will involve a global supply web, but the United States has a potentially great advantage because of our tight connections among innovation, design, and manufacturing, and also our ability to integrate products and services.
The National Academy of Engineering normally conducts studies at the request of government and delivers its conclusions to the requesting agency. In this case, the NAE has been sufficiently concerned about the issues surrounding manufacturing—and sufficiently excited by the prospect of dramatic change—to take action on its own. On June 11–12, 2012, it hosted a workshop in Washington, DC, to discuss the
new world of manufacturing and how to position the United States to thrive in this world. The workshop steering committee focused on two particular goals.1 First, presenters and participants were to examine not just manufacturing but the broad array of activities that are inherently associated with manufacturing, including innovation and design. Second, the committee wanted to focus not just on making things but on making value, since value is the quality that will underlie high-paying jobs in America’s future.
The workshop opened with presentations on the changing nature of manufacturing, design, and innovation; the future of work; building the ecosystem for manufacturing, design, and innovation; and manufacturing for sustainability. The remainder of the workshop consisted largely of two extended breakout sessions, followed by reports of the breakout deliberations to the entire group. During the first breakout session, workshop participants split into six groups to discuss the following topics:
• The relationship between making things and making value
• Productivity, innovation, and business practices
• The role of geography in creating and capturing value
• Enabling the workforce for the future of manufacturing, design, and innovation
• Building the institutional structure for manufacturing, design, and innovation
• Opportunities for making value
The next morning, workshop participants divided into three groups to discuss the concept at the heart of the workshop: making value through the integration of manufacturing, design, and innovation, to which the workshop participants added a fourth critical factor: services associated with manufacturing, design, and innovation.
This summary of the workshop, written by Kate S. Whitefoot and Steve Olson, captures the main themes that emerged from more than 14 hours of presentation and discussion sessions. Given the overlap of the issues and topics discussed between sessions, this summary is organized topically rather than chronologically to provide a more readable account of the workshop. The views conveyed in the report are those of individual workshop participants and should not be seen as conclu-
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1 The steering committee’s role was limited to planning and convening the workshop.
sions or recommendations of the planning committee or the National Academy of Engineering.
The National Academy of Engineering plans to initiate specific actions to extend this dialogue and strengthen the extremely important US innovation-generating machine. Other organizations should do likewise. Together, we can inaugurate a new era of advanced innovation, design, manufacturing, and service to make value in the United States.
Charles M. Vest, President
National Academy of Engineering
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Acknowledgments
This summary has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies. The purpose of the independent review is to provide candid and critical comments to assist the NAE in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Alice Agogino, University of California, Berkeley
Gary Cowger, GLC Ventures, LLC
Joseph A. Heim, University of Washington
Christopher Johnson, GE Global Research
Stephanie Shipp, IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the views expressed in the report, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Julia M. Phillips, Director, Nuclear Weapons S&T Programs, Sandia National Laboratory. Appointed by NAE, she was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authors and NAE.
In addition to the reviewers, many other individuals assisted in the development of this workshop summary. Penelope J. Gibbs prepared the layouts; Greg Pearson, NAE senior program officer, coordinated the review; and Gina Adam, Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellow, assisted with the response to review. Additional thanks are due to Clair Woolley and Jim Gormley for their generous help with the production of this workshop summary.
Contents
1 MAKING VALUE THROUGH INTEGRATED INNOVATION, DESIGN, MANUFACTURING, AND SERVICE
Technology and the Transformation of Work
What Is Value? And How Do We Make It?
Does Integration Require Colocation?
2 BUILDING THE ECOSYSTEM FOR MAKING VALUE
Infrastructure for Information and Technology Development
BOXES: INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC EXAMPLES AND RELEVANT DISCUSSIONS
1-1 Spotlight on Biomanufacturing: Opportunities and Needs for Value Creation
1-2 The Past, Present, and Future of Manufacturing Work
1-4 Spotlight on Electronics: Linking Design and Production
2-1 Creating Human Capital: Manufacturing, Design, and Innovation Education at Georgia Tech
2-2 SRI’s Value Creation Process
2-3 Different Collaborative Models for Innovation in Large and Small Companies