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How Heat Treaters Can Guarantee a Faster and Less Stressful Quality Audit – Part 2 of 2

By Tom Morrison posted 3 days ago
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3.       Improve Overall Communications In general, improving communications reduces quality audit times and builds better production system processes overall. With solid communication structures in place, there are fewer surprises and blind spots that could easily delay a quality audit, drag it on for another day, or cost you a positive outcome. To improve communication quality across the board: Use an integrated document management system to build an active repository of all previous audits, your quality manual, compliance documentation, etc. Establish a clear chain of command with a centralized dashboard, that includes KPI’s (key ...
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Nominations for Heat Treat Today’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2023 have officially opened!

By Tom Morrison posted 3 days ago
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Since 2018,  Heat Treat Today  has honored over 195 young people with Heat Treat Today’s 40 Under 40 Award . Do you know anyone 40 years of age or younger who might qualify for  Heat Treat Today’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2023 ? Any rising young leader in the North American heat treat industry is eligible, but please consider nominating a young person from a manufacture who has their own in-house heat treat with whom you have done or hope to do business. Others also qualify, including employees at commercial heat treat facilities or industry suppliers, but if you nominate a customer, your company will be identified as the nominator – a real feather in ...
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Generation Now Leadership: Manufacturing’s Young Talent Steps Forward

By Tom Morrison posted 3 days ago
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A new series will share the varied paths taken by younger manufacturers as they pursue leadership careers. The manufacturing industry has made it clear: We need more young people in manufacturing. A well-documented exodus by workers approaching retirement, compounded by early exits spurred by COVID-19, has left a raft of vacancies. Moreover, fresh talent spurs fresh ideas. The need is everywhere, from the shop floor to the quality department, from the sales desk to the engineering lab, from the plant manager to the C-suite executive.   The influx of new talent has needs as well. For information, for guidance, for opportunities to grow in their ...
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How Heat Treaters Can Guarantee a Faster and Less Stressful Quality Audit – Part 1 of 2

By Tom Morrison posted 10 days ago
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Let’s face it. Audits are never fun, especially if you’re using mostly manual or paper processes. They involve: ·       Tracking down every scrap of paper that you need to prove that you’ve done everything right; ·       Proving that heat treated parts meet the conformance standards that your customer demanded, or that regulations mandate; ·       Documenting the QA, QC, and testing process. It can be time-consuming and painful for heat treaters that just want to check off a job as done and move on to the next one…and that’s if everything goes right. Requests for correcting nonconformities, getting concessions granted on the ...
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Key Issue Update From National Association of Manufacturers

By Tom Morrison posted 10 days ago
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MTI is partnered with the National Association of Manufacturers through the Council of Manufacturing Associations.  The following are key issues being worked on by NAM: Manufacturers Continue the Fight Against Regulatory Burdens:  The regulatory onslaught from government agencies is upon us—the NAM team and CMA partners are actively engaged on more than 90 new or expanded regulations. The latest example is NAM Vice President of Energy and Resources Policy Brandon Farris  testifying on the need for project streamlining reforms and the removal of onerous federal regulations to ensure that transportation infrastructure projects are completed in an ...
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From Making Parts with A.I. to Digitally Cloning Cars: What Factories will Look Like in the Future

By Tom Morrison posted 10 days ago
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Conversational artificial intelligence that can be used to communicate with equipment and generate machine parts. Digital versions of vehicles and planes that can be modified to fine-tune their physical counterparts. And autonomous robots that move as you walk by. These are just a few of the technologies that will power the factories of the future, according to technologists and industry experts who spoke with CNBC. In the future, factories will be much more connected, relying on a mix of technologies, from artificial intelligence, data platforms, and edge devices to the cloud, robotics, and sensors, Goetz Erhardt, Europe lead for Accenture’s digital ...
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Manufacturing by the Numbers: May 2023

By Tom Morrison posted 17 days ago
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U.S. manufacturing contracted in April for the sixth consecutive month. The old adage ‘you can't manage what you can't measure’ has never been truer, especially in the industrial sector. Having the right data about your plant, your business, and the industry in general is essential if you want your company to thrive. This monthly roundup highlights the reports, studies, surveys, and insights that are impacting the manufacturing industry. Here are this month’s stats.   U.S. manufacturing contracted in April for the sixth consecutive month, but was 0.8 percentage points higher than in March:   Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing ...
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Supply Chain Volatility Drops, GEP Index Shows

By Tom Morrison posted 17 days ago
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Global supply chain capacity was underutilized in April for first time since June 2020, as companies de-stock inventory.     For the first time since June  2020, global supply chain capacity is now underutilized, indicating a shift to a buyers' market,  according to an analysis by supply chain software provider GEP. That assessment comes as a result of 10 months of subdued demand, inventory de-stocking, and high interest rates, the New Jersey-based company said in its “The GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index.” That index fell below zero in April to -0.04, from 0.32 in March, a striking contrast from the picture a year ...
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MTI Board Approves Workforce Development Strategy

By Tom Morrison posted 17 days ago
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The Metal Treating Institute is excited to announce the Board of Trustees have approved the most progressive strategy in recent history for workforce development. This initiative, called Jobs of Tomorrow will help attract the next generation of workers to the heat treating industry.  Jobs of Tomorrow is a 24-episode docu-series that plays on top streaming services, like Amazon Prime and Roku.  Each season of Jobs of Tomorrow has six episodes from four different industries.   MTI has partnered with WorkerBee TV to develop a series of digital video assets and a distribution strategy that will be used by Members on three levels:  to educate potential ...
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US Growth Cools in First Quarter as Recession Fears Deepen

By Tom Morrison posted 24 days ago
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U.S. gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 1.1% in the January to March period, markedly less than expected. U.S. economic growth lost steam in the first quarter as gloomier business investment countered a rise in consumer spending, the Commerce Department said Thursday, while the possibility of a mild recession brews. Consumption has provided a boost to the world's biggest economy, giving it a strong start to 2023, but recent banking sector turmoil and higher interest rates weigh on the outlook. U.S. gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 1.1% in the January to March period, markedly less than expected and down from 2.6% ...
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Pitfalls and Potential of ChatGPT in Manufacturing

By Tom Morrison posted 24 days ago
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The technology can be used to automate mundane tasks, but users should beware of its security lapses and capacity for error. ChatGPT is grabbing headlines in recent days. The large language model (LLM), which launched in November, is already being discussed as a technology that could solve nearly all business woes.   On the more problematic side, ChatGPT can also be used as a portal through which employees might accidentally share trade secrets with the world,   as Samsung recently did. Whatever roles LLMs will play in the manufacturing world, it’s too late to talk about “when” it will happen because it’s already here.   “We’re ...
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5 Steps to Future-Proof Your Plant

By Tom Morrison posted 24 days ago
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The heat treat industry is always evolving, so companies must continually look for new ways to improve their systems, add value to their company, and boost profits and sustainability for growth. According to a recent study conducted by a group of 100 registered event attendees, creating systems to make jobs easier and boosting profits and sustainability for growth are the most significant challenges facing job shops. With a resounding 92% of top management has been with their companies for over three years, implementing new systems to meet these challenges can be difficult. Additionally, only 52% of respondents shared that they actively have a succession ...
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Operationalizing Analytical Insights

By Tom Morrison posted 05-04-2023
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The key to dealing with disruption is agility. The key to agility is having a strategic approach to harnessing data flows in real time using today’s digital tools. Agility is essential for manufacturers to deliver a solution that suits consumers and brands .   Indeed, Industry 4.0 describes an agile manufacturing ecosystem that works with a lot size of one, a digital thread that defines the entire supply chain and manufacturing process. The numerous disruptions of the last five years (trade war, pandemic, components shortages, geopolitics, etc.) have proven just how important it is that the industry achieve this agility. And while many companies, ...
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US Manufacturing Contracted Again in April: Survey

By Tom Morrison posted 05-04-2023
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The ISM manufacturing survey rose slightly to 47.1% last month, up 0.8 percentage points from March. U.S. manufacturing activity shrank again in April as companies continued to match slowing demand by cutting new orders, according to survey data released Monday. The contraction registered by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) was the fifth in a row and will provide the U.S. Federal Reserve with additional evidence of an economic slowdown as it begins its May meeting later in the week. The Fed is widely expected to hike its benchmark lending rate for a tenth -- and possibly final -- time on Wednesday as it looks to tackle above-target ...
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Who’s Responsible for Leading a Lean Transformation?

By Tom Morrison posted 05-04-2023
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Hint: It's not your in-house lean expert. Your lean culture depends on you providing the correct answer to this basic question: Who   leads   and   owns   the lean transformation? Who has the responsibility to create and sustain the culture that enables lean behaviors throughout the organization? I believe that there is only one appropriate answer to this question.   Excuse my simplistic reply, but   leaders must lead.   It’s so obvious, right? To the point of, “Why do we even need to talk about it?” However, in spite of this certainty, why do many company leaders choose to delegate this responsibility to a lean manager, lean department, operational ...
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Connect, Reflect, Direct...Then Ask (On Coaching)

By Tom Morrison posted 04-27-2023
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Coaching is a way of being with others that's accessible to everyone and is by no means the exclusive purview of professional coaches. And while there are limits on the extent to which you as a leader can coach an employee, coaching is an approach that lends itself well to many managerial relationships, particularly between senior executives. I've written before about coaching as part of your leadership toolkit, most notably in "How Great Coaches Ask, Listen, and Empathize," first published by Harvard Business Review  in 2015. As the title indicates, I believe these three skills are central to the coaching process: Coaching begins by creating ...
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AI in Manufacturing: 11 Focus Areas to Consider

By Tom Morrison posted 04-27-2023
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Accelerating the use of AI can result in substantial benefits, but manufacturers must proceed with a practical understanding of the best applications.     Artificial Intelligence adoption and deployment seem to be less extensive and mature in industrial manufacturing   than in most other industries. So far, there have been fewer big AI success stories in manufacturing and thus less competitive pressure to take immediate action. Although most manufacturing companies generally acknowledge the importance of AI—and see it is an essential and disruptive capability that could greatly affect their ability to operate and compete in the future—most efforts to ...
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Work Schedules Look Different to Younger Workers

By Tom Morrison posted 04-27-2023
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70% of younger workers said they would quit their job in favor of one with more control over their schedule. Figuring out strategies to accommodate younger workers entails being open to ways of working that are taking new directions.  One recent direction involves   when   employees want to work. While working at home has somewhat altered the exact working hours, work is still generally done around a 9-5. schedule.  Well according to a survey from Adobe which interviewed over 5,500 workers globally, the youngest generation of workers are three times more like to prefer logging into their laptops to work well into the night as compared to ...
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FTC Proposes Banning Noncompete Clauses. What Does It Mean for Manufacturers?

By Tom Morrison posted 04-20-2023
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A former antitrust prosecutor and manufacturing consultant weigh in on the proposed rule. In the early 2000s, courts ruled that at least two franchise sandwich shops—Subway and Jimmy John’s—used non-compete clauses in employment contracts to prevent former employees from working at rival sandwich shops. The courts found both clauses to be overly restrictive of employees’ rights to work. Three out of the four members on the Federal Trade Commission’s board may have had proprietary sandwiches on their mind last month when they proposed a rule that would outright ban noncompete clauses in employee contracts. “Noncompetes block workers from freely ...
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From Making Parts with A.I. to Digitally Cloning Cars: What Factories will Look Like in the Future

By Tom Morrison posted 04-20-2023
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Conversational artificial intelligence that can be used to communicate with equipment and generate machine parts. Digital versions of vehicles and planes that can be modified to fine-tune their physical counterparts, and autonomous robots that move as you walk by. These are just a few of the technologies that will power the factories of the future, according to technologists and industry experts who spoke with CNBC. In the future, factories will be much more connected, relying on a mix of technologies, from artificial intelligence, data platforms, and edge devices to the cloud, robotics, and sensors, Goetz Erhardt, Europe lead for Accenture’s digital ...
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