Plant Engineering launches Changing World of the Plant Engineer study

Global manufacturing study to look at trends, issues and challenges around the world

By Bob Vavra January 25, 2010

The world of manufacturing is affected by many regional factors – economy, geography, politics and history. On the plant floor, however, the rules of productivity, energy usage, personnel management and maintenance are much the same, whether you are in Bangalore, Berlin or Boston.
In an effort to look at both those global differences and similarities, Plant Engineering has launched a new study, "The Changing World of the Plant Engineer." In conjunction with its international partners, Plant Engineering is reaching out to plant managers, plant engineers and others in manufacturing leadership roles on every continent to ask about their work, their compensation and the issues they face on a daily basis.

To participate in this study, click here .
The first phase of the study is being deployed this week. Links to the study will be sent to attendees at the annual Hannover Messe trade show and in the January issue of Global Plant Engineering, the international e-book published by Plant Engineering.
"Three years ago in conjunction with IBM, we completed the Changing Role of the Plant Engineer study, which took an in-depth look at the issues U.S. manufacturers face," said Plant Engineering editor Bob Vavra. "So much has changed in the world, and in the world of manufacturing, since that study was completed. This time, we wanted to expand the study’s scope and its reach to try and find those issues which are common to plant managers around the world and those issues that divide us."
The study is broken into three phases – a demographic section that tries to determine who the plant manager is and their thoughts on manufacturing today, a section that looks at what they believe the roles and responsibilities of the plant manager will be in 2012, and a section devoted to a look at overall trends and issues facing manufacturing worldwide.
"We crafted this study to continue much of the information gathered in our Changing Role study from 2007," Vavra said, "but we also wanted to see whether those issues are shared by others in manufacturing worldwide. We are anxious to see the results, and we’ll be reporting those results in several venues."
Plant Engineering will present results of the Changing World study at three venues this spring:
• The 2010 Pulse event, sponsored by IBM, on Feb. 21 in Las Vegas
• The 2010 Manufacturing/Automation Summit , sponsored by Plant Engineering and Control Engineering, on Tuesday, March 31
• As part of a global forum at the 2010 Hannover Fair in Germany in April.
The study results are anonymous, but those who do give their names will be eligible to win one of 10 American Express gift cards.
"We invite everyone involved in plant management and everyone involved in making manufacturing better around the world to participate in this important study," Vavra said. "The results will help shape the discussion in manufacturing in the near future, and Plant Engineering plans to help lead that discussion."

 


Author Bio: Bob is the Content Manager for Plant Engineering.