How refreshing to talk to a true evangelist of American manufacturing. While I believe in international cooperation and market expansion, I recognize that as long as we have countries those countries will need a solid manufacturing base to survive.
The other day I received a pitch about a new company in the US trying to bring digital solutions to manufacturing—from small to large enterprises. This led to a conversation with Ryan Kuhlenbeck, CEO of Pico MES. His enthusiasm and evangelical fervor was a refreshing change from the usual corporate conversation. That was beyond even just a sales pitch.
Let’s set the stage. Human errors cause 80% of manufacturing defects, impacting employee retention, slowing efficiency & costing the industry $1T. On the brink of a huge labor shortage, factories need solutions that reduce headaches while improving quality standards.
Bosch-backed factory floor tech Pico MES is digitizing, error-proofing & increasing efficiency for the small/mid-sized factories (98% of the industry) at the heart of the American supply chain & providing a blueprint for how to transform our factories.
Ryan has worked at GM and Tesla. He told me that Elon drove an emphasis on data, something that he brings to his new company. He wants to fill the gap between enterprise and supply chain software.
The MES in the company name basically tells prospective customers that Pico’s application resides between the control/HMI layer and the ERP layer. He told me that their MES is bottom up rather than top down. They don’t try to use the complex integration of ISA 95. That requires too much custom code (and I’d add, too many consultants).
The Pico MES no code application (a recent theme) builds on a library of tools used in discrete manufacturing. The library is a digitization of all the information relevant to the tool. (Another thing he learned from Elon—the more digitizing, the better.) As they talk with prospects, “We see a lot of paper,” says Ryan.
Pico provides process workflows, worker guidance, traceability. The library includes videos to assist training and setup. The goal is to minimize setup and maximize work. The software is built on modularity for ease of use. Pico’s customers range from 6-person shops to large manufacturers—including some who manufacture semi-trucks.
Nothing theoretical here. All nitty-gritty shop floor tested systems.
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