Mixed Hiring Situation in New Hampshire’s Monadnock Region
August 30, 2010
- “Geoff Forester photograph, courtesy of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund”.
In a recent LinkedIn group discussion on the state of business in New Hampshire’s Monadnock Region, one of our members, a recruiter, indicated that she’s seeing an increased level of hiring activity. Lots of applicants for the entry level jobs, but few for highly technical jobs. She’s also noticing many applicants have been out of work for up to two years, with many lacking the skills for an alternative career. This seems to be the same stalemated situation for the entire economy. The old jobs are going away, along with the economy that supported them, and the new jobs are expanding, carrying an alternative economy with them. Two separate economies; one up, one still down. Sound familiar?
What’s the More Likely Road to US Manufacturing Growth – Re-shoring or Exporting?
August 16, 2010
“Geoff Forester photograph, courtesy of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund”.
There’s been a lot of talk from the Obama administration about increasing exports as a way of expanding manufacturing in the US. While tax and tariff relief, or some other programs may help our exports, you can’t force someone to buy your products. Saying you want exports to double and actually doing it are not the same thing. But exports are not the only way to boost manufacturing. Re-shoring can have the same impact on manufacturing output without the anguish of finding global customers. Parts that are already in production, perhaps moved in the past from the US to another country, can be re-shored at the stroke of a pen. The ease of communications, design collaboration, problem resolution, more certain transportation, capacity availability, competitive pricing, and other factors all favor re-shoring. With the rising costs of labor in foreign production areas and the increasing costs of transportation and quality, re-shoring can be a win-win for all parties. This is becoming a more common topic of blogs and editorials and appears to be gaining momentum in practical efforts to bring manufactures and supplies together in “re-shoring purchasing fairs“.
There are generally many ways to achieve a goal, most of which can be applied at the same time. The government should be pushing re-shoring just as hard as it’s pushing exporting. The end result may be the same, and maybe even bigger and quicker, if re-shoring gets the attention it deserves.
Manufacturing Lessons from a 150 Year Old Factory
August 15, 2010
“Geoff Forester photograph, courtesy of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund”.
I had the pleasure of touring the 150 year old Beech River Mill last Friday. This company, a manufacturer of custom made wooden shutters and doors, is the last mill operating on the Beech River, a short river flowing through Ossipee, New Hampshire. Mills have been on the Beech River since the late 1700s, and many building foundations remain along the riverbank. The mill was busy, fulfilling orders for many building restoration and custom home projects throughout the northeast. The operating floor, still residing on the original wooden planks, was an interesting mixture of modern and Victorian era woodworking equipment. Of particular interest were the comments from the workers. Although the Victorian equipment had a dozen oiling ports on it that needed to be filled before the machine started, as long as the machine was lubricated and the blades were sharp, the machinery worked beautifully. If a component wore out, a visit to the local blacksmith generally solved the problem. The modern equipment, with its computers, sensors, and other technologies is far more sensitive. Breakdowns are more frequent and repairs are more difficult and expensive.
Lean manufacturing is about eliminating waste. Sometimes that waste is not apparent. Modern, high productivity equipment would seem like an easy choice to eliminate labor intensive, lower production rate equipment. And sometimes it is. However, aren’t higher downtime rates and delays in repairs of the modern equipment wasteful? Maybe slower and steady is the least wasteful way to operate some of the steps in your production. You must look at the entire operating system and the interaction of all the components on the final product and the output of the factory before you make any changes. How many of us have heard the regrets of manufacturers who bought equipment that didn’t work the way they thought it would?
Proponents of Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints look at the entire manufacturing system and its throughput in ways that make these types of decisions less troublesome and more effective. In fact, in Goldratt’s popular business novel, “The Goal”, an old piece of equipment saved the day for a factory trying to eliminate a production bottleneck. As the economy improves and you’re looking to expand, step back and consider a Theory of Constraints approach to your situation before you make any decisions.
Prototype Part? Looks Like a Machined Casting.
August 11, 2010
An Interesting View of Global Manufacturing Trends
August 3, 2010
“Geoff Forester photograph, courtesy of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund”.
The Wall Street Journal has published a country by country look at manufacturing output and the manufacturing trends in each country. This finer look at the global economy indicates where the ebb and flow of economic activity is taking place. The chart is sortable by any heading and past months are available for analysis.
We can help you, design engineers!
July 2, 2010
- “Geoff Forester photograph, courtesy of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund”.
In a recent survey of design engineers , Product Design and Development magazine found that four major challenges exist in the new product development process:
1. Project management
2. Controlling costs
3. Improving time to market
4. Component selection
The Future of Manufacturing
June 30, 2010
“Geoff Forester photograph, courtesy of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund”.
Two interesting manufacturing focused reports came out this week. The National Association of Manufacturers published their assessment of strategies and policies necessary for the health and growth of manufacturing in the United States. The Alliance for American Manufacturing revealed a survey conducted among likely voters of their thoughts on the value and importance of manufacturing to our economy. The voters see manufacturing as a critical aspect of our economy’s strength and important to the vitality of our nation. The NAM report cites a number of national policies critical to sustaining a manufacturing base. Both studies point to the need for consistent, national policies amined at providing stability and support to the manufacturing environment. Both studies also imply a decidely poor response from our federal government in supplying that stability. Republicans were seen by the voters to be worse than the Democrats, which is telling given the Republican’s normally pro-business persona. The voters get it, the manufacturing associations get it. When is the government going to get it?
Check Out MOJO, the manufacturing blog on MFG.com
June 23, 2010
“Geoff Forester photograph, courtesy of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund”.
Many of you are familiar with, or subscribe to MFG.com, the online manufacturing community where Buyers (purchasing and sourcing professionals, engineers, etc.) and Suppliers (contract manufacturers, factories, distributors, job shops, etc.) connect, exchange information and do business. As one of the services to to our community, MFG.com maintains a manufacturing blog, MOJO, where opinions and comments about manufacturing are flowing. Recently, MOJO’s blogger, AJ, came across Graphicast and explored our social media strategy. He felt our use of Social Media could be a model for other manufacturers to follow, as he concluded (and I paraphrase), “Graphicast is a small manufacturer that gets the Web & Social Media. You don’t see that everyday.” Thanks for the review, AJ!
American managed.
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