TTA Spring Meeting Speakers
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Diedre Downing
Chief Learning Officer, StoryIQ
Presentation Title: Get to the (Data) Point: Focus on the insights that matter to build influence and drive action.
Data surrounds us: reports, dashboards, spreadsheets, and complicated code. The list could go on and on. Getting data is the easy part. Effectively communicating the insights, actions, and value of data is the challenge. Translating those same insights, actions, and benefits for multiple audiences (leaders, customers, vendors) adds another layer of complexity. You can build value, influence, and impact for your organization by bridging the all-too-common communication gap between data teams, business units, and leadership.
Too often, reporting focuses on building impressive visualizations, dashboards, or models, leaving our stakeholders confused about what we need them to learn or act on from our data. The most impressive data analysis is useless without the ability to communicate essential takeaways clearly and offer persuasive recommendations. In this session, we'll dive into:
• Effective planning options for ensuring you are sharing the data and insights that matter to your audience
• Simple techniques for building a sticky message
• Design concepts to ensure data visualizations support your message and provide insights at a glance
• A framework to effectively and efficiently use data storytelling concepts to drive action
This interactive session will involve hands-on practice and conversations with your peers to enable you to work on your data communication skills immediately.
Mark Yoss
Director, MSU Denver Advanced Manufacturing Sciences Institute
Presentation Title: Industry 4.0 for The Transformer Association
MSU Denver’s Advanced Manufacturing Sciences Institute is at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The mission of our Industry 4.0 Center of Excellence at Auraria is to help manufacturers successfully implement digital transformation technologies resulting in streamlined operations, improved product affordability, and increased competitiveness.
We have seen first-hand how the use of advanced manufacturing technologies like 3D printing, connected devices, and AR/VR are being used to modernize US manufacturing. According to a recent survey of manufacturers, more than 86% of respondents believe that smart factory initiatives will be the main driver of manufacturing competitiveness in the next five years. However, only 51% of these companies have made or are making these investments. Is it right for your company?
Biography: Mark Yoss retired from Lockheed Martin Space in 2021 after a 36.5-year career building spacecraft that are exploring our solar system, making life on Earth better with GPS directions and GOES weather forecasts and protecting our military troops around the globe.
As a second act, Mark is now the Director of MSU Denver’s Advanced Manufacturing Sciences Institute where he helps students acquire real-world learning through state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and materials, soft skills through carefully chosen curriculum, and collaborations with the professional community to augment the development of skills, knowledge, and dispositions that enable graduates to immediately fill sought-after positions within advanced manufacturing industries.
Mark was instrumental in obtaining a Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade Advanced Industries Collaborative Infrastructure grant to establish an Industry 4.0 Center of Excellence at Auraria. The mission of the COE is to help manufacturers successfully implement digital transformation technologies resulting in streamlined operations, improved product affordability, and increased competitiveness.
Sam Seyfi,
General Manager, Magnelab Inc
Presentation Title: Offshoring vs. Onshoring
What's the buzz word? Onshoring? Offshoring? The reasons to go offshore or why to come back to the US for manufacturing. Here are some of the issues at hand.
Control of the processes, quality of your product, control of lead-time or process complexities. How about communication between the groups? Add to that the geopolitical forces beyond your control. How to plan to move your business forward? Should we bring some or all of the manufacturing back to the US? What are the steps we need to review to ensure a successful transition.
A successful transition to offshore or onshore requires total customer involvement and key employees buy-in. There are cost considerations and time delays. The next step is to review process. Automation and six sigma have been implemented to reduce the manufacturing cost. Automation requires process streamlining. Fixturing and planning. Six sigma requires optimum streamlining process optomization. That is to engage the right people to ensure the manufacturing steps are all doing what expected, then and only then, we can look at automation. Due to the initial cost of automation, it pays to review the manufacturing steps one by one. If the answer is not satisfactory or too expensive, then offshore is the answer. I believe the future is bright for those who can combine good strategies and technologies. In short, the old adage is true management, management, and more management.
Biography: Sam Seyfi has been the general manager of Magnelab in Longmont, Colorado, for over 20 years.
Sam received his engineering degree from New Year State University, MBA from Colorado State University, and he worked toward his doctorate in engineering at Denver University.
He is married with five children and four grandchildren.
He also runs a nonprofit organization assisting families with their children's education.
He loves to walk to work and challenge and engage other engineers.
Sam is involved in community affairs such as church, Sister Cities and the Multicultural Committee and is the recipient of three awards for his volunteer work from the county and the city, quoted his wife.