[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 96 (Friday, July 21, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1285-E1286]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INTRODUCTION OF THE ENTERPRISE INTEGRATION ACT OF 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 20, 2000

  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Enterprise 
Integration Act of 2000, a bill that is designed to help U.S. small 
manufacturers in nine key industries stay competitive in the electronic 
enterprise age. The legislation instructs the Director of National 
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), through various NIST 
labs, the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Program, and the Manufacturing 
Extension Program, to work with the auto, aerospace, furniture, ship-
building, textile, apparel, electronics, home building and major 
construction industries on the establishment of an industry-led effort 
at enterprise integration. If an industry has not begun an effort, NIST 
would be asked to help convene companies and trade associations in the 
industry to develop a strategy for developing and implementing a 
unified vision for supply chain integration. If efforts are already 
underway, NIST is to support the ongoing efforts, helping in the 
development of the expertise necessary for the enterprise integration 
to take place. NIST is asked to look at the suite of standards now in 
place and to help fill the holes in areas such as compatibility of 
older standards with emerging Internet standards. The bill authorizes 
appropriations of $10 million for FY 2001 and $15 million for FY 2002, 
and such sums as are necessary in subsequent years.
  As impressive as the growth of Internet companies has been, its 
impact pales in significance to the impact that the Internet is having 
on how businesses work together. A key example is use of the Internet 
for enterprise integration in the manufacturing sector that permits a 
manufacturer and its suppliers to function as one virtual company. 
Companies will be able to exchange information of all types with their 
suppliers at the speed of light. Design cycle times and inter-company 
costs of manufacturing complex products will shrink. Information on 
design flaws will be instantly transmitted from repair shops to 
manufacturers and their supply chains.
  Enterprise integration is occurring now because of today's computers 
and communications capabilities and because the Internet provides a 
practical medium for exchanging large amounts of manufacturing 
information in real-time. These technological advances coincided with 
the establishment in 1994 of an international data exchange standard 
that begins the process of permitting companies to share designs and 
engineering and manufacturing data even if they are written in 
different computer languages. However, this will be possible in 
individual industries only after the development of thousands of pages 
of instructions on how to translate every nuance of every drawing and 
every instruction for a specific industry.

[[Page E1286]]

  Some companies and their governments realized faster than others how 
the manufacturing world is changing. Daimler-Benz is the leader in the 
auto industry, and it has been supported by the European Community 
research organization ESPRIT in its efforts to bring enterprise 
integration to the European automobile industry. It will not be long 
before every one of the companies which do business with Daimler, 
ranging from the component makers, to the machine tool makers, to the 
tool and die makers, to the steel and aluminum suppliers will be able 
to exchange design and manufacturing information quickly and 
effortlessly. Airbus has also managed to jump to a major lead on its 
U.S. competitors in supply chain integration. The U.S. Department of 
Defense is trying to accelerate enterprise integration among the 
companies which manufacture defense-related products, and the National 
institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has done standards work in 
this area for 20 years. Still, U.S. companies are struggling to catch 
up with their European counterparts and small businesses will need 
major help once the protocols are in place.
  Enterprise integration has the potential to be the most important 
innovation in manufacturing since Henry Ford's assembly line. I hope we 
will have your support in enacting the Enterprise Integration Act 
because it will give U.S. industry the opportunity to be a leader in 
this much needed technology.

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