Articles
The Lead
Developing A Workforce
June 18, 2013 | by Maria Ferrante, Vice President, Education & Workforce Development, PMMI | Comments
Manufacturers are on the cusp of a major generational shift. Baby Boomers are preparing to retire out of the workforce, and Gen Y is poised to replace them. However, several obstacles are preventing a seamless transition of Gen Y-ers into these soon-to-be vacant roles.
U.S. Gave Up On Manufacturing For Short Term Profits
June 18, 2013 8:05 am | by PD&D | Comments
Bio-Chem Fluidics' new Vice President of Operations, Joe Turiello, says that the United States...
New Fans Cut Lead Times
June 17, 2013 8:05 am | Comments
Located in the heart of Coppell, Texas, just outside of Dallas, Stone Panels Incorporated...
5 Quick Questions: Siemens’ Helmuth Ludwig
June 17, 2013 8:00 am | by Jeff Reinke, Editorial Director | Comments
Although the company operates a diverse collection of business units in 190 countries, German-...
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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
KPMG: Global Manufacturers Lack Supply Chain Visibility Beyond Tier 1 Suppliers
June 17, 2013 4:51 pm | by KPMG LLP | CommentsGlobal manufacturers are putting their supply chains at the center of their business strategies to serve as the foundation for operational efficiency and collaborative innovation, according to KPMG’s 4th annual Global Manufacturing Outlook: Competitive Advantage – Enhancing Supply Chain Networks for Efficiency and Innovation, which surveyed 335 C-level executives globally, including 95 in the U.S.
An Easy Reach: Industrial Ergonomics
June 17, 2013 4:45 pm | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | CommentsErgonomics can be thought of as much like a dinner table setting: Everything should be in easy reach and no one should have to reach too far or stretch into an unnatural position to get at what they need, says Ed Metzger, president of BioFit. “By ensuring that workers have the freedom to move comfortably and naturally, companies can prevent many of the musculoskeletal injuries and fatigue that leads to lost time and productivity.”
Competitive Edge
June 17, 2013 4:40 pm | by Anna Wells, Executive Editor, IMPO | CommentsManufacturing in America isn’t as simple as just setting up shop and producing a product. Nowadays, a globally networking economy means competition has taken on more nuance: labor rates are eroded by low cost countries, which results in lower cost imported goods and an ever-sloping playing field.
The Latest Numbers
June 17, 2013 4:35 pm | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | CommentsU.S. manufacturing lost over 2 million jobs between December 2007 and December 2009 — 17 percent of its workforce. While the U.S. hasn’t yet regained all of those jobs lost from the sector, about 12 million Americans are employed in manufacturing today. “Since the recession, manufacturing has been the driver for recovery and continuous economic growth,” says Douglas K. Woods, AMT president.
Veterans Get Skills to Work
June 17, 2013 3:44 pm | by Anna Wells, Executive Editor, IMPO | CommentsThe veteran unemployment problem is a nuanced one. According to DoSomething.org, the country’s largest not-for-profit for young people and social change, the unemployment rate for veterans is three percent higher than that of the general population — with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) cited as the leading cause.
Toshiba: Made In America
June 17, 2013 3:34 pm | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | CommentsMany don’t think of Toshiba as an American-made brand, especially when it comes to the U.S. automotive market. And for quite some time, that was true. Since 2003, Toshiba had manufactured HEV motors for Ford Motor Company at its Japan facility. But in 2011, under the weight of supply chain pressures and growing currency risks, Toshiba Industrial Corporation began manufacturing motors for Ford’s hybrid vehicles in Houston, TX.
Lear Assembly Plant Drives Integrated Systems & Quality Assurance
June 17, 2013 3:29 pm | CommentsLear Corporation’s 94,000-square-foot, four assembly line seating plant in Montgomery, AL is one of the most modern and efficient facilities of its kind. At peak production, Lear builds approximately 1,000 seat sets per day or 73 sets per hour in 56 distinct combinations of colors and options for the Hyundai Sonata sedan and Santa Fe SUV built at Hyundai’s Alabama plant.
Diamond Tool Enables Sikorsky Helicopters to Overcome Production Stop
June 17, 2013 3:27 pm | CommentsSometimes the most experienced technicians or skilled toolmakers need to look to specialists outside when it comes to solving critical service problems. Such was the case when a legendary helicopter company was confronted with a worldwide problem in cleaning scale from a small, outsourced part that was preventing it from proceeding with production of its helicopters all over the world.
Measuring The Impact: Quality Metrics And Manufacturing Intelligence
June 14, 2013 8:00 am | by Steve Wise, VP of Statistical Methods, InfinityQS Intl. | CommentsWhat if you could report to your board room that reducing scrap has increased your company’s profit by 10 percent? Or, what if you could show plant managers that exactly 15 defects occurred within a particular shift? Because quality affects every level of an organization — from the plant floor, to the C-suite, to the customer — it is far more than a cost of doing business; it is a game changer.
Fast Forklift Charging For Fast-Paced Environments
June 12, 2013 8:05 am | by Abbigail Kriebs, Associate Editor, Industrial Distribution | CommentsCorwin Will is the facility manager of The Pampered Chef, a Berkshire Hathaway company, which has benefited from tremendous savings and safety improvements from installing Minit Chargers across four warehouses. The Pampered Chef warehouses face a daily challenge similar to those of all industrial facilities: trying to pick and ship thousands of items a day in the most efficient way possible.
A Model For American Manufacturing Growth
June 11, 2013 8:00 am | by Kevin Duggan, Duggan Associates | CommentsAt the recent Building America conference at Hypertherm, Inc., one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of advanced plasma cutting systems, something amazing happened: the 50+ customers and distributors in attendance stopped a Q&A session with the president to praise the company for its success in supplying a high quality product, delivering performance and exceeding customer expectations.
Electronic Water Treatment Reduces Fouling In Heat Exchangers
June 10, 2013 8:05 am | by Jan de Baat Doelman, President, Scalewatcher North America Inc. | CommentsThe deposition of material on heat transfer surfaces is called fouling which significantly impacts the thermal and mechanical performance of heat exchangers. Fouling increases the overall thermal resistance and lowers the overall heat transfer coefficient of heat exchangers as well as impeding fluid flow, accelerating corrosion and increasing pressure drop across the heat exchanger.
Attracting Talent: A Lesson In Battling Perception
June 7, 2013 11:03 am | by Maria Ferrante, Vice President, Education & Workforce Development, PMMI | CommentsDespite the common preconceived notion that increasingly automated operations are eliminating opportunities in the manufacturing sector, the widespread adoption of advanced production technologies is actually creating opportunities, and demand, for more skilled professionals.
ISM: Manufacturing Contracts
June 7, 2013 11:02 am | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | CommentsEconomic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in May for the first time since November 2012, and the overall economy grew for the 48th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®.
PwC: Average Global Effective Tax Rate On The Rise
June 5, 2013 8:05 am | by PwC | CommentsThere has been a steady upward trend in average effective tax rates (ETR) of industrial products and automotive companies from 2010 (26.1 percent) to 2012 (28.3 percent), despite a reduction in statutory rates of corporate income tax around the world, according to the PwC US 2013 Assessing tax report, a tax rate benchmarking study covering 316 companies across the following industries.
