The fundamental start of any project is a scope of work document, which specifies what we want the project to achieve. The project scope may start out broadly described based upon business objectives, but it will become increasingly detailed over time.

In my first postcollege job, I was a manufacturing engineer for Cummins Engine Co. in Columbus, IN. Two weeks into the job, my boss came to me with a project to purchase an industrial wash system, and I leaped at the opportunity. It was a disaster.

When manufacturing engineers are tasked with automating a process that is currently done manually, their main question for an automation supplier is, "Have you ever automated this specific process before?"

Since 2016, China has been the world's largest industrial robot market. Reports from the International Federation of Robots show that foreign robot makers sold nearly 90,000 units to Chinese manufacturers that year and more than 103,000 robots in 2017

Cummins Inc., founded in 1919, designs, manufactures, sells and services diesel engines and technology globally. Between its four business units, Cummins has 107 manufacturing plants, 600 company-owned and independent distribution facilities and over 5,000 dealer locations in more than 160 countries.

Whether the product being manufactured is a mobile phone or an aircraft seat, the assembly processes will likely require some combination of manual and automated transfer operations.

Lights-out automation has been a dream of engineers for more than 200 years. The goal is to push a button and let machines work unattended.

At the Components and Logistics facility in Gastonia, NC, Daimler Trucks fulfills orders and sub-assembly of thousands of parts. The plant provides parts for North American truck and school bus manufacturers, as well as auto parts stores.

Optimizing flow and minimizing waste are two of the basic elements of lean manufacturing. Those concepts also play a critical role in laying out assembly lines.

Most people take gravity for granted. But, manufacturers know better, especially when it comes to moving large items through a plant for assembly, finishing, storage and order-fulfillment purposes. The proof is in their use of gravity conveyors to per-form these tasks.