The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), together with the German Institute for Standardization (DIN) and the DKE German Commission for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies of DIN and VDE, held a day-and-a-half standards panel discussion focusing on cybersecurity and other challenges and solutions for smart manufacturing, mobility, and agriculture on April 10-11, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
Nearly 70 stakeholders representing German and U.S. industry and government attended the event, which featured breakout session on three main areas: smart manufacturing, smart mobility, and smart agriculture. Featured presentations during the breakout session focused on "The role of Smart Contracts in smart production-blockchains for mass transactions," "Interoperable Integration of ADS and Smart Mobility into the Transportation System," and "Connected Farm = Smart Farm," amongst others.
Scott Buchholza, chief technology officer, Deloitte Federal division of Deloitte Consulting LLP, delivered the keynote address, "Deloitte Technology Trend Study," highlighting the 2018 macro tech trends for organizations. He explained that "as digital reality, cognitive, and blockchain continue to redefine IT and business, organizations should look to move beyond vertical or horizontal approaches to new technology. Ideally, strategy, technology, and operations should work together, in harmony, across domains and boundaries."
ANSI president and CEO Joe Bhatia, DIN chairman of the executive board Christoph Winterhalter, and DKE standards manager international Thomas Sentko each gave opening remarks. In Mr. Bhatia's welcome address, he noted the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration (ITA)'s report, which reveals that standards and technical regulations impact 93% of global exports. He said, "This statistic has been an important one for ANSI and is a powerful tool as we look to get more attention paid to the importance of standardization by U.S. industry and government leaders." Mr. Bhatia also noted that standards and conformance are very important for the continued health of the excellent trade relationship the U.S. and Germany have maintained.
On April 11, the last day of the event, each breakout session group had the opportunity to report on their discussions and to provide actions items to address identified challenges in smart manufacturing, mobility, and agriculture. The following actions items were identified for further cooperation:
- In the area of smart manufacturing, ANSI and DIN will use the ANSI Company Member Forum (CMF) with the support of Government Member Forum (GMF) and Organization Member Forum (OMF) to communicate U.S. smart manufacturing technology and standards programs, with engagement by innovation institutes and other U.S.-based research activities;
- In the area of smart mobility, ANSI and DIN discussed the possibility of conducting a series of workshops to promote smart mobility standardization and foster greater cooperation among potentially competing entities to make progress; and
- In the area of smart agriculture, ANSI and DIN will further explore a possible joint activity between the U.S. and Germany to develop a roadmap for smart agriculture, which could lead to U.S.-German leadership on this subject in other organizations.
A more in-depth prospectus regarding the one-day standards panel is being created by DIN and will be shared when complete.Conference and expert information isonlineand pictures from the standards panel discussions can be accessed on ANSI's Flickr Album. See more information on the event webpage.
ANSI and DIN typically hold this collaborative initiative every two years and have plans to meet in 2019 in Germany.