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.
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.
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.
What is quantum technology, and why the interest?
Making these technologies more widely available could unlock the potential for new areas of large-scale R&D and ultimately new business applications.
The connectivity of Industry 4.0 brings manufacturers many benefits, but the cost of protecting critical systems and data cannot be an afterthought. This is why cybersecurity should be one of the first things to consider with any technology investment. Manufacturers secure their facilities from intruders, and they would be wise to do the same for their operational technology (OT), data, and connectivity.
When a foreign company wants to manufacture goods in the U.S., it needs new domestic suppliers for just about everything. When such an initiative involves new technology, it creates even more opportunities for a regional ecosystem and associated supply chains.
Manufacturers across all industries are looking for technological solutions and enhancements to maintain their competitive advantage. The growing connectivity of devices, coupled with high demands of production and precision, mandate robust monitoring and control systems. As technologies develop, how can manufacturers determine the best products for their applications, and how do developers find the high-fidelity data needed to test and evaluate their products?
The Industrial Artificial Intelligence Management and Metrology (IAIMM) team led by Dr. Michael Sharp at NIST has a mission to provide evaluation guides and metrics to give apples-to-apples comparisons and assessments of all levels of intelligent automation.
Baseball’s Opening Day brings with it both nostalgia and excitement. Everyone is brimming with hope for what the season might hold. I’m amazed to now realize how much manufacturing contributes to the game I love. The more I learn about the manufacturing industry, the more I realize that it’s intricately woven into all aspects of our lives. The baseball analogy made me want to learn more about how manufacturing is intertwined with baseball.
Your company needs not just to acquire talent but actively keep it. In an era where skilled labor is harder and harder to find, manufacturers must transform into “employers of choice” to retain their valuable human assets.