Manufacturers have found increasing the use of technology in their plants to be effective and beneficial to their operations. Three operational areas that have reaped the most benefits are profitability, efficiency, and employee safety.

Manufacturing technology can be defined as techniques and processes designed to improve manufacturing quality, productivity, and practices including worker training. This includes automated processes. Some examples of this are robotics, 3D printing, cloud computing, and more.

How does technology help in manufacturing?

The culture of a company is an important part of who the company is and what they stand for. Generally a company’s culture develops over time from the traits of the people who work within an organization. How can company culture impact a business? In this chat for USA Manufacturing Hour on Twitter, Kelley Plats from North American Coating Laboratories in Ohio led a discussion about the impact of company culture on an organization.   

Now that the new year is up and running, manufacturers are left wondering what 2022 will hold for their industry.

It’s been said that manufacturing is the cornerstone of America. In these trying times, manufacturing has been a constant amid a chaotic economic storm. Because manufacturing is an important part of economic wellbeing, there are many benefits to advocating for it. In a recent USA Manufacturing Hour Twitter chat, host, Michael Womack from NJMEP in New Jersey, led a discussion about the benefits of advocating for manufacturing and how to make an impact.

What is Lean Manufacturing?

Lean manufacturing is a waste reducing manufacturing technique that considers any invaluable practice, procedure, product, or service, a form of waste. Essentially, anything that doesn’t add value to the customer is considered wasteful. The technique, in turn, benefits product quality, customer relations, profitability, and warehouse safety.

Is a disaster recovery plan an important part of business operations? In today’s ever-changing world, any number of disasters could potentially impact a business as well as the employees who rely on that business to earn a living. When unexpected disaster strikes, understanding strategies for how and why to implement a disaster recovery plan could save a business from extended periods of downtime, negatively impacted profitability, and struggling employees.

Supply chains are an intricate structure. There are many critical factors that go into a successful supply chain. Due to this, risks run high. In the event that one area runs into an issue, there are ramifications for the entire supply chain. The possibility of challenges is more likely than one might think. Problems can stem out of anything from machine down situations, to cyber attacks, to unforeseen weather patterns. Strategizing, and having proactive solutions will help in the case of a disruption.

Corporate social responsibility, sometimes referred to as CSR or Corporate Citizenship, is a business model that helps a company be socially accountable to itself, its stakeholders, and the public. Corporations self-regulate this business model and by practicing corporate social responsibility, companies can have a positive impact on their community, their employees and their stakeholders. Ben Nordman from Obsidian Manufacturing in Illinois led a discussion for USA Manufacturing Hour Chat on Twitter about Corporate Social responsibility and how it can have an impact.

Manufacturers often experience pain points as they navigate operations. There are many concerns and challenges that are experienced by people working in manufacturing. What can be done to alleviate these struggles? MAGNET recently interviewed 33 Northeast Ohio manufacturers about their pain points and unmet needs. Gina Tabasso of MAGNET in Ohio led a discussion for USA Manufacturing Hour Chat on Twitter and shared the top 6 points from those interviews with chat participants.

Automation is constantly progressing in many industries and especially in the manufacturing industry. Adopting automation has changed the way the world works by making difficult or repetitive tasks easier and more efficient. Many agree that it has changed the world for the better. However, automation sometimes gets a bad reputation. There is a prevailing school of thought that believes automation will eventually take away employment within the manufacturing industry. It’s a layered concept to consider and it isn't a simple issue. In fact there are actually many aspects to the concept of automation taking away jobs. Let's explore some aspects of automation in manufacturing.