Manufacture Smarter Blog

8/28/2020 - BY: GEORGE SINGOS
I have met with many business leaders who believe they are more profitable than they really are. In evaluating gross margin, they assume all their parts or assemblies are more profitable than reality. However, this perspective fails to account for overhead costs that are not properly utilized. This gives managers an inaccurate idea of how their business is performing.

8/21/2020 - BY: ANDY NICHOLS
Policies. Every day we are governed by them. They provide direction to us on a wide variety of issues, often expressed in simple terms for everyone to understand and implement. “No smoking.” “Mask required.” “No open-toed shoes.” Knowing this, why is it that things often go awry when trying to establish and maintain a Quality Policy?

8/14/2020 - BY: JEFF WILLIAMS
With countless workers now using personal laptops and home internet connections, rather than dedicated servers and equipment with stronger cybersecurity, hackers are provided an easy access point into confidential company data. Due to this heightened and evolving risk, it is now more critical than ever for companies to focus on establishing robust cybersecurity practices if they hope to keep their businesses safe in this new threat landscape.

8/7/2020 - BY: JAMIE HEADLEY
COVID-19 has forced companies to drastically change work environments in terms of safety, location and culture. Amid this workplace transition, manufacturing companies have faced a more complex challenge in determining how to manage employee "office" locations. When evaluating if it makes sense for your employees to work remotely or in-office, here are some key points to take into consideration. 

7/31/2020 - BY: ROGER TOMLINSON
Within manufacturing, there is always room to grow and improve. As companies pursue continuous improvement and seek to solve existing problems in their facilities, it helps to have a structured guide pointing the team in the right direction for success and change. This kind of support is provided by A3 problem solving.

7/24/2020 - BY: REBEKAH MCCARTER
The COVID-19 outbreak forced companies to evaluate and transform their traditional ways of doing business nearly overnight. As companies worked to acclimate to this new environment, many came to realize their abilities to reskill or upskill workers were not sufficient to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape.

7/17/2020 - THE CENTER
With the impacts of the nation-wide lockdown weighing heavily, many have wondered how exactly manufacturers in the United States have fared during and after the pandemic. In an effort to capture current business conditions among smaller manufacturers in certain areas of the United States, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago recently conducted a Survey of Business Conditions on the Impact of Covid-19 on Manufacturers.

7/10/2020 - BY: GEORGE SINGOS
Much like how the concept of natural selection says we must adapt to our environment in order to survive, businesses also must evolve and adapt to new methods and ways of operating if they hope to survive into the future. Otherwise, getting stuck in the past and fearing change could lead to the demise of the organization.

7/3/2020 - THE CENTER
Wishing you a happy, safe 4th of July weekend!

6/26/2020 - BY: TRICIA ONESIAN WITH SPECIAL GUEST BOB JENKINS
As an increasing number of small manufacturers start to invest in innovative technologies, I’ve seen one critical issue arise in several companies: they don’t have the basics in place before implementing advanced technology. To understand the importance of having fundamental training in place, I had a discussion with my friend and colleague Bob Jenkins, Quality Program Manager at The Center, about why the basics are critical in manufacturing.