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An Assessment of the Smart Manufacturing Activities at the National Institute of Standards and Technology Engineering Laboratory Fiscal Year 2017 (2017) / Chapter Skim
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6 Conclusions and Recommendations
Pages 36-44

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From page 36...
... Without roadmaps and measurable milestones, the quality and value of NIST's smart manufacturing programs and their management were more difficult to assess, and therefore the value, quality, and results of individual projects were more difficult to measure. Although some excellent research outputs, evinced by strong publication records in peer-reviewed journals, are being obtained and significant progress in standards is being made, many project plans did not show intermediate project milestones, and so it was difficult to determine in some cases whether projects were making the expected amount of progress and achieving the desired results.
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From page 37...
... This dialogue could build on existing meetings with the MML and the Polymers Processing Group and evolve toward common research projects, such as feedstock characterization or the design of additive manufacturing machines. RECOMMENDATION 2: The Engineering Laboratory should consider beginning an intensified dialogue with the Material Measurement Laboratory and the Polymers Processing Group.
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From page 38...
... efforts are trying to integrate resources in a consistent and efficient framework, and the RSSM program has the opportunity to contribute to and lead this nascent field. RECOMMENDATION 7: The Engineering Laboratory should consider exploring methodological approaches and standards development related to cloud robotics by contributing to activities in this area (e.g., Industry 4.0)
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From page 39...
... Object and Model Set data set is a related contribution to the research community that helps advance robotic manipulation, and a similar contribution based on the RSSM research would be highly beneficial to the research community. RECOMMENDATION 11: The Engineering Laboratory should consider coordinating with other organizations to develop community-wide test sets for dexterous grasping.
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From page 40...
... As a result, the program has very little visibility on social media, which is a missed opportunity to improve the impact of the RSSM program's activities. RECOMMENDATION 14: The Engineering Laboratory should consider adding staff who can improve dissemination of technical accomplishments through social media, trade publications, and/or popular press and should work with NIST management to identify ways to streamline approval processes for applying these methods.
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From page 41...
... RECOMMENDATION 19: The Engineering Laboratory should develop project plans with measurable milestones that describe their 5-year projects and use these plans as communication tools. The definition of "life cycle" that the Digital Thread for Smart Manufacturing project is using shows the end of the cycle as being when the initial product is delivered to the customer.
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From page 42...
... RECOMMENDATION 27: The Engineering Laboratory should consider collaborating with the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition (SMLC) and the newly formed Clean Energy and Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII)
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From page 43...
... Given that the program has been actively collaborating with various standards communities and has access to a wide range of industries, this broadening of scope appears both feasible and practical. RECOMMENDATION 30: Where there is a lack of existing standard or guidelines, the Engineering Laboratory should consider broadening its scope to include identifying smart manufacturing best practices in a select set of industry sectors.
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Key Terms

  • engineering laboratory
  • rssm program
  • measurable milestones
  • manufacturing project
  • manufacturing operations

  • additive manufacturing
  • digital thread
  • standards development
  • manufacturing program
  • energy smart

  • manufacturing innovation
  • rssm research
  • project plans
  • project teams
  • operations planning

  • clean energy
  • innovation institute
  • social media
  • manufacturing research
  • identifying smart

  • consider exploring
  • consider developing
  • consider collaborating
  • manufacturing programs
  • overlapping research

  • overarching roadmap
  • significant progress
  • include identifying
  • permanent staff
  • smopac program


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