How can you develop and maintain manufacturing engineering skills in a competitive environment?

Learn from past, learn from technology, learn from elders and learn from universe...these are four pillar of learning attitude. Always eager to listen and wait for your opinion. Don't come to conclusion at the start of journey....

Build a good professional network, including customers, group companies, suppliers, and former colleagues, to exchange knowledge. We always enhance our knowledge when we share our ideas and get other perspectives and questions.

In my experience, first you need to lose your ego. It gets in the way of a good decision every time. Second, listen to everyone involved in the process and problem. I mean everyone. Finally, make a decision. You don’t have to stick with it but you have to start somewhere and you are not going to learn unless you move.

Sometimes you need to look outside your industry to gain different perspectives. Often managers tend to be inward looking and susceptible to their industry’s or niche’s technology or process dogma. Coming from an industry where nothing is purpose built for our application has meant we have had to take a broad view of the intersection between technology, process and people, while searching for strategic solutions that add value for our key stakeholders. This requires us to constantly evolve and learn. Don’t be afraid to cast a wide net, ask many questions, and be prepared to fail so you can succeed, but most of all ensure you segment time to learn about new sectors, segments, and their solutions for fulfilling customer needs.

Manufacturing Engineering is constantly evolving and progressing, I have found in my experience that keeping an eye on and implementing emerging technologies not only benefits the organization but also keeps our Engineers crisp and constantly up-skilling. By learning new and advanced techniques, softwares and processes, they remain engaged and are continually flexing the learning muscle, the value it brings to the Engineer is easy to measure in the resulting output.

I like to emphasise in my lectures that companies must stay in tune with technological trends in order to remain competitive in an evolving and competitive market. By keeping informed of the principles and applications of new technologies, organisations can leverage innovation to improve products, services and operations. This knowledge not only helps meet customer expectations, but also opens doors to new market opportunities and sources of revenue. In essence, I emphasise that a thorough understanding of technological trends is not just an advantage, but a requirement for sustainable business growth and relevance in today's dynamic economic landscape.

Another way to develop and maintain your manufacturing engineering skills is to keep up with the latest trends, innovations, and technologies in your field. You can do this by reading journals, magazines, blogs, or podcasts that cover relevant topics, such as Industry 4.0, additive manufacturing, robotics, artificial intelligence, or lean manufacturing. You can also attend webinars, workshops, or conferences where you can learn from experts, see demonstrations, or participate in hands-on sessions.

Some of the most useful certifications I've found specifically for engineering are "lean methods" or "design for 6 sigma" as they provide you the tools to become an efficient and productive engineer regardless of what industry.

Besides the theoretical knowledge, the hands-on experience is important in manufacturing environments. It would be more helpful to engineers to understand the theoretical knowledge gained by courses, webinars or some certification programs.

Education does not necessarily mean "formal". Read your industry white papers, attend technical sessions, subscribe to industry publications. I learned more from my peers than I learned in a classroom. Thats not to say classroom learning isn't useful. Just don't limit where your education comes from.

In my 14 years working at the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, I have always encouraged Brazilian students to come to Germany. During their stay in Germany, these students work as research assistants at the Fraunhofer Institute, developing and applying in practice what they have learnt during their formal academic education. In doing so, they contribute to the innovations we develop in industrial projects, and they also learn a lot in the process. Finally, the learning goes beyond technical aspects, as these young students have incredible international experiences in this way, learning a lot about the culture of other countries. All this learning is intangible but has a huge impact on these young people.

En mi opinión desarrollar un proyecto dentro de la fábrica que implique la investigación como fuente de información mejora muchísimo las habilidades y desarrolla nuevas habilidades para mirar los procesos y proponer mejorar, la investigación a través de white papers de revistas especializadas en la industria y en plataformas científicas, fortalece el conocimiento.

Problem Solving is one of the best competence any professional should have in manufacturing!! If you learn to deal with different types of problems and you work thinking systematically your probabilities to be more competitive increases every day.

This is actually a very helpful way of maintaining your own skill level but it can be an even greater tool if we can help other people within our teams and our peers to also pursue the same ideology. It has become too ingrained in us that we look at every problem and instead of finding a long term solution we allow the short term fix to become a long term solution. We always need to question what we are doing, how we can do them better than we have done in the past and better than we can do it today!

Dive into a variety of experiences to broaden your thinking and improve your problem-solving skills. Focusing on essential subjects can enhance your ability to act swiftly. Leveraging the internet to ask the right questions at the right moments is crucial for finding quick solutions.

One of the ways I find really works is working with other engineering teams. Especially if they have difficult tasks, or just another set of hands. The different skills and approaches could possibly augment something your doing.

One method I use in problem solving is to first gather information from a number of resources. My resources vary from machinists, other engineers, management, or line workers. Gathering various insights on projects allows me to see the bigger picture to better incorporate a solution that each stakeholder will be happy with. I often hear how the line workers are overlooked in these decisions, and I find that involving them from the start assists in finding a well rounded solution. Sometimes these members have ideas, just no way of implementing them!

5. Seek Feedback: Regular feedback refines your approach. Like iterating on a CAD design, constructive feedback enhances your manufacturing engineering capabilities.

Reconnaitre les commentaires positifs ou négatifs est bénifique. Avec ces commentaires se faire un plan de développement professionnel qui mise principalement sur les lacunes permettra une amélioration des compétences. Il ne faut pas prendre les commentaires négatifs de manière pessimiste. Il faut voir les possibilités!

En mi opinión buscar comentarios es una tarea de cuidado ya que en la retroalimentación pueden salir comentarios muy positivos o muy negativos dependiendo de la fuente consultada lo cual conlleva a un análisis imparcial para poder filtrar idoneamente cada uno de los comentarios para recolectar las fortalezas y oportunidades de mejora

First, identify people that you respect and who have achieved what you want to achieve. Then draw close to them and ask for feedback.

Few points from my side on developing and maintaining manufacturing engineering skills in a competitive environment are: 1) Identify the skill sets required for your team based on their current Roles and Responsibilities. 2) Identify what are the new tools and technologies can be used in the manufacturing process. Create a platform for your team and stay updated. 2) Ensure the upgradation plan is prepared to meet the minimum skill sets. 3) Change management process shall have the linkages with Training and skills. The changes can be Product, Process/Technology or any other. When skill matrix is linked with change management process then people will be updated, upgraded based on the requirements.

Strive to learn outside your comfort zone. Try to cross train in other industries if possible. Oddly enough I have had many successful outcomes by taking the idea from one industry and applying to another. It may not be a perfect fit, but it gets you used to new ideas and different points of view.

Both technological development and the development of new businesses are currently happening very quickly, very dynamically. It's essential to always be curious in order to glimpse and learn from these changes. Forget that familiar phrase "I've always done it this way, why should I change now?". This goes against the path of learning and innovation.

Staying curios and open-minded is very important. Being motivated to learn new things and doing research, sometimes helps to solve many difficult problems. In order to do that, one should also be patient and make careful observations.

When you come across something novel and intriguing in a manufacturing process, it's worth taking some hours to investigate further. Dive into what this new method involves and understand its advantages over traditional practices. Assess its cost implications; does it offer financial savings, or could it potentially increase expenses? Explore real-world cases where this approach has been applied. Determine whether it's a breakthrough technology or if there are existing, similar techniques. Overall, the key is to be curious, thoroughly research, and stay informed about the latest developments.

Pay it forward. Hopefully you have had mentors throughout your career that have been generous with you. Be equally generous with those coming up behind you. And please, put any biases aside. Whether it's someone from a different culture, or a different sex, keep in mind that you were probably drawn to this vocation for very similar reason, and you are more alike than you know.

After high school and before getting into university, my Dad pushed me to take a course of Machining in a school dedicated to teach skills for the metal cutting industry. Then I practiced at his shop where he had a lathe and milling equipments. Following, after graduated from University, I was very lucky to start my career in the Engineering team where my first task from my former manager was to assemble and disassemble press tools in our manufacturing shop floor. Next goal was to set up the press tools following by operating presses and grinding machines. I always remember those times as the best kickoff of my learning journey as an Engineer! Thank you Dad!

Specialization: Consider specializing in a niche area of manufacturing engineering. This can make you more valuable in the field and allow you to develop deep expertise.

Agree 100%...I remember a couple of occasions with green engineers who couldn't remember which way to turn a wrench to loosen or tighten. It helps to grow up in a hands-on environment, but in any case it sure helps to have some experience assembling and/or installing equipment. It is eye-opening.