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AMCPR Crisis Response Challenge Workshop Recap

July 14, 2021 | Categories: COVID19

On July 13th, America Makes, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s SecureAmerica – an America Makes Satellite Center – and EOS North America hosted a workshop to educate attendees about the Advanced Manufacturing Crisis Production Response (AMCPR) program, share first-hand accounts of crisis response, and help shape solutions to prepare the U.S. for future crises while contributing to the enhancement of our national competitiveness and resiliency. Speakers shared opportunities to build and improve upon all elements of the value chain required for rapid response including workforce readiness, regulatory awareness, and a connected supply chain. 

The event had 45 registered attendees, spanning the full value chain of designers, R&D, first responders, testers, manufacturers, regulators, academia, and supply chain management experts. Topics included:  

• Overview and demonstration of the AMCPR Exchange  
• Thought provoking exchange on the complexity of supply chain disruption and recovery from a pandemic. 

• Open discussion on digital manufacturing to improve supply chain resiliency and examples where the technology provided a solution to needs during our nation’s recent crisis response 
• A deep dive look at the roles within our manufacturing value chain to make sure needs are being met by the AMCPR Exchange and other future initiatives 

An interactive virtual whiteboard session identified a dozen challenges from environmentally sustainable manufacturing practices, to workforce development gaps for the Additive Manufacturing industry, to cyber vulnerabilities of digital manufacturing and logistic considerations in appropriate crisis response. 

These challenges discussed were voted on, scored, and ranked, and as a next step, potential solutions and considerations to address will be incorporated into a roadmap and series of recommendations. These recommendations are expected to lead to new features in the AMCPR Exchange or future AMCPR related activities as the program expands to its full, enduring mission to increase supply chain resiliency and support response in a myriad of crisis situations.  

For additional information, please contact Chris Holshouser or Georgette Nelson.