Manufacture Smarter Blog

9/25/2023 Enhancing employees’ skills can boost recruitment and retention and lead to greater job satisfaction and productivity. The best part? A MichiganWorks! program can help you make it all happen.

8/25/2023 - BY: TRICIA ONESIAN
In today’s work environment, we still see people bullying each other through demeaning acts that seek to destroy, damage or obstruct someone’s work performance, work product, tools or materials. To help alleviate this issue, building a strong company culture focused on retaining employees and learning from each other is key. My role as a Business Solutions Manager requires strong customer service skills. These customer service skills (or people skills) can be applied to working with coworkers, clients, upper management and so on.

6/23/2023 - BY: ROBERT SCIPIONE
As we know, Industry 4.0 technologies are changing the way we manufacture goods and how we operate our businesses. For small to medium-sized manufacturers, it is essential to implement these technologies to stay competitive, optimize operations and attract new talent. Speaking of new talent, new tech in your facility is a great way to attract a younger population who is entering the workforce.

5/5/2023 - BY: MIKE BEELS
Do you ever notice that some people are better at dealing with their emotions than others? Or maybe you have a coworker who is really good at reading other’s emotions. This is because they have high emotional intelligence.

3/31/2023 - BY: STEVE VAMPLEW
How many conversations do you have in one day? Who do you have these conversations with (at work or in your personal life)? Have you ever had an exceptionally good or very bad conversation with someone? If so, how did you define whether it was good or bad? 

3/17/2023 - BY: JIM GORMAN
My first job after graduating from college was with a Tier-1 automotive interiors company. I still have the lanyard card that was given to me at my orientation with the title “The Cornerstones” which highlighted key values of the organization. These cornerstones mean as much to me today as they did on my first day on the job. I believe them to be the most straightforward and inspiring standards for promoting productive relationships and teamwork, while also providing a framework for addressing issues that will certainly arise when working with a team.

2/3/2023 - BY: BARB SHONIBIN
“Mentor” is often used as a buzzword more often than something that is acted upon. However, mentorship can be a great way to engage employees, new and old, while also benefiting the company. In today’s landscape, engaging and retaining employees has become challenging. New generations entering the workforce have different expectations and mindsets. It is crucial that management teams adapt to the changes and implement new initiatives that will attract, retain and engage staff.

1/6/2023 - BY: THE CENTER
Start the year on the right foot by focusing on employee skill development. Explore our new courses being offered in 2023. 

12/2/2022 - BY: CHARLIE WESTRA
Recently, I tasked my two kids to help with the daunting task of raking what they thought was an endless pile of leaves – a chore they hadn’t helped with much previously due to their ability to help combined with my inability to not push them like I was pushed as a kid. Whispers from my father echoed in my head… “it’s work time, not play time” or “the sooner you start, the sooner we get outta here” or my favorite, “no time for a break, grab a rake.” Despite my father’s best intensions, he always had trouble getting us involved. I just hoped my kids were different.

11/11/2022 - BY: CHUCK WERNER
As educators to small and medium-sized businesses on manufacturing technologies, the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center’s (The Center) Industry 4.0 team participates in trade shows, expositions and technology events, allowing us to interact with experts, suppliers and adopters of technology. We are fortunate to experience current technologies, hear about implementation successes and failures, and get to see the upcoming developments in technology. While some of these new products may never mature into “game-changers” for manufacturing, the fact is that some, if not many, go on to revolutionize the processes and producers of products and services alike.