Best Practices

Kanban is an integral part of any lean manufacturing system. Read this whitepaper to get a better understanding of Kanban and the reasons behind why companies struggle with it. You'll also learn ways to prioritize it and how to optimize your system for the best results.

The MEP National Network offers a full range of food safety and quality services specific to food manufacturers including on-site training and employee development. Services our experts provide range from technical project assistance to developing and implementing an effective food safety and quality system enabling continuous improvement in your facilities.

This report evaluates a novel variation on the programming offered by the US Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEPs), public-private partnerships supported by the US Department of Commerce. In July 2014, with the support of the Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance (CWFA), the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) launched the Genesis initiative to improve both business success and job quality at small and medium-sized manufacturing firms in the Chicago region.

Smart manufacturing depends critically on information governance: rules (formal and informal) concerning the collection, flow, and analysis of information, often in digital form. To explore information governance issues in depth, the Manufacturing Policy Initiative at Indiana University hosted a roundtable event in Washington, DC, with executives from nearly 20 manufacturers. Policy experts from academia were asked to contribute to papers on specific topics including AI in manufacturing.

The National Center for the Middle Market’s recent research revealed that, for the majority of middle market businesses, formal growth strategy is second only to market expansion in terms of weight in the growth equation. While some strategic focuses lead to more rapid revenue growth than others, it’s not just what the strategy dictates that matters. How the strategy is defined, developed, and executed also play essential roles in strategic success and a company’s rate of growth.

This report first defines digital manufacturing technologies. It then assesses the potential productivity and economic benefits smart manufacturing can produce. It next examines the extent of manufacturing digitalization in the U.S. It finds first that data on the topic is sporadic, incomplete, and at this point primarily survey-based. Second, it finds that, for all manufacturing digitalization’s promise, U.S. manufacturers have been particularly slow to adopt digital manufacturing practices.

The manufacturing sector accounts for about a third of primary energy consumed in the U.S. While most of that effort has sought savings from large manufacturers, more energy efficiency programs are beginning to address the needs facing small to medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs). This report discusses barriers, opportunities, and solutions to designing energy efficiency programs that result in significant savings from smaller manufacturers.

Focused on addressing the common myths and perceptions about manufacturing and identified the characteristics of successful manufacturers as: innovate constantly to adapt to economic and technological changes; embrace green and green lean; recognize and navigate opportunity in the global value chain; develop and retain current and future talent.