Impact Dakota Blog is a blog dedicated to supporting North Dakota’s manufacturing community improve People, Purpose, Processes and Performance. Entries provide information on opportunities, new ideas, quick tips, celebrations of success, and well, frankly, anything to help you become a better manufacturer.
If you want to understand how the #MEPNationalNetwork is approaching workforce development across the 50 States and Puerto Rico, what do you do? The Network has developed the MEP Workforce Database that contains information on what programs MEP Centers are currently offering and what programs Centers would like to offer in the future. Since this database is presently only accessible by MEP Centers, you can contact your local MEP Center to gain some of the insights it contains. #workforcedevelopment
With the number of reported data breaches steadily increasing every year, they are in the news so frequently that it’s hard to keep them all straight. Data breaches affect all types of organizations – large and small, popular and little known. If your manufacturing company experiences a breach, what will you do? Learn about data breach notification laws, how much time you have to report and how to prepare for a potential breach.
If you’re a small or medium-sized manufacturer venturing into the IoT waters, it’s helpful to be prepared for the potential cybersecurity pitfalls, whether in the form of implications for organizational risk management when introducing IoT to the environment or considerations for product design and support when entering the marketplace as a product vendor. The NIST Cybersecurity for the Internet of Things program is working to provide the information needed to navigate these potentially turbulent waters.
This blog is the second in a monthly series brought to you by the new America Works initiative. As a part of the MEP National Network’s goal of supporting the growth of small and medium-sized manufacturing companies, this series focuses on innovative approaches and uncovering the latest trends in manufacturing workforce development.
This blog is the first in a monthly series brought to you by the new America Works initiative. As a part of the MEP National Network’s goal of supporting the growth of small and medium-sized manufacturing companies, this series focuses on innovative approaches to workforce development.
Connecting sensors and devices to our industrial control systems (ICS), and the increase in remote work and monitoring, results in manufacturing networks with greater vulnerabilities to cyberattack. This is an increasingly challenging dynamic as manufacturers sort out how to adopt commercial information technology (IT) standards that are compatible with their operational technology (OT) standards.
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented big challenges for small manufacturers. That was the message of three leaders from manufacturing companies located in two Southwestern states. Fortunately, the MEP National Network is here for the small (and medium-sized) manufacturer!
During a “National Conversation with Manufacturers” session, panelists sent a clear message to the MEP National Network: Don’t let up now. It may take years for manufacturers to fully recover from the current crisis. The Network’s expertise and broad reach can help drive the understanding of manufacturing best practices — from training to lean production to technology adoption and integration — that will help drive recovery. The Network should seize on its heightened brand awareness to champion innovation and efficiency.
“National Conversation with Manufacturers” session panelists’ interest in what’s next for their own operations extended to what’s next for manufacturing as a whole. The MEP National Network, they said, could be the trusted resource helping shepherd them and other small and medium-sized manufacturers to the next stage of the economic cycle and their business development.
