Keynote speakers

Biography:

Head of Chair of Production and Operations Management (POM) Department of Management, Technology and Economics (D-MTEC) ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Prof. Dr. Torbjørn Netland is Full Professor and Head of Chair of Production and Operations Management (www.pom.ethz.ch) at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. He is a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains, a Fellow of the European Academy for Industrial Management, President of the POMS College of Operational Excellence, and a Fellow of the European Academy for Industrial Management. His research on achieving and sustaining manufacturing excellence appears in leading scientific journals such as Management Science, Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, and MIT Sloan Management Review. Torbjørn is the recipient of the 2023 Jack Meredith Best Paper Award of the Journal of Operations Management, two Shingo Research Awards, and numerous teaching awards. He is co-author of the 800-page textbook “Introduction to Manufacturing: An Industrial Engineering and Management Perspective” (Routledge, 2022). Torbjørn is also cofounder of EthonAI (www.ethon.ai)—a startup offering state-of-the-art AI solutions for quality management. Being a dedicated research communicator, he blogs at www.better-operations.com, tweets as @tnetland, and teaches on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/POMETHZurich

Abstract:

In his keynote titled “Breaking Boundaries: New Technologies in Production Management Systems,” Prof. Netland will showcase a variety of research projects conducted in his group in cooperation with industry leaders. By showing examples ranging from explainable AI (XAI) in Siemens to real-time live streaming technology in Stanley Black and Decker, Netland highlights the great potential in new technologies to innovate and improve performance in manufacturing. A key point is that research projects are most effective when they focus on specific technologies and use cases rather than high-level concepts such as “Industry 4.0” and cyber-physical production systems. Prof. Netland also highlights how the IFIP WG5.7 APMS community can conduct innovative and high-impact research for the betterment of future manufacturing.

Biography:

Asbjørn Rolstadås is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at NTNU, Norway. He is former president of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and chairman of IFIP’s Technical Committee (TC) 5 – Information Technology Application. He was the first chairman of IFIP’s Working Group (WG) 5.7. He was also the first editor of APMS’s flagship journal Production Planning & Control (PPC). His research covers numerical control of machine tools, computer-aided manufacturing systems, productivity, computer-aided production planning and control systems, and project management. For many years he was Head of the Department of Production Engineering at NTH and NTNU.

Asbjørn has been a key player in building up education and research within production management at NTNU. He has initiated and managed numerous research projects, in particular EU-funded research projects. In 2014, he was awarded HM The King’s Medal of Merit for his pioneering work within project management.

Abstract:

IFIP WG 5.7 was founded in 1978 and can look back at 45 years of contribution to advances in production management. The research and application focus in manufacturing at that time, was on computer integrated manufacturing. The idea was a versatile manufacturing system, featuring automatic part handling between stations, and being controlled from a central process computer. Production planning and control systems were executed in batch processing on large mainframe computers. One of the main tasks was material requirements planning using large databases with bill of materials. The WG 5.7 provided a forum for discussion and research cooperation, and has given significant contributions through the APMS conferences, special interest groups and the Production Planning and Control Journal.

Biography:

Asgeir Tomasgard is Professor of Managerial Economics and Optimization at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). His research focuses on energy transition strategies and energy policy, often using large scale stochastic optimization models as a fundament. He obtained his PhD in operations research at NTNU in 1998. He was director of the Centre for Sustainable Energy Studies (CenSES) from 2009-2019 and is currently director of FME NTRANS – Norwegian Centre for Energy Transition Strategies and the NTNU Energy Transition Initiative. He is also director of the Lab for computational economics and optimization at NTNU.

Tomasgard is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences (NTVA). He was elected chair (2010-2013) for the Committee on Stochastic programming (COSP) and is part of the management board of the EURO working group on stochastic optimization, as well as a member in INFORMS and IAEE. He is member of the management board in the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) Joint program in Sustainable Energy Transition and serves on the board of “Norsk klimastiftelse” and Gassco AS.

Abstract:

We examine different transition scenarios for Norway focusing on zero emission industry, transport, and buildings. The energy system plays a crucial role in these changes, both through providing clean electricity and in terms of the coupling between renewables, natural gas, hydrogen and carbon capture, and storage. The last years, there has been an increased focus on the trilemma with security of supply, affordable energy, and clean energy. This also points to new needs for manufacturing industry and process industry to focus on circularity and energy efficiency. The presentation tries to link the energy transition to the industrial transition needed.

Biography:

Dr. Per Olaf Brett, Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A/Dr.Oecon) from University of Reading/Brunel, Henley Management College, UK; Master of Business Administration (M.B.A), Henley Management College, UK; Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Management Consultancy (ADIPC), The Administrative College,  Henley Management College, UK; Military Academy Graduate, Royal Norwegian Navy, Bergen, Norway; Bachelor of Science w/Honours (B.Sc.), Kings College, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, Certified Engineer, Maritime Technical College, Oslo, Norway.

Dr. Brett is currently a board member of Ulstein International AS and was an Executive Vice President of Ulstein Group ASA, a designer and builder of offshore, cruise and merchant vessels, Ulsteinvik, Norway. He was previously employed by Det Norske Veritas AS (DNV), a ship classification society based in Norway in many different positions and international assignments in the period 1977 until 2007. In 2002 to 2007 Dr. Brett held a position as Research Project Director for the programme Effective Maritime Transportation within the Research Department at DNV.

He has previously held positions as President and CEO of the International Loss Control Institute Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1991 to 1994 and Managing Director of Computas Expert Systems AS in Oslo, Norway from 1989 to 1991.

Dr. Brett was also Adjunct Professor (II) in Shipping at the Norwegian School of Management (BI), Institute for Strategy and Logistics, Oslo, Norway and is an Adjunct Professor (II) in Management of Marine Design, at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Faculty of Marine Science and Technology Trondheim and Ålesund, Norway.

Abstract:

Over the years, maritime industry world-wide and particularly in Norway, has experienced a «roller coaster» business situation. After 7 good years, the maritime industry in Norway has also recently, market wise, experienced more than 7 bad years. Unprecedented and intolerable market dynamics, and consequent operational uncertainties and complexities have been experienced  by most of the industry. This keynote, titled « Building sustainable marine production industry in a high cost and small-scale environment, facts, myths, and challenges» elucidate this situation and its consequences and implications to production management systems. Key points are dealt with, as to how effective value creation, lasting competitiveness, winning strategies, innovation efficacy, and expertise building, can help the industry in dealing with dire operational dilemma, such as i) production and innovation, ii) small- and big scale production, and finally iii) market dynamics and efficient production. The focus is on the Norwegian marine industry, but with some reflections as to the differences to other nations marine industries’ development and doings.

Biography:

Professor Ingrid Schjølberg obtained the M.Sc. and PhD degrees in Engineering Cybernetics at NTNU, Trondheim, Norway, in 1990 and 1996.

Her main topics of research are within mathematical modeling for control, distributed control methods, automation, robotics perception and learning. The areas of application are energy systems, robotics and maritime systems. She is currently the Dean of NTNU Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. The faculty has the responsibility for education, research and innovation within Electrical Engineering, Cybernetics, Digital Technologies, Communication Technologies, Mathematical Sciences, Digital Security and Electronic Systems.

Abstract:

There is a large need for digital competence in the global society in the coming years and there are several reasons for this. People are more digital than ever using Apps for payments and all kinds of services. There is a large social change and digital interaction is becoming one of the main ways of communication between people. There is a need to move work tasks from people to digital solutions to increase competitiveness and efficiency in the public and private sector. In addition, digitalization is a key for the green shift.

In Norway both the private and public sector calls for more digital competence. For instance, in finance digital solutions improve customer service and improves the quality of interaction with customers. The health care sector in Norway has to few hands and there is a strong need for digital skills to improve efficiency.

Artificial intelligence and the value of data creates a number of opportunities for innovation and creation of new businesses.  For industry digitalization has and will change engineering. Digital tools, computer simulations and digital twins leads to improved design and development of new solutions. Skills for more interdisciplinary approach and system thinking are needed. The talk will address the need for digital skills to meet the challenges and with a special focus on industry needs.

Biography:

Erlend Gjønnes is CEO of Orkel AS, a leading company producing world-class industrial and agricultural equipment. He obtained his M.Sc. in Production and Quality Engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in 2013. For over 9 years he has driven Orkel to become a future oriented company that develops and delivers solutions in sustainable technologies. Through close collaboration with leading researchers in production management at NTNU and SINTEF, the company has continued their rich history in innovation. Erlend serves on several boards and has a great interest in information technologies and the application of these in production management.

Abstract:

Erlend Gjønnes will present the story of Orkel AS, a company started by his great grandfather, repairing tools and equipment for local farmers and other customers. Today, Orkel develops, manufactures, and sells Orkel compactors for agriculture and industry. The 70 year old company is today one of the largest producers of agricultural and industrial machinery in Norway. Orkel focuses on high quality products, innovation, and solid craftmanship. The company’s compactors are now sold in over 60 countries worldwide – and their products contribute to a more sustainable world by ensuring optimal preservation and handling of everything from corn feed to household waste. Erlend will explain how the company has succeeded through combining local competence and team building with application of modern digital technology. Both to reach their potential customers, to support in operation of the plant, and to support the maintenance and use of the Orkel products.

Biography:

Lars Tore Gellein is Head of Maritime and Offshore Center in Siemens Energy in Trondheim Norway. He received his M.Sc. in Technical Cybernetics from NTNU in
2004. He subsequently started his professional career within production and R&D testing in Kongsberg Automotive. In 2008, he moved into applied research in SINTEF Manufacturing, where he worked as researcher, researcher manager and research director for over a decade. In 2019, he joined Siemens, and later Siemens Energy, as Head of Production. Here, he continues to develop and practice his passion and skills within management, manufacturing operations management, control systems, automation, robotics, and development and innovation.

Abstract:

Lars Tore Gellein will present the story of SIEMENS ENERGY. Siemens Energy is a global leader in the energy business, and one sixth of global electricity generation is based on Siemens’ technology. The Trondheim site employs around 400 of the total 94.000 employees in the global company. The site is a center of competence for development and manufacturing of best-in-class solutions & services for decarbonization through electrification and process optimization. The facility assembly and delivers complex electrification solutions for the global maritime and offshore market and is also home to an advanced robotized and digitized battery module factory. Gellein will explain how this company has developed within the Siemens organization, developing the workforce and exploiting the knowledge available in the Trøndelag region.