MESA Smart Manufacturing Community: AI
MESA Smart Manufacturing Community: AI
Wednesday, January 7, 2026 (11:00 AM - 12:00 PM) (EST)
Description
Come share your experiences, stories, questions, and what you have learned in a safe, non-commercial environment. We seek to understand the state-of-the market, understand what companies have done that has or has not worked, documenting questions that MESA and the community can help answer. Overall, the goal is to accelerate each participant’s learning and progress toward Smart Manufacturing.
Topic: AI Literacy
Manufacturers have invested heavily in MES/MOM to improve visibility and control, yet many still ask why costly outcomes: scrap, unplanned downtime, quality escapes, late escalations continue to occur. Is the challenge visibility, or is it how and when decisions are executed? This discussion reframes AI literacy as an organizational capability: knowing when something matters, deciding what to do, and acting quickly and safely before small problems turn into big ones. Building on familiar MES/MOM foundations, we’ll explore how people, process, and technology may need to evolve to close execution gaps across shifts and roles and drive measurable operational improvement by 2026.
Framing question: At what point should insight turn into action in your operation and who decides?
- At what point should a small deviation stop being “just data” and become a decision and who has the authority to act at that moment?
- Where does action most often slow down in your operation: detecting issues, deciding what to do, or executing across shifts and roles?
- What behaviors are implicitly rewarded today acting early on imperfect information or waiting for certainty and how does that affect day-to-day decisions on the floor?
- Which parts of your MES/MOM environment actually help people act faster, and which still require meetings, emails, or escalation to move forward?
Agenda:
- Thanks to our Sponsor(s)
- Facilitator introduction
- Community & Group overview – why participate and what to expect
- Smart Manufacturing Paradigm
- Thanks to our Sponsor(s)
- Summary of last meeting
- Today's subject
- Wrap up
- Next meeting
- How to keep the conversation going
- Thanks
The Community meets every two weeks via virtual facilitated meetings. The Community is a benefit of MESA membership. Members automatically receive the Zoom link/invitation. Not a member? Join today!
Learn more about MESA's Smart Manufacturing Community Groups.
Smart Manufacturing Community Sponsor:
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Smart Manufacturing Community Group
Smart Manufacturing
