Managing transformative change at FABTECH Canada

FABTECH Canada was a busy three days at the Congress Centre in Toronto. After so long without an in-person show in the country, fabricators were out in force from across Canada to experience the latest and greatest technology. More than 4,000 attendees took in the exhibits, training sessions, and keynote speakers and panels.

“There is a real thirst for a better understanding of what tools are out there to improve material throughput, improve connectivity, ensure business security, and bolster new recruitment in the industry,” said Ed Youdell, president/CEO, Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl. “FABTECH Canada’s exhibitors and speakers were able provide attendees insight into all of these concerns.”

The underlying theme of many keynote and panel sessions, in one way or another, was how to thrive by adapting to address current and future challenges. The sessions on digital transformation and cybersecurity were in some ways two sides of the same coin: It’s necessary to engage in transformative change using the latest and greatest technology, but it’s important to appreciate and prepare for the risks of working in an intricately connected digital environment. Get these investments right and you’ll secure the rest of the assets on your shop floor.

Preparing for Transformative Change

The panel discussion on “The Digital Transformation and Canada’s Economic Strength” tackled what might be holding Canadian companies back from creating transformative change in their shops.

Martin Cloake, CEO of Raven AI, noted that what it takes to run a manufacturing operation is changing quickly.

“Five or 10 years ago, you weren’t dealing with the kind of supply chain disruptions, labour disruptions, and the fact that all of us want customized products delivered next day,” he said. “This is forcing manufacturers to shorten the time range around how they plan their operations. Coming up with a plan for the week and executing on that plan isn’t working as well as it did in the past.”

Understanding that they have to make changes on the fly, doing more changeovers in production, shops are investing a great deal of money in technology. But Cloake noted that often forgotten are the management methods these same companies used to succeed in the past—methods that can help ensure a successful rollout of these same technologies.

“Lean manufacturing approaches are still the way to go on the shop floor,” he said. “What manufacturers are realizing now is that rather than going all in with technology as a cure-all, they are using that same incremental approach for driving improvements, and that still works. The key thing manufacturers are realizing today is that the best way to deploy technology is to first identify areas for improvement. In the past, you’d determine these areas for improvement by walking the shop floor because data wasn’t moving as quickly. There is a recognition now that you need to dive into the data to understand what’s happening fully, but you can’t depend on that solely. You still need to go to the shop floor and chat with folks.”

Cloake noted that while a whiteboard on a shop floor may seem like a crude method of tracking production, it is a tool that is understood on the shop floor, and one the team can react to by asking questions and providing input. Any technology rollout has to achieve this same level of engagement. The key point is that technological change isn’t really about changing everything on the shop floor, it’s simply about changing the tools used to achieve the end goal.

Ian Howcroft, CEO of Skills Ontario, noted how he’s seen companies invest in technology and fail to achieve their goals because they didn’t train the right people in the correct way.

Ian Howcroft, CEO of Skills Ontario, discusses digital transformation with fellow panellists, Martin Cloake, CEO, Raven AI, Mark Kirby, industry training and outreach coordinator, University of Waterloo, and moderator Jayson Myers, CEO, NGen.

Cloake pointed out that companies and their employees have to understand why they are investing in the technology. You can invest in a system that gives you very accurate data, but if team members don’t trust in that data, the project will fail. It’s a matter of getting buy-in through good communication. Engagement with staff is crucial.

Howcroft agreed, also extending the importance to client relationships.

“Engagement with staff is important, as is engagement with your customers,” he said. “What are you doing to make their lives easier, to address their needs now and into the future? It can set the tone for your investment if the team on the floor knows what you are doing, but you also need to know how it’s going to affect your customer base.”

Howcroft feels that investing in training is an important part of transformative change.

“I think there are still organizations out there not investing enough in training their team members, giving them the opportunity to be as productive as they can be so they understand all aspects of the tech they are responsible for,” he said. “I hear people say we can’t train people because if we train them, they leave. The only thing worse than training someone and them leaving is not training them and having them stay.”

Cloake believes in many cases it’s not reskilling that’s necessary but problem solving in such a way that the right tools are adopted in the shop so that employees aren’t slowed down in the work they do. Again, it’s about engaging the team on the shop floor to find the best solutions for the whole shop.

“If younger folks can recognize that they’re getting opportunities to upskill themselves because they are not burdened by inefficient processes, then they are more likely to stay at a company,” he said.

Understanding and Protecting Your Assets

Cybersecurity is not often top-of-mind for fabricating shops, but Leah Dodson, cybersecurity researcher, Piqued Solutions, says that no organization is too small to take cyber threats seriously.

“If you as a company are profitable or you have something that you care about, then you have something that an attacker would want from you,” she said. “Whether that comes through ransomware or direct attacks on your systems, or whether that comes through other means, everyone can be a target.” Dodson noted that it’s often simpler and more profitable to make small, targeted attacks on smaller companies than going after big companies directly.

Dodson pointed out that cybersecurity experts are seeing a rise in “ransomware as a service.” In some cases its part of an effort to gain virtual or physical access to your facility, or its part of a longer “attack chain” that may lead to larger companies along a supply chain.

The cybersecurity panel included moderator Jay Korpi, principal advisor, NextLink Labs; Leah Dodson, cybersecurity researcher, Piqued Solutions; Josh Patton, principal architect – governance and security, Charter; Steve Mosley, VP of sales, BitLyft Cybersecurity; and Jeremy Dodson, CISO, NextLink Labs.

“They may not be targeting you specifically, but if you’re in the supply chain they could be looking for someone that you are connected with in that supply chain,” she said. “You are profitable because you are their access in.”

The question that many struggle with is where to start with in assessing risk and prioritizing IT and operational technology (OT) systems improvements. Josh Patton, principal architect – governance and security, Charter, noted there are a number of structured frameworks, like the Purdue Model, for industrial control system (ICS) security.

“These really do help organizations go down that path of determining where their risks are, where your assets are, and how to protect them,” said Patton. He also noted the Center for Internet Security’s “Critical Security Controls” as a useful document to reference.

Dealing with cybersecurity rollouts fall prey to same issue as any other technology rollouts, of course. As noted previously, some companies will run out and buy equipment without thinking through the precise goal of the technology rollout.

“The very first thing you should do is get the lay of the land to determine what you have, why you need to protect it, and do you even need some of the systems you have on hand,” said Dodson. “It’s not until you take a look at all your assets that you can really get a good picture of what vulnerabilities, what risks, what baseline you’re dealing with.”

And like any other rollout, a successful cybersecurity rollout depends on good communication.

“Projects fall on end because they weren’t properly explained at the beginning,” said Steve Mosley, VP of sales, BitLyft Cybersecurity. Mosley encourages companies to lean on cybersecurity experts to help determine the scope of your approach.

“It’s valuable to partner with a good quality cybersecurity consulting firm,” he said. “They will help you select technology based on the specific issues you have or the specific concerns your advisor brings to light. From there you can form a good-quality posture that leads to high adoption rates within your organization. Don’t just rush out to buy the latest and greatest security software.”

Technology investments can be daunting. Fabricators generally understand what they need when it comes to cutting, bending, and welding equipment. The good news the presenters at FABTECH Canada shared was that the systems companies have used to manage productivity improvements can help them equally in making Industry 4.0 and cybersecurity investment decisions.

Editor Robert Colman can be reached at rcolman@canadianfabweld.com.