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Jerry Foster

Chief Technology Officer, Plex Systems

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About the Author

Jerry Foster is CTO and leads our technology strategy, along with research and design initiatives focused on next-generation cloud solutions for the manufacturing enterprise. A founding member of the Plex team, Jerry has been instrumental in the entire evolution of Plex, overseeing the technical transitions in each phase of our growth. Jerry earned his degree in Computer Science at Liberty University.

The Machines Are Not out to Get You: Making AI Work for Your Manufacturing Operation

Jerry Foster October 31, 2022

You can hardly turn on a news or media channel these days without a reference to artificial intelligence (AI) and how it affects everyone. AI, alongside other core technologies from Industry 4.0, are already transforming many industries. For manufacturing, AI is poised to be no less impactful. AI as the driver of manufacturing operations is advancing rapidly, but despite its potential, there are…

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What Does the Future of Smart Manufacturing Look Like?

Jerry Foster May 4, 2022

The 2022 State of Smart Manufacturing report identified a number of key industry trends. If they continue at their current pace, what do these trends mean for the future? Let’s take a look at this hypothetical but not-so-futuristic story through the lens of Plex CTO Jerry Foster:...

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Electricity, Sustainability, and Robots: Lessons from CES 2022

Jerry Foster January 25, 2022

Last week I attended the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Vegas, marking the fourth time in six years that a member of R&D has attended the high-tech event. While CES is primarily a consumer-oriented show, the technologies cutting their teeth in the consumer market often end up in the enterprise, or on the shop floor, so CES is critical to our forward-thinking plans and initiatives at Plex…

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Despite Spike in COVID-19 Cases, Global Manufacturing Production Reaches New High

Jerry Foster December 8, 2020

Although COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the world, the global manufacturing community experienced its highest jump in production levels (5% over the previous two weeks) and is now producing at a record high of 108% of pre-pandemic activity. Global manufacturing data set ...

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Global Manufacturers Close the Pandemic-Produced Production Gap

Jerry Foster November 19, 2020

Global manufacturers are now operating at 103% of pre-COVID rates of activity. This effort is steadily closing the production gap caused by the pandemic earlier this year (with this gap defined as the difference between the anticipated 2020 production volume based on historical data compared to real-time activity). As of mid-November, manufacturers are seeing a 31% cumulative production loss to…

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Manufacturers Maintain Momentum, Make Progress on Production Losses

Jerry Foster October 29, 2020

Global manufacturing data set ...

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Global Manufacturing Continues to Expand; Reaches 104% Pre-Pandemic Rates of Activity

Jerry Foster October 15, 2020

Global manufacturing data set ...

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Global Manufacturing Community at 102% of Pre-Pandemic Rates of Activity

Jerry Foster October 1, 2020

Global manufacturing data set ...

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U.S. Manufacturers Exceed Pre-Pandemic Levels of Production Activity

Jerry Foster September 24, 2020

The U.S. manufacturing industry reached a significant milestone last week as manufacturers surpassed pre-COVID-19 rates of activity for the first time since the effects of the pandemic took hold in early March. Romania also exceeded its pre-pandemic rates of activity as of last week, while average activity in Europe continued to climb. China saw another week of growth as well, contributing to…

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Trends Indicate Return to “Normal,” China Sees Uptick in Activity

Jerry Foster September 17, 2020

Much of the U.S. and Canada recognized Labor/Labour Day on Monday, September 7, resulting in an anticipated drop in manufacturing production in the past two weeks. However, this should be viewed as good news, as it indicates a return to pre-pandemic, or “normal” trends. While the U.S. and Canada saw a temporary decline, China, Europe and Asia overall continued to expand in the last two weeks,…

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