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.
By 2028, American manufacturers could be facing a shortage of 2.4 million workers – and because of this the country could be facing potentially nearly half a trillion dollars in lost gross domestic product. Yet, in spite of the growing sense of urgency to engage young workers to feed the talent pipeline, our manufacturing industry has not closed the workforce gap between men and women.
The growth of electric vehicles (EV) poses various degrees of risk to auto suppliers that make parts for internal combustion engines. Big changes are coming for domestic supply chains.
Preparing for evolving domestic supply chains not only fosters innovation at your company, but also provides more secure access to critical materials and components and helps you work with or compete against larger manufacturers.
When it comes to suppliers, manufacturers often are more transactional than strategic, focusing on cost per unit as a default. Every manufacturer should have a framework for their supplier selection. Understanding your suppliers is essential for making good business decisions.
Many small manufacturers have limited resources and lack the staff and tools to adequately address cybersecurity needs – leaving them particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks. One cyberattack can cost a small manufacturer a great deal of time and money and cause a great deal of stress.
Today, it takes much more than offering decent pay and benefits for employers to successfully attract and retain the diverse and skilled workforce they need.
A new resource, the Job Quality Toolkit provides practical guidance to companies of all types on eight key drivers that turn a routine occupation into a high-quality job – one where your employee feels respected, valued, and important to your company’s success.
Where do most companies fall short after they have had a strategic planning meeting?
It’s time for a digital workforce transformation. Modern manufacturers have to juggle evolving expectations for workplace flexibility, pay, career paths and benefits. They also have to take into account the changes in the ways employees learn and access information. The most obvious example of this is how employees turn to their smartphones – whether for a just-in-time answer to an unexpected problem or as a replacement for traditional training and development channels.
Susan Murray Carlock is the Vice President of Business Development at Mursix Corporation. Her family has worked for 33 years to expand the company’s capabilities and the industries it serves.
Business-savvy and balanced by personal commitment best describe Susan. Growing up around her family’s company brought manufacturing – and the people who make it happen – close to her heart. Through this connection, she has a natural ability to head up the company’s efforts in serving long-standing customers, earning the trust of new ones, and creating a positive tone from the front office to the back dock.
Besides working at Mursix, Susan serves as Chair of Purdue MEP’s Board of Advisors. She works to better the state’s economy as a member of the Conexus Indiana Executive Council
The ability for manufacturers and suppliers to connect has never been more important. The domestic supply chain is quickly evolving due to advanced manufacturing breakthroughs and growing demand for electric vehicles, solar batteries and other high-tech innovations.
It’s National Bake Week here in the U.S. If you’re celebrating in your own kitchen, you may find yourself needing some aluminum foil. Whether you need a sheet of foil to keep that apple pie warm or you’re making something in an aluminum foil baking pan, foil has lots of uses in a baker’s kitchen.
Here at NIST, we do a different kind of baking, but we often use the same foil you use in your own kitchen. You won’t see our creations on The Great British Baking Show, and you definitely don’t want to eat them.