Manufacture Smarter Blog

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.

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?

10/12/2018 - BY: CHUCK WERNER
In past posts, we’ve talked about the relevance and applications of implementing technology, highlighting the advantages that such innovations can bring to manufacturers of all sizes. But what does it actually look like when these technologies are leveraged to improve a business?

5/4/2018 - BY: CHUCK WERNER
Discussions of the Industry 4.0 technologies among small to medium enterprises usually take one of two paths. The first is a politely positive path where everyone ignores the impact these advancements will have on the human workforce. This is what is known as ignoring the “elephant in the room,” where there is an obvious problem at hand, but no one wants to address it.

3/23/2018 - BY: GREGG PETERSON
We recently published a blog post detailing the many resources- 114, to be exact- available for manufacturers of all kinds to take advantage of. These resources included anything from websites to publications to blogs to books. But what about something more long-term? Something that you can contribute to and continue to draw resources from?

2/9/2018 - BY: GREGG PETERSON
Looking to learn more about the latest innovations in lightweighting technologies? The upcoming GALM Summit might be for you.

12/15/2017 - BY: CHUCK WERNER
One advantage of my current role, which I did not get to experience while working full-time in manufacturing, is getting to take part in conferences for the new tools, technologies and techniques being used in the industry. As a result, I have witnessed many presentations from suppliers of Industry 4.0 products and processes, as well as heard from companies that have taken various steps to implement smart factories, Internet of Things, robotics and so on.

3/24/2017 - BY: GREGG PETERSON
My name is Gregg Peterson, and I’m on a mission to inspire the usage of lightweight materials as I assist U.S.-based SMEs. What drives this passion? I’ve devoted my career to the advancement of the technology and have repeatedly witnessed its benefits—from long-term cost savings to major reductions in fuel consumption.

7/15/2016 - THE CENTER
For the past 20 years, technological changes have had a major impact on both our economy and society. From the internet spike of the 1990’s to the development of Smartphones and Wi-Fi in the 2000’s, technology is constantly evolving… and at lightning speed.

1/29/2016 - THE CENTER
As governmental and consumer demand for decreased emissions, higher sustainability, lower carbon footprint and greater fuel economy increases, the growing trend for original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to adopt new materials is impacting manufacturing at all tier levels.