US Manufacturing

Robert Atkinson of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

February 22, 2013 By Brent Smith 1 Comment

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Institutes of Innovation

Robert Atkinson, President of the Information and Innovation Foundation

As we all know, last week President Obama presented the State of The Union to the Country. During his speech he spoke on a variety of topics including one of our favorites, American Manufacturing. Today we welcomed Robert Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), to discuss the President’s manufacturing initiatives stated during the State of the Union. The ITIF is a non-partisan research and educational institute. Robert explained it in the best terms as simply, a “Think Tank.” Working to influence public policies to help drive innovation and technologies around the country.

During his speech President Obama spoke about creating 15 Manufacturing Innovation Institutes. Today Robert explained exactly what these Institutes are and why they can play an important role in keeping US Manufacturers competitive in the global market. We spoke today on the differences between pre-competitive versus post-competitive R&D. The conversation traveled in many different directions including an interesting debate on whether US Manufacturers really need the government to assist them with innovation. If you want to hear all of Robert’s insights about the possible creation of these 15 Manufacturing Institutes please take a moment and listen to the interview in its entirety.

Staying Current and Competitive

Today’s interview really covered a lot of current events including a discussion on the White House’s recently announced anti-theft trade strategy. Believe us when we say that you owe yourself a favor! So treat yourself by downloading this fascinating conversation about real time issues that have the ability to affect everyone.

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Filed Under: Innovation Tagged With: #MFG, Information and Innovation Foundation, ITIF, Manufacturing Institutes, Manufacturing Revival Radio, President Obama, Robert Atkinson, State of the Union, US Manufacturing

Martin Tauber of AdvancePierre Foods

January 30, 2013 By tyoungblood Leave a Comment

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Streamlined Instructions Equals less Downtime

Martin Tauber of AdvancePierre Foods

It’s not every day somebody tells us that we could be trusted to work on Advanced Machinery. However, that is the confidence that our guest Martin Tauber, Maintenance/ Production Trainer with AdvancePierre Foods, feels about the instructions he is able to provide. AdvancedPierre is a large organization specializing in High Protein foods that can be found in many Grocery stores, School Cafeterias, and food retailers.

Martin has been in the Maintenance field for over 30 years. During that time Martin shared with us that he realized there were some major gaps regarding training, instruction and maintenance manuals relating to machine operations and maintenance. About 6 years ago Martin began writing his own manuals and AdvancedPierre recognized the value that his manuals added and made it his full time gig. Martin explained that through his streamlined training and documentation his organization has been able to document a reduction of downtime by eliminating common setup issues and other minor problems.

Single Point Lessons

Martin described to us what is commonly in the field referred to as “single point lesson,” an instruction that is tied to one specific operation of a machine. We found it fascinating to hear Martin describe the detail that goes into developing a single point lesson. Take a listen to the interview to hear Martin describe training and detail necessary to properly write these very precise instructions. We really just scratch the surface as this discussion is chocked full of fun stories and valuable lessons that Martin has learned over his 30 years. We highly recommend that you download the entire interview for your own listening pleasure.

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Filed Under: STEM Tagged With: AdvancedPierre, AdvancedPierre Foods, Detail Instructions, Downtime, Food, Instructions, Lean, Maintenance, Manuals, Manufacturing Revival Radio, Single Point Lesson, Training, US Manufacturing

Harry Moser of The Reshoring Initiative

January 15, 2013 By tyoungblood 1 Comment

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Harry Moser, Founder of the Reshoring Initiative

Total Cost of Ownership

If the words total cost of ownership are not currently on your mind, I can almost guarantee that after listening to today’s interview that will no longer be. We were glad to welcome Harry Moser, founder of the Reshoring Initiative, to join us for a discussion about a topic that we hope is sweeping the nation in 2013. The Reshoring Initiative is an organization devoted to helping US manufacturers realize the true cost associated with offshore manufacturing and educating them on the critical role they play in the future of the US economy. Today’s discussion revealed some eye opening statistics and possibilities that the Reshoring Initiative is working to make realities.

What is the true cost of Offshoring Manufacturing?

We’ve all heard the reasons why so many companies in the past have shipped their manufacturing jobs overseas. Lower labor cost and raw materials cost have always been the primary drivers. Often companies are able to look at these lower cost and compare them to the additional incurred expenses of freight and justify their actions. However, as we learned today more often than not organizations are not looking at the true cost of their decisions. How about the additional cost of warehousing these shipped goods, or the expenses of traveling overseas to set up and inspect your facilities? Let’s also not forget the intangibles, such as the loss of innovation when you move engineering away from the manufacturing.

Mr. Moser left us speechless (which almost never happens) with some of his startling statistics. Consider this, when looking at offshoring on a purely cost basis manufacturing in the US cost 69% higher than manufacturing in China. However, when an organization properly calculates the total cost of ownership (TCO) US manufacturing actually drops to 4% lower than Chinese Manufacturing. Want to hear about Mr. Moser’s plan to bring back 1 million plus jobs to US soil? Take a moment and listen to the entire interview. You can also stay up-to-date with the Reshoring Initiative by following them on Twitter here.

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Filed Under: Innovation Tagged With: Innovation, Jobs, Manufacturing, Reshoring, Total Cost of Ownership, US Manufacturing