2024 CESMII Annual Member Meeting

Save the Date: November 6-8, 2024

Join us in this historic location Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Knoxville, TN for the 2024 CESMII Annual Member Meeting.

This event is a unique opportunity to connect and network with industry leaders, examine the vital role of Smart Manufacturing as it intersects with technology, organizations, leadership and knowledge, and help shape CESMII’s Smart Manufacturing roadmap. Mark your calendars and plan to join us for this unique gathering of Smart Manufacturing leaders.

We are now accepting early registration interest for this event. Space is limited, and early registrants will be given priority access and will receive updates on agendas, logistics, and more. We are refining the agenda, but we recommend you secure your spot today for this 2-3 day event! 

More details will be shared in the coming weeks as the agenda

The Future of the American Economy Depends on our Ability to Evolve U.S. Manufacturing

There is an urgent need for the U.S. to revitalize its manufacturing sector to remain globally competitive, particularly in light of rising challenges from countries like China. The formation of the Smart Manufacturing Executive Council (SMEC) aims to spearhead this transformation by promoting Smart Manufacturing, which integrates digital and physical processes for enhanced productivity and innovation. Despite the potential of Industry 4.0, many manufacturers struggle to implement these technologies effectively. The SMEC, backed by CESMII and SME, focuses on creating an inclusive strategy to enable all manufacturers, especially small and medium enterprises, to access and benefit from Smart Manufacturing. This approach is essential for fostering sustainable economic growth, creating stable jobs, and maintaining the U.S.’s leadership in manufacturing.

Smart Manufacturing Mindset™:

Acceleration Framework for Strategic Success

In this episode, we discussed Smart Manufacturing (SM) with a team of IT and OT leaders from Andersen Corporation. The journey to build a strategic SM Roadmap was not done in a silo and this team is breaking down how they engaged their organization, addressed key barriers and desired outcomes, and built a successful plan.



One of the keys to their success was utilizing the CESMII Acceleration Framework methodologies and guidance from the NxGen Group. After going through the entire process from conception to execution, we’re sharing their top 5 learnings.

Propelling Efficiency with Edge to Application Propagation through CESMII’s SM Architecture

CESMII and member partner Sorba.Ai joined Phoenix Contact in their booth at Automate May 6-9, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois, demonstrating how to streamline data flow from the factory floor to modern applications. 

Navigating the complex web of industrial protocols and control system jargon has long been a challenge for innovation projects. However, by harnessing CESMII’s Smart Manufacturing Architecture, this partnership demonstrates how this hurdle can be overcome. Witness firsthand how PLCNext’s control information capabilities seamlessly integrate with CESMII’s API, empowering SORBA AI’s self-configuring engine to automatically discover and utilize profiled equipment instances on the PLC. See how CESMII, Phoenix Contact & Sorba.ai are revolutionizing industrial data integration, paving the way for greater efficiency and innovation in manufacturing.

CESMII Participated in Innovation Days at Oakridge National Laboratory

The Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) hosted the first-ever biennial Innovation Days at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with 120+ attendees from industry, academia, and several DOE clean energy programs (such as the Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Technologies Office, Wind Energy Technologies Office, Water Power Technologies Office, Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, and Nuclear Energy).

CESMII Participated Manufacturing USA National Network Meeting

The Manufacturing USA network meeting was held on April 30th and May 1st at the American Geophysical Union headquarters in Washington, DC. The Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office is coordinating a meeting for the manufacturing innovation institutes and federal agencies in the Manufacturing USA® network. Participants will have an opportunity to network, share knowledge and information, explore challenges and opportunities, and exchange best practices related to advanced manufacturing and key institute operations.

Smart Manufacturing Acceleration Roadmap Professional Certification Course

Join the next round of Smart Manufacturing Acceleration Roadmap Professional Certification class July 29, 2024 – September 20, 2024. This eight-week, online certification course is designed to educate consultants, advisors and innovation champions working with manufacturers on the CESMII Smart Manufacturing Acceleration Roadmap Framework, equip them the supporting toolkit, and prepare them to take the certification exam to become a certified Smart Manufacturing Roadmap Professional. Supported by an expert mentor, you’ll engage with hands-on projects to assess sample organization’s current and desired future states along six critical areas of world-class manufacturers.

By successfully completing the course projects, deliverables, and accompanying certification test, you will develop knowledge and capabilities to ensure your future client engagements are successful and your work is consistent with SM principles and the SM roadmap process developed by CESMII.

Curious how the Manufacturing USA institutes are preparing our next generation of engineers and thinkers in STEM to contribute to the growing workforce need?

Check out our latest video to discover how the institutes provide the ability to meet the challenges of training and educating the next generation of advanced manufacturing workforce and why a high-paid advanced manufacturing job might just be the perfect fit for you.

Reduction of Energy Consumption in

Brewing Hop Drying 

The objectives of this project are to identify the energy-saving potential of dynamic drying protocols driven by real-time process parameter measurements, that also maintain product quality, and to develop SM Profiles for batch agricultural drying processes that can be made available in the SM Marketplace. 

⬇14%

Demonstrated a 14% reduction in hop drying process time by implementing smart manufacturing tools at multiple farms.  

⬇10%

Demonstrated a 10% reduction in hop drying energy consumption by implementing smart manufacturing tools at multiple farms. 

Now Available On-Demand

We partnered with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) to host a virtual summit for MEP Centers across the US. We spent two hours showcasing tools and resources available through CESMII and our ecosystem for them to leverage in their regions.

The event is now available on demand, and if you need a reason to carve out 2 hours to enjoy it, see what the other attendees had to say:

The Connected Manufacturing Forum is where you will benchmark your digital enterprise strategy, create your blueprint, promote effective change management and learn how to become a smarter, more connected manufacturer. Join 200+ leading Manufacturing, Operations, Technology, Supply Chain and Advanced Engineering executives for a collaborative debate on the latest Industry 4.0 (&5.0) trends, challenges and opportunities.

CESMII will be exhibiting at the event.

2024 Affinity Group Meeting Schedule

What is an Affinity Group? A group of CESMII members with an interest in a particular manufacturing sector or a technology horizontal. We hold monthly meetings that are intended for members to bring their abilities, capabilities, and interests to engage CESMII resources & strategies as needed to address the sector or problem.

Already a member? Be sure to mark your calendars with the dates above!

Interested in joining one of our Affinity Groups?

About CESMII

Since its creation in 2016, CESMII, through its program home at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), has built a robust public-private partnership with over 181 current member organizations to date across industry and academia. As U.S. Department of Energy’s third established institute, CESMII has developed foundational Smart Manufacturing (SM) solutions, technologies, practices, and educational content to develop the smart manufacturing workforce of the future. 

For more information, please see

www.cesmii.org