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.
The MEP National Network has seen many accomplishments and made significant strides toward mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities, leveraging innovation and technology, and narrowing the workforce gap for U.S. manufacturers. It’s been a pleasure and honor to serve, collaborate, cultivate, and grow together in support of America’s manufacturing ecosystem. Please take a moment to breathe, reflect, and enjoy the holiday season.
Manufacturers sometimes face technical challenges beyond the scope of their in-house expertise or experience. The right partners and advisors can help them navigate these obstacles and remain competitive. The Mississippi Polymer Institute (MPI), a regional office of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MMA-MEP, Mississippi MEP), is a specialty technology resource that fosters business growth through precision testing, third-party quality investigations, product development, scale-up, manufacturing troubleshooting, and specialized workforce training. MMA-MEP connected their client, Chromis Technologies, with MPI, which resulted in an extended product line, improved recycling, scalable production services, and expanded custom outsourcing.
Do you feel dazzled and awed by the great potential of Artificial Intelligence aka AI? Perhaps hesitant or lost when words like ‘convolution,’ ‘deep learning,’ or ‘autoencoder’ are thrown around? Well, fear not, a new blog from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is the first in a multi-part series aimed at helping manufacturers practically evaluate each step of investing in and using an AI-enhanced system or tool in an industrial application.
Manufacturing is critical to our way of life. Without it, we would not have the supplies, food, clothing, electronics and other things we use every day. However, manufacturing also produces waste that often ends up in landfills or oceans.
It’s really enjoyable when times are booming and certainly, we know we don’t rest during challenging times- we hustle- that’s just the North Dakota way. The manufacturing industry cycles, and it is key/ critical to know how to best navigate these cycles to maintain and grow operations.
What do LEGOs, gaming, and cosplay have to do with manufacturing? We’ll tell you! Manufacturers who are participating in Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) events have an opportunity to engage with young people and get them excited about careers in manufacturing. One way to do that is to connect manufacturing with their passions and hobbies, like how LEGOs encourage creativity and problem-solving (just ask Manufacturing Extension Partnership Acting Director Nagesh Rao) or how both gaming and manufacturing rely on digital prototyping to test and refine designs. There are a lot of great connections to be made between people’s passions and manufacturing.
Are you a manufacturer with operations in multiple states? If you have questions about complying with various child labor laws at the state and federal levels, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division can help! Check out this new blog for guidance and resources to keep teen workers safe.
Manufacturing is a cornerstone of North Dakota’s economy, with a workforce of over 27,000 individuals shaping the future through innovation, technology, and hard work. On September 27, 2024, the Greater North Dakota Chamber (GNDC), in partnership with Impact Dakota, will host a special luncheon to celebrate these contributions, coinciding with Manufacturing Day.
Since the pandemic much has changed in terms of marketing for manufacturers. Driven by younger, digitally savvy staff, many of those changes look like they’re here to stay. But social media channels only go so far to connect you with potential clients, mentors, or industry experts. In-person networking remains a powerful force for building relationships and finding opportunities in the manufacturing sector.
“There is a tremendous opportunity for women to influence the manufacturing industry in a positive way,” says Lisa Dach, the strategic business advisor at the Northwest Industrial Resource Center (NWIRC), part of the Pennsylvania MEP and the MEP National Network. “Women in leadership improve the recruiting and retention efforts of manufacturers.”
Dach is making her mark in the industry by creating and implementing solutions for Pennsylvania manufacturers, including improving processes and increasing efficiencies.