As manufacturers struggle to get a grasp on the often-overwhelming task of digital transformation, open collaboration has become the order of the day—an interesting development for an industry that has historically been oriented toward proprietary technologies. Whether it be in the form of industry working groups, open standards committees, or start-up incubators, facilitating knowledge-sharing has become an increasingly common means for tackling the complexity that comes along with the era of Industry 4.0.
Moreover, COVID-19 has both accelerated the use of new forms of connectivity such as remote access and sounded the alarm bell on the need for companies to have more digital technology in place to be prepared for similar disruptions that may occur in the future.
Following on these trends, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) recently announced it is launching a new subsidiary called Metrix Connect with the goal of accelerating collaboration pertaining to digital innovation in industry. Metrix will host an integrated event and content platform for engineers and other professionals in a variety of fields including additive manufacturing (AM), digital engineering, and robotics.
To accommodate the new environment many companies are operating within since the onset of COVID-19, all Metrix events and educational sessions will be hosted online and in-person. In addition, rather than treating events as singular, once-a-year activities, the platform aims to establish an immersive community wherein resources, content, and expertise are continually shared through a combination of networking events, resource sharing, and multimedia content such as articles, videos, and podcasts.
Metrix will be led by Deborah Holton as president. Previously, Holton has served as ASME’s managing director of industry events since 2018. Prior to joining ASME, she was vice president of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ events and industry strategy.
Upon its launch, Metrix will establish eight event brands, accompanied by kickoff events: AM Medical on Oct. 27-28; Digital Twin Summit on Nov. 3-4; Wind+Digital Summit on Nov. 16-17; Robotics for Inspection & Maintenance on Dec. 8-9; AM Industry Summit on March 8-9, 2022; Visualize MED on April 14-15, 2022; Big Data Industry Summit—Oil and Gas on June 15-16, 2022; and AM Tech Forum in June 2022.
“The way we do business has changed more in the last 18 months than in the last 18 years. The pandemic has accelerated industrial digital transformation and the need for current technical information, resources, and relationships to help engineers succeed,” Holton said. “Building a network for cross industry and interdisciplinary collaboration is more important than ever.”
