The Council on Competitiveness recently published Make: An American Manufacturing Movement, a report which aims to encourage the American public to remember that manufacturing is and has been the cornerstone to economic prosperity. The series of reports focuses on innovation, expansion, talent and productivity. All of which were shown to the government as a non-partisan strategy in an effort to resolve pressures the American manufacturing industry might face down the road. Concerning...
Unfortunately for both our children and our country’s future, public education has morphed from a “culture of learning” into a “culture of testing.” Regurgitation of facts and information has become the nearly sole emphasis of our nation’s public school systems. Ridiculously, the value of our public schools is judged almost exclusively by standardized test scores. And, our children lose — as does the future strength of this nation. Creativeness, lateral thinking and...
With industrial equipment and technology constantly changing, training has become vital to ensure your plant is properly operated and maintained. As an industry leader in providing industrial training skills, we understand that finding the proper material to effectively train your workforce and target each of their specific needs can be a daunting task. Computer industrial training must not only be the best quality content possible but it also needs to be affordable...
It’s a pretty safe bet that most of you have moved at least some of your training initiatives into an E-Learning environment. An equally likely assumption is that most of you have been experiencing some disappointing results with those initiatives. Let’s look at the typical hurdles that must be overcome if your E-Learning initiatives are going to provide the positive returns your organization expects. First, and foremost, for E-Learning ultimately to prove...
With the manufacturing production output for the coming year seeming much more positive than those of the past, many economists are already looking to 2013 as another great year for hiring. The once struggling automaker, Chrysler, plans to add nearly 1,250 jobs to two Detroit factories. 1,100 new hires will go to The Jefferson North Assembly Plant which will also add a third shift to help produce the new diesel model of...
Industrial Skills Training is a branch of training designed to develop the skills and knowledge required of workers in the process and manufacturing industries. Working in industry today requires a solid background in learning fundamentals: safety, work practice, tool use, computer familiarity, mathematics, plus reading and writing. These are all critical elements in any modern industrial training program and particularly for those employees working in electrical maintenance, mechanical maintenance, operations, and instrumentation....
Welcome to my first blog of 2012! I hope that each of you enjoyed your very special holidays! With the New Year in mind, let’s kick it off with an emphasis on the continuing — and, growing — emphasis on the training technology of choice! Throughout this year, E-Learning is singularly poised to positively impact all aspects of one’s business. It is uniquely capable of making significant contributions to employees, management, shareholders...
In 1871, the first professional baseball game was played in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And today, almost 141 years later, Indiana is proving to be more than just a great place to hold baseball games, it has become a welcoming host to the manufacturing industry. In 2003, Brian Emerick narrowed the focus of his Columbia City, Indiana based manufacturing plant to concentrate on the medical device industry after business in other segments had...
Forecasts are generally what get us through each day. We watch the news for the weather forecast and determine whether we need to bring an umbrella to work that day. We watch for stock market forecasts to figure out whether to buy or sell. And now, we can look to the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) U.S. Industrial Outlook quarterly report to know what to expect in the coming years...
This will be my final blog of 2011. So, with the two week holiday season upon us, I want to share some of the recent “interesting to read” items that have expanded my awareness on issues facing American education today. I think you’ll find one, or more, of them worth your reading time and, so, I have included the link to each of the articles. Each of them has the ability to...
Besides technical training, industrial safety knowledge is perhaps one of the most important industrial skill sets plant workers should possess. Today, there are more than 600,000 forklifts operating in manufacturing plants that are powered by propane fuel. And with more and more experienced forklift drivers reaching retirement age, factory owners have to prepare to properly train the next generation of industrial workers, so that their industrial skill sets are not only up...
Last week, I was in Bonita Springs, Florida, attending the “IMC 2011” Conference hosted by Reliabilityweb.com, Inc. ( https://reliabilityweb.com ) This was the second year in a row that ITC has exhibited at that event. To say that I have been impressed by their 2010 and 2011 conferences would be a major understatement. And, most of all, it has reminded me of the important, but sporadic, history of conferences that were specifically...
Currently number five in U.S. auto production, Alabama could potentially reach a top three position by the end of the year with an expected annual auto production at nearly 900,000 units. The incredible turnaround comes with a sigh of relief as just two years ago, in the midst of an economic downturn, Alabama’s auto production reached just below 468,000. According to the Automotive News Data Center, in 2010 Alabama stood at number...
Unfortunately, with the advent of E-Learning, far too many people have forgotten the definition of “Training.” The communication of “Information,” alone, is beginning to blur the lines. And, unfortunately, the real losers will be those workers who need to Learn-through-Training—both for themselves and for their organizations. The distinction between Education and Training has been clear for centuries. While “Education” is difficult to pin down, generally, the accepted definition revolves around the acquiring...
