GE and the Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit (GMIS) have announced a partnership to explore the role of digitization, lean manufacturing, and workplace safety to support the transformation of manufacturing and economic regeneration both in the United Arab Emirates and globally. Through joint thought leadership and knowledge sharing activities, GE will collaborate with the Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit to support manufacturers in deploying digitization, lean processes and safety protocols to improve efficiencies, eliminate waste, lower costs, increase productivity and uptime, and enhance employee satisfaction. To be held at EXPO's Dubai Exhibition Center from Nov. 22-27, the fourth edition of the Summit (#GMIS2021) offers a unique international platform to share lessons and explore opportunities around these three crucial enablers, as leaders from the global manufacturing and technology communities engage in discussion and debate to shape the future of manufacturing and industrialization. "GE has a 130-year manufacturing heritage with operations across the globe in the critical sectors of energy, healthcare and aviation, and complemented by expertise in digitization and additive manufacturing," said Nabil Habayeb, senior vice president, GE and president & CEO of GE International Markets. "We are pleased to be a partner to #GMIS2021 in supporting its role to transform manufacturing and driving economic progress." GE operates more than 1,000 manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities in 130 countries around the world. "GE will share learnings from its deployment of digitization, its ongoing implementation of lean manufacturing principles, and its clear prioritizing of safety, as well as how these support sustained manufacturing excellence for GE, our partners and our customers," Habayeb added. The summit is a joint initiative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology. With the event coinciding with Dubai Expo, #GMIS2021 will position industrialization at the center of the global dialogue, reinforcing the sector's important role in driving economic growth and global prosperity. The theme for #GMIS2021 is 'Rewiring Societies: Repurposing Digitalization for Prosperity'. #GMIS2021 will explore the importance of data intelligence and connectivity, and the evolving mechanisms of interaction between humans and machines in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Summit creates important opportunities to ensure digitization, lean manufacturing and workplace safety are integrated into the future of industrialization. Badr Al-Olama, head of the GMIS organizing committee, said: "We are delighted to partner with GE, a world leader in driving transformative and diversified industrial growth. Together, GMIS and GE will leverage their network and expertise to drive digitization, industrialization and thought-leadership to deliver insights and support to the global manufacturing community across every line of business — from factory floors to the deployment of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies." Al-Olama added: "As manufacturers across the world move towards the next level of industrialization by tapping into advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Internet of Things, Blockchain and other transformative innovations, this partnership will be a key enabler in shaping the future of the global manufacturing industry." GE leverages the digital transformation to help customers connect factory machines and sensors to a secure cloud, with data collection and analytics used to help a connected workforce accelerate and sustain improvements across the production value chain for greater productivity and efficiency, lower total cost of ownership, and increased profitability. The lean methodology has been championed at GE by company Chairman and CEO Larry Culp, who has prioritized lean across the organization as a way to foster continuous process improvement. In manufacturing, the lean approach identifies systems and activities that do not add value for customers. By eliminating these unproductive elements and streamlining operations, manufacturing teams can reduce costs, improve quality, shrink turnaround times, and deliver better value. Safety, the third manufacturing enabler, is GE's number one priority. "Our employees are our most important assets," said Habayeb, "So we are very clear about this one simple focus: keeping our people safe." Through continually revised best-practice processes, procedures, trainings, data, tracking, reviews, standards, and other tools, a commitment to safety not only protects employees but also reinforces excellence in all GE processes and operations. — SG
