GE partners with #GMIS2021 to explore the benefits of digitization, lean production, and safety to global manufacturing

Through joint thought leadership and knowledge sharing activities, GE will collaborate with the Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit to support manufacturers in deploying digitization, lean processes and safety protocols to improve efficiencies, eliminate waste, lower costs, increase productivity and uptime, and enhance employee satisfaction. The fourth edition of the Summit (#GMIS2021) offers a unique international platform to share lessons and explore opportunities around these three crucial enablers, as leaders from the global manufacturing and technology communities engage in discussion and debate to shape the future of manufacturing and industrialization.

Nabil Habayeb, Senior Vice President of GE and President & CEO of GE International Markets

GE has a 130-year manufacturing heritage with operations across the globe in the critical sectors of energy, healthcare and aviation, and complemented by expertise in digitization and additive manufacturing. The company operates more than 1,000 manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities in 130 countries around the world.

In 2010, GE’s Hai Phong factory manufacturing wind turbine generators and components was put into operation. Up to 2020, this factory has exported more than 6,000 wind generator systems, creating an annual export value of hundred million USD. GE Power has GE Dung Quat (GEDQ), which is one of two GE factories in the world specializing in manufacturing heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) technology systems. The facility plays a vital role in GE Global Supply Chain through helping to meet the growing demand for combined-cycle power plant solutions, and providing added scale, global manufacturing footprint and technology for GE. In a total area of 159,000sq.m, GEDQ houses 340 skilled workers and 200 professional contractors working to help global customers boost engineering productivity power output while increasing domestic values by locally sourcing 50 percent of direct input materials.

“GE will share learnings from its deployment of digitization, its ongoing implementation of lean manufacturing principles, and its clear prioritizing of safety, as well as how these support sustained manufacturing excellence for GE, our partners and our customers,” said Nabil Habayeb, Senior Vice President, GE and President & CEO of GE International Markets.

#GMIS2021 will position industrialization at the center of the global dialogue, reinforcing the sector’s important role in driving economic growth and global prosperity. The Summit will explore the importance of data intelligence and connectivity, and the evolving mechanisms of interaction between humans and machines in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It creates important opportunities to ensure digitization, lean manufacturing and workplace safety are integrated into the future of industrialization.

Badr Al-Olama, Head of the GMIS Organizing Committee

Badr Al-Olama, Head of the GMIS Organizing Committee, said, “Together, GMIS and GE will leverage their network and expertise to drive digitization, industrialization and thought-leadership to deliver insights and support to the global manufacturing community across every line of business – from factory floors to the deployment of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. As manufacturers across the world move towards the next level of industrialization by tapping into advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Internet of Things, Blockchain and other transformative innovations, this partnership will be a key enabler in shaping the future of the global manufacturing industry.”

GE leverages the digital transformation to help customers connect factory machines and sensors to a secure cloud, with data collection and analytics used to help a connected workforce accelerate and sustain improvements across the production value chain for greater productivity and efficiency, lower total cost of ownership, and increased profitability.

The lean methodology has been championed at GE by company Chairman and CEO Larry Culp, who has prioritized lean across the organization as a way to foster continuous process improvement. In manufacturing, the lean approach identifies systems and activities that do not add value for customers. By eliminating these unproductive elements and streamlining operations, manufacturing teams can reduce costs, improve quality, shrink turnaround times, and deliver better value. At the GE Hai Phong, lean best practices have helped to drive a 60 percent increase in year-over-year revenue in 2019. At GE Dung Quat, lean practices help to identify more than 100 innovative ideas that help GE Dung Quat site operate more efficiently, with 40 percent increase in capacity, a 25 percent reduction in production cycle, creating a safe, high-quality and lean working environment.

Safety, the third manufacturing enabler, is GE’s number one priority. “Our employees are our most important assets,” said Habayeb, “so we are very clear about this one simple focus: keeping our people safe.” Through continually revised best-practice processes, procedures, trainings, data, tracking, reviews, standards, and other tools, a commitment to safety not only protects employees but also reinforces excellence in all GE processes and operations.