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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Midwest Manufacturing: Turning Around the 2012 Decline
November 2, 2012 8:15 am | by Tom Bonine, President, National Metal Fabricators | CommentsToday’s trend of Midwest manufacturing declining is due to a triple hit: a Chinese ordering slowdown, a languishing European economy, and the domestic U.S. fiscal direction being up in the air with the presidential election. As a result, it’s no surprise that the ability to sell and grow the movement of manufactured goods is suffering, especially on international markets.
U.S. Manufacturing Needs A Brand Makeover
October 31, 2012 8:07 am | by Eileen Markowitz, Thomas Industrial Network | CommentsGreat things are possible when bright, ambitious young people have the opportunity to apply skills and knowledge to real-world applications, and contribute meaningfully to the growth of a company, a sector — and ultimately the economic vitality of our nation. To engage this new generation, we must restore — and elevate — the U.S. manufacturing brand.
A Better Framework For Evaluating S&OP Processes
October 30, 2012 8:47 am | by Richard Howells, Senior Director of Solution Marketing, SAP | CommentsThe dream of every manufacturer is an operations planning process that has high forecast accuracy, is very responsive to changes in demand, results in well-balanced supply and demand, and maximizes revenue. A plan created by such a process ensures that the organization is able to meet customer order metrics at the lowest delivery cost.
Do Androids Dream Of Handwriting Recognition?
October 23, 2012 11:28 am | by Katia Shabanova, Paragon Software Group | CommentsEngineers and programmers have been trying for decades to teach computers and other electronics to recognize handwritten text. Only in the last few years have the world’s largest software companies made significant progress teaching smartphones and tablets to adequately recognize handwriting and translate it into typed text on the screen.
Cloud Does Not Automatically Guarantee Project Success
October 19, 2012 8:02 am | by Dylan Persaud, Managing Director, Eval-Source | CommentsJust because you have chosen to go with a cloud solution or a SaaS application doesn’t mean you will have guaranteed project success. The risk of IT failure still exists. As a result, organizations must realize that cloud does not mitigate improper project management procedure.
A Manufacturing History Lesson
October 15, 2012 8:38 am | by Jonnatha Mayberry, Associate Editor, Chem.Info | CommentsRecently, a metal worker made headline news, but not because of the quality of her craft or the dedication she showed on the job — she made headlines because she’s, well, a she. The skeletal remains of a female metal worker have been found in a grave in Vienna dating dating back to the Bronze Age (which began more than 5,000 years ago). Previously, it was assumed that only men worked in such fields during the Bronze Age.
Same Skills, Different Problems
October 10, 2012 8:21 am | by Alan Nicol, Executive Member, AlanNicolSolutions | CommentsSometimes, when we decide to engage in process improvement or business improvement endeavors, we feel like we need to hire or contract people with special skills. The truth is, we probably have the right skills already inside of our businesses.
Will The Right Brain Rule The Future?
October 9, 2012 4:08 pm | by Mike Collins, Author, Saving American Manufacturing | CommentsFor many decades we have been in an information age dominated by engineers, computer scientists, programmers, and other left brain thinkers. In Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind, he makes the case that we are in transition from an information age to a conceptual age, and from L-directed thinking to R-directed thinking.
A New World Record
October 8, 2012 12:12 pm | by Anna Wells, Executive Editor, IMPO | CommentsWe wore pedometers and tried to make the walking into a game, but after three days and 35,000 steps (over 17 miles!), it was a little less fun to see those digits tick as I trekked across Chicago’s McCormick Place for September’s IMTS (International Manufacturing Technology Show) 2012. I don’t care if they don’t go with my dress clothes: next time, I’m wearing my hot pink Nike running shoes. Luckily, the IMTS show was worth it.
How To Lose Your Job To A Robot
October 5, 2012 8:49 am | by Chris Fox, Associate Editor, PD&D | CommentsA recently posted video entitled Are Droids Taking Our Jobs? explores the job market and how the recession is affecting workers, as well as robot welfare. As our society progresses, robotics and algorithms are becoming more advanced. This has been apparent for quite some time. So, are droids really taking our jobs?
Augmented Reality… Too Much Technology?
October 3, 2012 8:17 am | by Chris Fox, Associate Editor, PD&D | CommentsIs this next bit of technology worth exploiting in engineering? There are certainly applications to visualize a specific part within its associated surroundings or to simulate placing a part, making sure everything fits. There are certainly applications, but how practical, useful, or needed it is will remain to be seen.
What Black Belt Training Doesn't Teach
September 26, 2012 8:11 am | by Alan Nicol, Executive Member, AlanNicolSolutions | CommentsRegardless of the process improvement, business improvement, or innovation methodology training, almost all of them focus on teaching us tools and methods. They don’t teach us how to lead the implementation. Here is a short list of the things we change leaders need to do to succeed.
Sitting With America
September 25, 2012 8:13 am | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | CommentsSome buy American because they, as Americans themselves, think it’s simply the right thing to do. Some buy American because, to them, seeing the “Made in America” label means that they’re getting a superior product. Others, because they’ve heard the statistics outlining the importance of a strong manufacturing base in the U.S. Whatever the reason, I don’t think it can ever hurt to support an economy that makes such a difference.
Construct Your Own Innovation Pipeline
September 21, 2012 8:17 am | by Mike Schmidt. Associate Editor, Manufacturing Business Technology | CommentsWhether it comes from a senior executive, a mid-level manager or new-hire, TIP allows ideas to be shared with a broad audience of potential collaborators through an online platform. Ideas move through a rate-and-review process, and the best and most promising ideas are developed further and considered for funding.
Some Tribulations Of Testing And Truthfulness
September 19, 2012 8:16 am | by Alan Nicol, Executive Member, AlanNicolSolutions | CommentsMost of us do some form of testing or other validation of our designs and production systems before we initiate production of our products. For some of us, especially those of us who produce products related to safety, we must prove to a regulatory agency that our products are safe and meet regulations. I’ve yet to witness an environment where testing of products is not a delicate balance.
