By Pedro D. Castillo
Economic conditions are driving transformation in some regions, while in others, industrial stagnation stems from a lack of tangible innovation.
Industrial transformation is taking shape as companies, specialists, and professionals work to generate innovations that advance the interests and benefits of all stakeholders.
Events featuring technical training sessions are typically the spaces where specialists from all facets of an industry come together to share knowledge and experiences, present new developments, and, above all, foster the generation of ideas that keep an industry moving forward. This is the ideal scenario, the “nice to have” around the markets.
It is during these moments of technical training that the specialists who lead operations are forged and strengthened.
Innovations are the result of a set of ideas, complementing one another, imbued with knowledge gained from experience and feedback generated through iterative experimentation.
Innovation is not a formula; it is a set of influences surrounding a central idea, which constructively complement each other, adjusting to strengthen the conceptualized outcome.
The Ideal, the Real, and the Current Theoretical-Practical Sessions
Theoretical and practical technical sessions can be turning points in the generation of ideas, but they can also be the biggest obstacles when they lack the element that challenges participants to think critically and overcome their status quo, especially when the sessions are limited to delivering a presentation, reciting tacit concepts, and following procedures of limited scope.
There’s a common misconception that attending a technical training event will magically transform the participants. Organizing a training session is far more complex than many have simplified it, attempting to structure it like a high school class presenting final projects.
Presenters must be aware of and responsible for their role in front of an audience, ensuring the presentation fosters an interactive, two-way communication environment where participants are challenged to think critically and understand the underlying concepts.
Participants should do their homework before the presentation, studying the basic concepts on their own so that the session becomes more of a clarification of doubts and a way to raise the level by participating with extended questions. The fear of feeling helpless due to a lack of knowledge is an obstacle that only the presenter can mitigate by conducting the session with effective teaching techniques.
A successful technical session is one that transforms participants, ensuring that, at the end of the event, attendees will not be the same professionals they started with; they will have grown professionally and, with excellent instructors, become better people.
The paradigm that someone with extensive knowledge and experience in a specialized field can successfully deliver a technical session is a major inhibitor of innovation and a destroyer of future specialists. Unfortunately, this paradigm is very prevalent in Mexico.
Markets and industries determine the innovation framework of regions.
The surface finishing industry is a highly specialized niche where all players are interconnected. Innovations from some impact others, creating a strong incentive to keep technological development moving forward for the benefit of end users and their respective products.
Different regions of the world experience varying economic landscapes, which either encourage or hinder investment in engineering technology innovation. The most developed regions are characterized by advancements across the entire value chain, from the most complex systems to the simplest components. Conversely, regions undergoing instability and transformation are characterized by advancements only in components and accessories.
Currently, North America is a region experiencing a boom in the development of innovations, technology, and engineering that are revolutionizing the productivity and efficiency of production processes, while Europe has recently been characterized by the development of very specific components and solutions.
Ultimately, everything adds up. End-use markets don’t necessarily reflect the source of innovation, just as the belief that large cities are the source of progress is misguided. It’s important to distinguish between mass production centers and the engineering solutions centers that generate the equipment and systems that production centers require.
The environment and ecosystem of innovators are fundamental to their development.
Process engineers and innovative engineers require different environments to keep their respective primary senses stimulated, all in support of their respective specialties. To give a very simple example, a city in constant movement works against those seeking to focus on their specialty, while a medium-sized city discourages an operational engineer looking to accelerate production rates. Some countries have understood this perfectly and have built their communities around genuine progress.
Industry in Mexico continues to grow exponentially, while the development of specialists and innovators has stagnated. Given this, associations, academia, and companies must continue working diligently to develop new talent, while keeping in mind that the ecosystem in which these prospects operate stifles the stimulation needed to foster innovative thinking. The brightest minds are characterized by their ability to concentrate in any environment that requires practice. This last point is such a broad topic that I will soon be dedicating a separate article to exploring it.
Pedro D. Castillo currently serves as Managing Director for Mexico and Subsidiaries at TTX, and has more than 30 years of experience in diverse industries. He is the author of the book OPERATIONAL STRATEGISTS: Tools, Strategies, Models, and Concepts for Modern Operations Management. He is a founding partner of INQ Strategic Partners LLC and serves on the boards of directors of companies in the United States and Mexico. He is a member of the national board of the Chemical Coaters Association International (CCAI), a member of the academic board of FABTECH, president of the CCAI Capitulo en Español, an active member of the Powder Coating Institute (PCI), an active member of the AIST Mexico Chapter, an active member of the Electrocoat Association, and an active member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), among others. He is a member of the executive board of Empresa Positiva®️ initiative, a member of the executive board of Guerreros de Troya FC®️, and a member of the board of the Laptops with a Cause®️ initiative. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Manufacturing Systems, both from ITESM Campus Monterrey. He currently resides in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, USA.
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