Thoughts from a former flour Manufacturing Engineer during a pandemic

by Kara Novotny

July 1, 2021

Every road has bumps.

The supply chain and manufacturing has some big ones.

Step back. Move forward. Dettach. Evaluate the situation. Develop a strategy. Simplify the complexity into individual actionable tasks. Prioritize. Execute.

The point is to never get stuck.

3D METAL PRINTING IS GOING TO SOLVE ALL SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS! Print in-house! Weight reduction! Cost reduction! Reduced Lead Times! No more transporting parts overseas! Save all that fuel and energy! Save all those CO2 emissions! Holes in the Ozone disappear! Everyone holds hands, rejoicing at a world of peace, unity, love, no more pain, no more suffering.

You've heard some variaton of this claim before.

I'm calling on my fellow colleagues. If this describes you.... I'm talking to you: Nothing is tying you down. You got a little money in the bank to take some risks. You've experienced industry at a large scale. I challenge you to step back for 6 months quietly. Have one on one conversations with close friends and family. Ask for time, ask for understanding, clear your plate, and get to work.

Think back on your experiences in industry. Reflect. Brainstorm. Identify the problems, gaps, inefficiencies in your industry. Brainstorm possible solutions that you are CAPABLE of FIXING TODAY given the current metaphorical tools in your toolbox. Reach out to past colleagues, industry pioneers, subject matter experts, academia conections - people who have already been doing the heavy lifting their whole life - to get your questions answered.

Start connecting the puzzle pieces one by one to fix these inefficiencies that you've seen in your industry. Strategize new ways of doing things. When you're ready... .share your plans. Seek feedback. Poke holes in it. Iterate. Iterate. Iterate again. Test. Trial. Iterate. Constantly go back to the drawing board. Figure out a way to connect A to Z.

Find your weaknesses. Read books to fill your own personal voids. Seek out criticism from friends. Get in the fast lane and GO. Find supportive cohorts that get you pumped up. Get strong. Share your passion. Never stop talking about it. Refine your statements over, and over, and over. The key to success in life is repetition, repetition, repetition. Keep it simple, keep it clear, and most of all be sincere. Visualize a better world. Never stop visualizing it, and constantly talk about it until your message becomes so clear, and until your vision for a better world is here. Speak it, breathe it into existence. Visualize it. Dream it. Share it with the power of the internet. LEARN FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH IT. LEARN FROM SUCCESS STORIES. LEARN FROM FAILURES. And make this world what you want it to be, and that you know it can be.

3D metal printing is my passion. I see point "Z" in my head how it can realistically solve many problems. I am devoting my life's work to try to figure out how to connect "A" to "Z".

Rapid TCT Conference is going to be a great stepping stone within that alphabet to meet people, see some machines, and share the experience thru my eyes with this amazing tool called the "internet"!

I can't wait to share the journey. I haven't finished editing footage from the September 2021 show...! And in the blink of an eye, another RAPID TCT Conference is happening now 8 months later.

Stay tuned!