Productivity

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.

CMTC’s Guide to Six Sigma is a comprehensive 15 page overview of the principles and philosophies of Six Sigma. It addresses the issue of quality in the manufacturing process and how to ensure that the quality is maintained.

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a flexible, easy-to-use diagnostic tool that does a tremendous job of representing a process from start to finish. It’s visual, easy for most people to follow and understand, and promotes focused discussion, brainstorming and problem solving among a diverse group of participants. This e-book will go into further details about the basics of Value Stream Mapping.

The Manufacturing Scorecard shows how each state ranks among its peers in several categories that are of particular interest to site selection experts for the manufacturing and logistics industries.

The purpose of this report is to help SMMs focus on realistic objectives achievable with appropriate implementation of digital technologies to cut costs, improve existing processes, and lay the groundwork for continued progress. It is also important to recognize that the biggest hurdles to effective implementation are not likely to be technical, but rather managerial and cultural.

Labor shortages are having a strong impact on the US economy. If left unchecked, today’s conditions could easily develop into one of the worst labor shortages of the last 50 years, particularly for companies that employ blue-collar and manual services workers. Through comprehensive data analysis, research, and its own surveys, The Conference Board explores likely outcomes for future labor markets and shares solutions to hiring and retention challenges.

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.

This report is the result of a collaboration between members of the World Economic Forum Council on Advanced Manufacturing and Production. It summarizes the main findings of work conducted on the application of advanced manufacturing and digital technologies on future production and supply-chain models. The applications set out in this paper highlight the importance of collaborations across supply-chain.

In this article, Deloitte discusses how smart factory initiatives could have a significant impact on manufacturing productivity.

This report analyzes AI’s likely impacts by examining past impacts of technology, including robotics and information technology, on the economy and jobs. It also considers how AI does—and does not—go beyond previous technologies and substitute for human capacities and intelligence.

Many companies are piloting Fourth Industrial Revolution initiatives in manufacturing, but few have managed to integrate Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies at scale to realize significant economic and financial benefits. The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, scanned more than 1,000 leading manufacturers. Subsequent outreach enabled visits to the most advanced sites and identification of the few factories that are true guiding lights.

The data-driven world will be always on, always tracking, always monitoring, always listening, and always watching – because it will be always learning. Data is at the heart of digital transformation, the lifeblood of this digitization process. This study by IDC, looks into how companies are leveraging data to improve customer experiences, open new markets, make employees and processes more productive, and create new sources of competitive advantage – working toward the future of tomorrow.

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 policy proposal seeks to shed light on the potential role of research universities as anchor institutions for local economic development. After carefully analyzing data and reviewing the literature, it is proposed that instead of establishing a new research university, lagging communities should focus on transferring productivity-enhancing knowledge to their local employers from existing research universities near their regions.

This report focuses on an emerging alternative digital future for manufacturing, the “Internet of Goods." Three trends could lead to a manufacturing sector that uses information technology to boost productivity and create new markets.

The world is in the midst of a transformation in the nature of work, as smart machines, artificial intelligence, new technologies, and global competition remake how people do their jobs and pursue their careers. The Work Ahead: Machines, Skills, and U.S. Leadership in the Twenty-First Century, the report of a CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force, assesses the future of work and workers and the implications for the U.S. economy and national security.

Technological change, global competition, and a protracted economic downturn combined to usher in and hasten a new era in manufacturing. The digitally integrated factory, where machines are computer controlled, production is digitally connected to suppliers and customers, and all aspects of operation are constantly monitored and analyzed, requires workers with a new and emerging array of skills.

The news for the general economy may be mixed, but for manufacturers it's "all systems growth." Thomasnet's annual Industry Market Barometer^® survey of North American manufacturers shows an upward trajectory for this sector, year after year, as they continue to lead the economy forward.