News

It Pays to be Safe: Three Investments Manufacturing Companies Can Make to Protect the Bottom Line

Below are three innovative ways that organizations are investing in their employees to set themselves up for the next decade, while protecting themselves from the current manufacturing downturn. Staffing shortages, tightening margins, and a widening generational skills gap currently threaten the... Continue Reading

Coronavirus and CEOs: The Case for Calm

In a time of growing public concern, CEOs should be a voice of reason. Thankfully, facts are on your side. When is a Black Swan really a Lame Duck in disguise? The question seems pertinent following the news reporting on COVID-19, the pathogen associated with the Coronavirus outbreak. For weeks,... Continue Reading

Unsupported, Unpatched: New Windows Security Holes

Many generations of older Windows systems are still widely used in industrial Internet of things (IIoT) and industrial control system (ICS) installations. The fact that Windows 7 reached end-of-life last month only broadens the already-vulnerable attack surfaces of IIoT and ICS networks and gives... Continue Reading

Coronavirus Exposes Auto Industry’s Lack of Plan B

Inadequate backup plans and limited supply chains have put the automotive industry in an especially tenuous position for surviving the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, according to two analysts studying the situation. Should the situation extend close to the first day of Spring, the effects of that... Continue Reading

Gearing Up the Next-Generation Workforce

Work-based learning programs, apprenticeships, and daycare options are gaining traction. The growing demand for a skilled manufacturing workforce becomes more apparent as global competition increases and products and processes become more complex. Solving manufacturing problems in this new era of... Continue Reading

Actively Engaging Employees Using Five Pillars of Safety

Safety leadership is the bedrock of any world-class operation. Safety culture is the shared beliefs, experiences, attitudes, and passions of a group of people. A world-class safety culture in a work environment is a way of life and a belief to send all employees safely back home every... Continue Reading

Global Manufacturing Economic Update

Continued Progress Globally, but with Risks from Coronavirus The Monthly Toplines Prior to the ongoing novel coronavirus global health outbreak, the Chinese economy was starting to show signs of stabilization. Manufacturing activity expanded for the sixth straight month, despite the... Continue Reading

Big Brother is Watching Your Supply Chain

Blockchain technology will enable both manufacturers and their customers to watch products move through the supply chain. Blockchain is being used today to track products and their ingredients backwards and forwards through every stage of the supply chain. In addition to improving responsiveness... Continue Reading

2020 Winter NAM Board Meeting

Originally posted by MTI Member, Bob Hill Last week I attended the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Board of Directors Meeting located in Washington DC. NAM, celebrating its 125thyear as an association, had an outstanding agenda for this meeting. The speakers included Vice President... Continue Reading

An ICS Security Checklist

Because industrial control systems (ICS) security is complicated, it is vital to have comprehensive defenses. In traditional cybersecurity, a breach can expose, corrupt, or even hold enterprise data systems captive. While a traditional data breach can cost money and debilitate enterprise IT... Continue Reading

Can You See Beyond the Hype?

AI has become a buzzword for most recent tech releases. Question is whether or not it's living up to the hype. Hype is a crucial component to introducing any emerging technology into the marketplace. It draws attention and, in many instances, entices organizations to come out onto the bleeding... Continue Reading

Influencing Skilled Labor in 2020 and Beyond with STEM

Finding solutions to close the manufacturing skills gap through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The skilled labor shortage is nothing new. Depending on who you ask, this problem goes back several years or several decades, and it’s getting worse all the time. In 2006 and... Continue Reading