Abby Chitwood is the Director of Expansion Engineering in charge of new product introduction at Panasonic Energy of North America. In her role at the Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada, she leads a cross-functional team of engineers through new process development, the introduction of new technologies, and the design of optimised factory layouts, while also maintaining the Hazardous Material Inventory Sheet she created to assess risk and develop building code policy. Chitwood oversees the design and layout of new factories to optimise utilisation, ensures efficient and ergonomic workflows are in place and appropriate mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems exist, and leads regulatory compliance efforts that improve cost per gigawatt-hour. She is also a key player in Panasonic’s global collaboration with the Japanese engineering teams and has extensive experience in presenting business growth at the Gigafactory. In her previous role at Panasonic, Chitwood led a team of 40 engineers in battery manufacturing across areas including electrode, winding, assembly, and formation of cells – including utilization of design review based on failure mode to assess equipment. She also served in various capacities at the company as a battery engineer. Chitwood is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Oregon State University where she earned an Honors Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Minor in Biology, Pre-Medicine. She is the recipient of the 2022 STEM Star Professional Award, 2021 Global Panasonic President’s Award, and 2019 US Panasonic President’s Award.

Paul Stephens in an innovation leader across Ford’s manufacturing, playing a critical role in transforming the carmaker’s vehicle production, especially for electric vehicles and greenfield plants. Since February 2023, he is responsible for next-generation manufacturing innovation initiative to improve production efficiency and lower costs. His main focus is on new electric vehicles and platforms, and production at Ford’s upcoming EV factories in Tennessee and Kentucky. Stephens has been with Ford for more than eight years in a variety of manufacturing engineering roles across various model launches and tooling, and across vehicle operations for forward vehicle launches. He a degree in mechanical engineering from Kettering University.

Automotive manufacturers across North America are designing and redesigning factories to meet requirements for changing technology, EVs and software-defined cars, exploring every opportunity to simplify and automate processes and improve productivity, from gigacasting to artificial intelligence. OEMs and suppliers must carefully consider new tools, investments and partnerships across manufacturing functions – as well as new skills and ways of working. Experts at AMS Evolution North America will share insights not only on the layout, tooling and automation changes in factories, but in how they are training employees, forming new supplier relationships and changing cultures.

As carmakers and suppliers introduce smart production systems and connect industrial internet of things (IIoT) equipment across all areas of manufacturing, they are building large data lakes, for example in tracking part locations in the plant, monitoring machine activity, scanning materials and inventory, to AI-driven algorithms powered by the cloud. But to gain the most value from this data, manufacturers are working on visualisation systems, including control rooms, digital Kanban and digital twins of entire facilities. AMS Evolution North America will delve into how manufacturers can make the most practical and valuable application of production data, making it accessible for teams with goals like preventing plant stoppages, ensuring accurate measurements, continuous improvement, as well as using machine learning and AI to avoid errors and help workers make better decisions.