Manufacture Smarter Blog

3/27/2020 - BY: ROGER TOMLINSON
Unplanned events can have devastating effects on small businesses. In some drastic cases, catastrophes can lead to the loss of important customers or, at worst, going out of business completely. To avoid this fate and minimize the potential impacts of a disaster, or prevent it from happening in the first place, planning is essential.

3/20/2020 - BY: ROB STAUFFER
Many project managers tend to stick to “their way” of managing projects, regardless of how successful their methods may be. But digging deeper, most would realize that their strategies are not only ineffective, but are costing their organization much time, money, and effort with each failed project.

3/13/2020 - BY: REBEKAH MCCARTER
For many manufacturers, especially small and mid-sized manufacturers, it can be difficult to maintain a forward-thinking outlook. Most of the time, the day-to-day fires are all-consuming. Like Fleetwood Mac suggests, businesses should not stop thinking about tomorrow, for it will soon be here.

3/6/2020 - BY: DALE WICKER
In the manufacturing world, and specifically in the area of Quality Management, many technical terms are used that people also use in everyday life. However, they don't always have the same meaning. This can lead to misunderstandings and serious problems in production if team members can't differentiate between everyday meanings and technical meanings. 

2/28/2020 - BY: ROGER TOMLINSON
With the impacts of the last recession still weighing heavily on the industry, it's never too early to start preparing your business for the next economic downturn. Rather than waiting for the downturn to hit, why not fortify your business ahead of time to ensure your company emerges successful?

2/21/2020 - BY: GEORGE SINGOS
As I meet with companies around Michigan through my role as a consultant, I hear a lot of concerns from companies that aren't quite achieving the Return on Investment (ROI) they were expecting from technology implementations. This leads to the question, why do these technology investments fail?

2/14/2020 - BY: ANDY NICHOLS
In the past, we've related ISO 9001 documentation to both the Pyramids of Giza and currency. Now, we turn our attention to what is referred to as "retained documented information," or more commonly known as "Quality records."

2/7/2020 - THE CENTER
When the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (The Center) was established in 1991, it was driven by an important mission. This mission was to work alongside Michigan manufacturers to share the expertise needed to work smarter, compete and prosper. Now, nearly 30 years later, our organization is proud to know that we have been a part of Michigan manufacturing’s growth and advancement for decades.

1/31/2020 - BY: JOHN SPILLSON
Anyone with experience in the food processing industry would agree that a lot can go wrong when manufacturing food products. To ensure these food failures are identified and prevented ahead of time, Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) can help.

1/24/2020 - BY: MIKE BEELS
In last week's blog, we discussed the importance of creating an organization-wide succession plan, complete with tools to use in the beginning steps. Once these steps have been completed, organizations can move onto the next phase of planning, which involves digging deeper into position requirements and identifying relevant training needs.