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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Is Labor Productivity The No. 1 Factor For Global Competiveness?
January 22, 2013 8:00 am | by Simon Macpherson, Senior Director Operations, Kronos EMEA | CommentsIt’s been my long-held belief that no matter what we automate in manufacturing, or how flexible and effective a supply chain we develop, it’s how we manage the people in the business that will make the difference between good and world class. When it comes to managing the workforce, very few industries are under more pressure than manufacturing.
How Business Networks Can Create A Win-Win for Buyers & Suppliers
January 18, 2013 8:08 am | by Siddharth Taparia, Senior Director of Portfolio and Strategic Marketing, SAP | CommentsA Business Network contains a suite of network connected and analytic applications and an ecosystem of buyers and suppliers that can use these applications for initiating sourcing relationships, buying products and services and identifying additional opportunities for increasing revenue or saving costs.
Purchase Mobile Computers Wisely
January 16, 2013 8:00 am | by Jerker Hellström, CEO, Handheld Group | CommentsHigher productivity, increased labor costs and a strong trends towards true mobility in the work place are all factors that have put the spotlight firmly on ‘total costs of ownership’ for computers and devices. Organizations will have to start spending more on durable and reliable mobile computers rather than looking for bargains, if they want to avoid losing valuable productive time.
Savvy Entrepreneurs Play By Different Rules In Uncertain Times
January 15, 2013 8:00 am | by Donna Every | CommentsAs we pass the five-year anniversary of the start of the economic recession in December 2007, many observers focus on what was lost:8 million jobs; 146,000 employer businesses; 17.5 percent average individual earnings. But the businesses that survived the Great Recession and are thriving today didn’t focus on losses then – and they aren’t now, says Donna Every, a financial expert who has published three non-fiction business books.
Address Problems “Below The Radar”
January 14, 2013 8:00 am | by Alan Nicol, Executive Member, AlanNicolSolutions | CommentsJust as we learn to look for the “hidden factory" or unofficial process steps when we seek to improve a production process, we should look for business-level problems that hide from our usual view. Have you ever had a leader give you advice to not cause trouble and to, instead, try to keep your activities “below the radar?”
Lean Manufacturing: The Skinny On The Facts
January 9, 2013 8:00 am | by Frank Hill, Stratus Technologies | Comments2012 has come and gone. With a new year staring us down, it’s time for new resolutions. Resolutions involve change, which can be tough for manufacturers. Many manufacturers are conservative in their approach to changing IT solutions — solutions they have become extremely reliant upon and familiar with.
Margin Meltdown: When Costs Drop, Should Prices Follow?
January 8, 2013 8:01 am | by Eric Hills, Chief Evangelist & Senior Vice President, Zilliant | CommentsYou finally pushed those price increases through — to reflect the fact that your input costs have been going up — and the market takes another turn. Input costs are now speeding in the opposite direction and your customers are expecting — or rather, demanding — price decreases.
Big Brother Takes The Wheel
January 4, 2013 8:00 am | by Meaghan Ziemba, Associate Editor, PD&D | CommentsWhile I am all for the advancement of automobile safety, I wonder if placing black boxes in cars is stepping over the privacy boundary? A recent article, “Black Boxes in Cars Raise Privacy Concerns” discussed the placement of event data recorders, also known as black boxes, being placed in new cars and light trucks – such a development caused me to raise an eyebrow.
The Real Cost Of That Pool Toy
January 2, 2013 8:01 am | by Laurie Keyser Brunner, President, MainStream Management LLC | CommentsWhen we think about profitably manufacturing goods, China is at the top of the list, followed closely by Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. But, I am here to report that manufacturing in America is alive, if not exactly well. And, the best of U.S. manufacturers can compete with—and beat—the cost of overseas production.
Reshoring 101: Right-Sizing U.S. Manufacturing, Part 2
December 19, 2012 8:05 am | by Tim Hutzel, Managing Director & Researcher, MainStream Management LLC, & Dave Lippert, President, Hamilton Caster & Manufacturing Co. | CommentsThe companies that sent their manufacturing to foreign countries soon discovered there were frustrations and costs they never anticipated. They found that differences in language made communicating product specifications and manufacturing instructions to their offshored sources difficult. They learned that cultural differences made it difficult to motivate the foreign companies to respond quickly to their needs.
Manufacturers Lead The Way To A Stronger Future
December 19, 2012 8:04 am | by Mark Hoper, Vice President of Expositions & Media, Fabricators & Manufacturers Association | CommentsThe FMA can’t predict how many conveyors are going to be sold in 2013, but we can talk about capital expenditures for the metal forming and fabricating machine tools used to produce equipment essential to the food industry. The good news is that investments are increasing across the board. That translates to more efficient production of the equipment that creates efficiencies for food production.
Reshoring 101: Right-Sizing U.S. Manufacturing, Part 1
December 18, 2012 8:09 am | by Tim Hutzel, Managing Director & Researcher, MainStream Management LLC, & Dave Lippert, President, Hamilton Caster & Manufacturing Co. | CommentsThe story of how the United States lost its place in manufacturing dominance and why jobs were shipped offshore is highly relevant for business executives, government leaders, and anyone interested in understanding their true impact on the country and what it will take to reestablish America’s prominence as a manufacturing leader.
Manufacturing Visibility: A Competitive Advantage
December 12, 2012 8:06 am | by Andy Vabulas, CEO and Owner, I.B.I.S., Inc. | CommentsCapturing and sharing manufacturing information requires a strategic approach that identifies what should be tracked, with whom to share information, and how to leverage this manufacturing visibility into improved operations and business performance.
Crowdfunding Fuels Innovation
December 11, 2012 8:09 am | by Ryan Sauer | CommentsWhile it continues to be controversial in more conservative investment circles, crowdfunding is on its way to becoming a major source of venture capital for upstart companies. With passage of the JOBS Act in April of this year, President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress cleared the way for crowdfunding to be both legal and regulated.
A Tour Of Methods
December 11, 2012 8:06 am | by Alan Nicol, Executive Member, AlanNicolSolutions | CommentsEstablish a culture of continuous improvement around a central, common method for solving problems. Adopt one of the common or popular ones, or use them as inspiration for your own. Each organization has its own culture. It is a natural phenomenon of any group of social creatures. We can either let our culture form around us as it may, or we can deliberately cultivate it to be what we desire.
