More help is available for manufacturers who want to start using new technology. The Quad Cities Manufacturing Innovation Hub has created seven "playbooks" to guide companies through the process.
Spokeswoman, Erin Platt, says each playbook starts with an overview of the technology and how it's already been put to work in the Quad Cities area. Then it lists best practices, opportunities to use it, and steps to implementation. In addition, the playbooks offer contact information for other resources and partners for education, integration, and other support.
In 2015, the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce created the manufacturing hub, in part, to help smaller companies keep up with emerging technologies. Platt says the subjects of the playbooks include additive manufacturing, augmented and virtual reality, CAD and CAM, cybersecurity, data analytics, digital business to business (B2B) platforms, enterprise resource planning, and robotics and automation.
Funding for the playbooks came from the Illinois Defense Industry Adjustment program. The Quad Cities hub will share the project with Rockford, Peoria, northeastern Illinois, and southwestern Illinois, which also have a high concentration of manufacturing.
