When is surplus the right choice for manufacturers?

Answering this question begins by looking at the current state of the global supply chain and how it has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. Current times have been a constant challenge to the supply chain. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, things worked very differently from the state of today’s supply chain. There are product restrictions, material shortages, and obsolescence for aging equipment that require servicing and maintenance. As a result, doing business as a manufacturer can be a challenge for even the most agile of operations. How can these challenges be overcome to keep a manufacturing operation running smoothly and efficiently? The answer is often surplus equipment and parts.

There are many types of business models commonly utilized. Two business models that get a lot of focus are B2B and B2C models. B2B, which stands for business to business, is a model in which businesses sell products or services to other businesses. The second model is B2C, in which businesses sell products or services directly to consumers. These two business models seem clear in terms of the differences between them. Yet there is a third business model that is growing in popularity for manufacturers that allows typically B2B operations to have direct access to consumers. This business model is called B2B2C.

A supply chain is a series of links between companies and suppliers for the purpose of producing and distributing a product to a final buyer. This network of links includes various entities such as manufacturers, producers, warehouses, logistics services, distribution centers and retailers. When it comes to supply chain management, a healthy supply chain helps get a product successfully and profitably from the planning phases to the end user in a reasonable amount of time. Healthy supply chains help reduce costs for companies as well as help them stay competitive in the marketplace.

These five stages of a supply chain outline the basics of what it takes to transform raw materials into finished products successfully and profitably.

Automation in manufacturing has a great impact on many facets of an operation. In addition to costs, it also impacts worker safety and productivity. There are many benefits of automation processes in a manufacturing environment. Let’s look at some specifics with regards to the advantages of automation in manufacturing processes.

It’s no secret that 2020 has been a tough year. People have experienced challenges they’ve never experienced in their lifetime. There have been triumphs and there have been tragedies and everything in between.

For manufacturers or anyone running a business that was deemed essential during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, things were challenging on a different level. Trying to keep workers safe, keep machinery running to meet increased demand, and manage new safety and security procedures involved a whole new set of rules and adjustments. Amidst all the chaos and confusion were the backbones of organizations: the employees. With the changing rules of a pandemic, improving employee morale and making employees feel valued has become more important than ever before. This article explores five ways to make employees feel valued. These manager tips are easy to implement, budget-friendly, and hopefully valuable to those wanting to show appreciation for the humans who make their businesses run each day.

It is often during times of crisis in a manufacturing facility that Radwell International is called upon to deliver a solution. Our technicians have spent years honing their skills for exactly the type of situation that occurred with one of our customers this summer.

We received a call at Radwell from one of the manufacturing plants for a large global food manufacturing company. They had called in for an after-hours rush and discovered that Radwell also offered field services which they desperately needed. They were in crisis: their plant was not operational. This was caused by a power surge from one of the utility sub stations, resulting in over 100 drives and other controls and protection devices failing or blowing up due to excessive voltage. This was a major equipment failure situation.

Did you know that manufacturing is the 2^nd most targeted industry by hackers? With that in mind, addressing cybersecurity is more important than ever in the manufacturing industry. Although IIoT and Industry 4.0 in manufacturing create many positive benefits for operations, they also create vulnerabilities within systems. These vulnerabilities make it possible for hackers to gain access to an organization’s systems, equipment and critical data. Because smart manufacturing often connects entire systems, this often allows hackers full system access unless there are proper protections in place.  Companies have traditionally focused on information security in which vulnerabilities were introduced through desktops or server computing.    IIOT and Industry 4.0 have introduced an additional layer of vulnerabilities and threats.

AI is crucial to manufacturing. According to a recent Forbes Insights survey, AI is deemed important today by 44% of those surveyed. In the upcoming five years, 49% say artificial intelligence will be critical to success in manufacturing. Why is AI in manufacturing so important? Artificial intelligence in manufacturing can offer a host of benefits to a manufacturing operation. Let’s look at three ways artificial intelligence technology can be a major benefit to production in manufacturing.

In today’s world, technology is always changing. As a result, there are many innovative technologies that have an impact on the manufacturing industry. Three of the innovative technologies currently trending in the manufacturing industry include nano manufacturing, sustainable manufacturing and additive manufacturing. Let’s look at a brief overview of what these are and what kind of role they play in manufacturing.

Nanomanufacturing

The term nanomanufacturing has emerged as the manufacturing industry adopts nanotechnology. Nanomanufacturing refers to the methods the manufacturing industry is using to make the advanced materials and devices enabled by nanotechnology. Nanomanufacturing is both the production of nanoscaled materials and the manufacturing of parts

In the manufacturing industry, safety is critically important. With the use of large-scale automated machinery and robotics, having a safety barrier between operators, technicians and the equipment plays a big role in keeping humans safe as they work alongside machines.

Guards should prevent contact and not create a hazard. They should also not interfere with machine operations and should be secure and tamper-proof. Let’s look at three common machine perimeter guards that create a safe area around the outside of a machine.