Groundbreakers recognizes manufacturing engineers and citizen developers who are making an impact in their organizations. Since Operations Calling, we have received our largest number of nominations from community members around the world, submitting their peers and teams to be considered for Golden Shovel and Greenhouse awards.

The Greenhouse Award recognizes manufacturing sites or companies who are empowering their team with digital tools in the spirit of growth and continuous improvement.

Winners of the Greenhouse receive recognition in the manufacturing industry and at Operations Calling, access to the 2024 Digital Factory event, a collection of premium Tulip swag, and their very own trophy. The following two teams are transformational in their digital journey, and truly embrace a culture of continuous improvement and innovation:

The Hermosillo site at Stanley Black & Decker has fully embraced a digital lean culture, and they are seeing exceptional results through it. The team at Hermosillo is transforming their operations, and have created a robust set of solutions, programs, and best practices to drive innovation. Their unique Tulip training and certification program, and the development of apps and dashboards for data-driven decisions are truly impressive, as 60% of their salaried employees are certified in Tulip and solving problems every day. A robust set of apps and dashboards can be seen across their plant, making it a great example of a world class manufacturing facility, and helping them stay competitive in their industry.

Plug Power’s Manufacturing System Integration team has left a notable mark on the organization in just 18 months. Their effort to transition from traditional tools like Excel and whiteboards to a fully integrated digital solution showcases a genuine commitment to innovation. Hundreds of active apps are deployed across their entire manufacturing operation, and provide real-time data. The Manufacturing System Integration team is committed to excellence and improvement, and ensures that culture is not lost as they prioritize meaningful engagements with operators. Engineers, planning and logistics teams, and Plug Power’s leadership rely on data from Tulip to make decisions every day.

The Golden Shovel Award acknowledges individuals who have leveraged Tulip and their app-building expertise in creative, and interesting ways to solve problems, and drive operational value in their organization.

Winners of the Golden Shovel receive recognition in the manufacturing industry and at Operations Calling, access to the 2024 Digital Factory event, a collection of premium Tulip swag, and their very own trophy. We are excited to name the four individuals below as the latest Golden Shovel winners:

Over the past few years, Nicolette has advanced technology adoption at Tiffany & Co. She is known within her team as a great mentor, taking responsibility for developing best practices, internal training, and managing a growing team of citizen developers. Nicolette has taken an active role in creating new digital systems across multiple facilities and led the rollout of Tulip apps to over 1000 stations. Her deliberate efforts to create a model of governance and continuous improvement, as well as her engagement and advocacy, make her a well-known member within the Tulip community.

As his colleagues at DMG MORI would describe him, Pascal Wirths is rightly known as Tulip's superhero. He has led the development of an advanced manufacturing production line that is a world-class example of digitalization, and has been shown around the world. Pascal dives into challenges, creating custom widgets, powerful OPC UA Write functions in Node-RED on edge devices, interfaces for 3D scanners, laser markers, milling machines, and more. His work speaks for itself.

When it comes to digital transformation at IAC, Salim Jasarevic has said it best: “The only thing limiting us with Tulip is our creativity.” In just a few months, Salim and his team have been able to transition away from a paper-based process to a fully digitized production. Salim embraced Tulip to build his solutions and reduce non value added time on all levels, but also has been instrumental in bringing a change and innovation-mindset to his team. He continues to share his journey through webinars and speaking engagements, and is excited to share and broadcast the work that IAC has accomplished.

What does the future of MES at Milwaukee Tool look like? Leo Oh can probably help you answer that. His work to bring digital solutions to life can be found all over their facilities using Tulip. Leo has shown off his app building skills with solutions that integrate Tulip Vision, Tulip Automations, and RFID reading.

Congratulations to our winners! On behalf of Tulip, we thank you for your extraordinary efforts and contributions to the future of frontline operations. We can't wait to see what you will do next!

Later this year, Tulip will be hosting Groundbreakers and champions of frontline operations at Operations Calling 2024. Stretching across two days, Operations Calling will be an exciting chance to hear from like minded industry leaders, disruptors, innovators from around the world.

If you aren’t a member yet, be sure to join the Tulip Community and get support or feedback as you take on your digital transformation journey.