manufacturing
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Three Lessons Manufacturers Should Have Learned from the Pandemic
- April 28, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Manufacturing
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The COVID-19 pandemic certainly brought the world to a crashing halt, especially manufacturers. Companies that continued working were either considered essential manufacturers or they had pivoted and were making things like ventilators. We weren’t able to start working from home or working remotely. We had to be onsite, working in wide-open spaces, and trying to
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Why Do We Need More Women in Manufacturing?
- April 7, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business
People have a tendency to stereotype and it has always aggravated me when they do. There’s been a long-time myth that manufacturing is only for men, and that women are incapable of doing the kind of hard work involved in a factory. You only have to know the story of how 6 million American women
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Quality is a Function of Attention to Detail
- March 17, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Management
How do you drive quality in an organization? If you believe in the old business adage that a fish stinks from the head down, then you know where it has to start. It starts with your vision, your philosophy, and your commitment to quality. It requires that you make it a priority and then drive
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How Have the Challenges of Manufacturing Remained the Same Over the Years?
- February 17, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Manufacturing
Over the last several years — decades, in fact — certain aspects of manufacturing have stayed the same. I could say the attitudes about change and disruption, but that would be a bit mean. And also untrue. If you’ve paid attention to the automotive manufacturing industry, you already know the massive changes they’ve gone through
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5 Manufacturing Predictions for 2021
- January 6, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Digital Transformation, Innovation, Manufacturing
Sometimes we’re so close to the trees that we can’t see the forest. We’re so focused on this one tree, not realizing that the forest is growing and changing all around us. I feel that way when I think about all the manufacturing technology changes that have been going on around us in 2020 and
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Manufacturers, Focus on Recovery and Grooming the Workforce for 2021
- December 9, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management
I recently read an article in the Hartford (Connecticut) Business Journal (as one does, when you live in Central Texas) recommending that manufacturers should focus on recovery, technology, and grooming the workforce in 2021. While the numbers are specific to Connecticut, they represent a larger trend in the United States. Their big concern in January
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Set a Thief to Catch a Thief: What is So Important About Cybersecurity for a Manufacturer?
- September 16, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Safety
You don’t think about a manufacturer’s computer operation as being an attractive target for hackers and thieves, but many manufacturers are vulnerable to cyberattacks for any number of reasons because their cybersecurity is practically nonexistent. For one thing, hackers may just see disrupting your operation as something to do. They break into your system for
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The Problems With Outsourcing Manufacturing
- August 26, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Manufacturing
I’ve never been a fan of outsourcing manufacturing, especially to overseas providers, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, you can very quickly lose control of the quality of your product. Your supplier can make several thousand units but slip on the specs even a little. Something’s a little off, or they used a
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What are the Downsides of a Digital Workplace?
- July 8, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Manufacturing
There are a lot of people who are worried about the implications of an automated and digital workplace in a manufacturing setting, but the truth is there are no real downsides. If anything, a digital workplace solves an awful lot of practical problems. The funny thing is that having a totally people-powered operation is a
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How to Work With a Manufacturing Consultant
- January 26, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Manufacturing, Productivity
Manufacturers that want to work with a manufacturing consultant can easily find someone who will walk into your business, pick your pockets, and leave, never feeling a sense of ownership of the outcome. But very few consultants can actually deliver on the improvements they promise, so the best way is to pay a manufacturing consultant