All Features
Mike Figliuolo
Most companies fail due to dumb mistakes made by senior managers. The biggest mistake of all: a hubristic unwillingness to accept that there’s plenty you don’t already know.
As we get more senior in our organizations, we get a lot smarter. Our wisdom grows. We understand the business better than…
Jones Loflin
Okay, so I’m a little—actually, very—late to the whole #sharktanknation. Shark Tank first aired in 2009, and I’m almost ashamed to say I’d never watched an episode until last year. Interestingly enough, after watching just one episode I was hooked.
In case you aren’t familiar with this “structured…
Phil Chadderdon
Workforce challenges these days are never-ending, not just for manufacturers but across the business spectrum. You have to be on top of your game to be successful building a talent pipeline, recruiting and hiring, onboarding and training, creating an engaging workplace culture, and promoting career…
Angie Basiouny
If you want to brag about your accomplishments at work without sounding self-absorbed, take a lesson from professional athletes.
From the sidelines and at postgame press conferences, the most admired players talk about their own performance but always mention the strength of their opponents, the…
Paul Laughlin
It was via my professional body (the European Mentoring and Coaching Council) that I heard of the second edition of The Mentoring Manual. This is the latest book from globally recognized coaching and mentoring author Julie Starr.
Having heard Julie speak at the Wales Coaching Conference, I knew…
Javeria Salman
While data science isn’t a new subject, there’s been growing interest recently in helping students—in both K-12 and higher education—gain data science skills.
One reason is the shifting job market, says Zarek Drozda, director of Data Science 4 Everyone, a national initiative based at the…
Mike Figliuolo
Have you ever met someone who was fired from their job? I’ll bet you $50 they said, “Yeah, I never saw it coming.” For some reason, getting canned always comes as a shock to people. They’re clueless as to how bad they’re doing and how close to the door they are.
Makes you wonder: Are you close to…
Tim Heston
At Metalworks Inc.’s main plant in Lincoln, Nebraska, co-founders Rob Ernesti and Doug Swanson walked past a new punch/laser system being tested, complete with part removal and stacking automation. It’s one piece of a value stream dedicated to a family of parts. They next walked by a row of small…
Matt Fieldman
When I first started at MAGNET (part of the Ohio MEP) in 2015, I walked into my new office and saw a white paper sitting on my desk. In it, our former board chair Felix Brueck outlined how we could adapt the German apprenticeship model of workforce development to Northeast Ohio and reap real…
Kandice Taylor
Middle school is the perfect time to plant the seed for a child to grow a lifelong love of science. That’s why I love being a middle school teacher.
My students are definitely still kids, but they’re at a developmental period in their lives where they’re growing and coming into their own. They’re…
Melissa Stewart
Companies are always looking for ways to bring in fresh ideas and new perspectives. And in an ever-evolving digital world, you can’t blame them. Young talents possess the latest technological skills and insights, which can be incredibly useful in adapting to the times. However, there’s one thing…
Gleb Tsipursky
Atlassian, one of the world’s most successful remote-first companies, has unlocked the secrets to mastering distributed work. I recently spoke with Atlassian’s Annie Dean, head of its aptly named “Team Anywhere” program, to get her insider’s perspective on the keys to thriving in the distributed…
Mike Figliuolo
Some people advocate giving good feedback before and after bad feedback. Doing so is actually harmful. Instead, good leaders deliver tough feedback directly.
Every once in a while history repeats itself—and those who fail to learn from it are doomed to repeat it. This post is in the spirit of that…
James Chan
Implementing a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) isn’t just a monetary investment. If you want to see real results, you’ll need to put in the effort to make sure the system is properly implemented and adopted. It isn’t as simple as flipping a switch.
It takes planning, time, and…
Kristopher Lee
A leader in asset integrity management and inspection services, Kakivik Asset Management recently held an intro to phased-array class at its Anchorage, Alaska, office. The training was attended by nearly two dozen ultrasound specialists and was conducted by Shane Walton from the University of…
Stephanie Hinton
If you’re conducting a clinical investigation of a medical device in a European Union member state, you will be required to submit a clinical investigation report (CIR) along with a summary of the CIR to that member state.
The European Union Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR) lists this as one of…
Tobias Dennerlein
A majority of American workers right now aren’t feeling very motivated on the job, a new survey suggests. Management experts often encourage business leaders to motivate employees by empowering them. The idea is that when workers are free to make decisions and manage their workday, they become more…
Stephanie Ojeda
The number of ISO 45001 certificates is growing fast, jumping 54% from 2020 to 2021, according to the ISO Survey.
This occupational health and safety standard is especially prevalent in manufacturing, where managing safety incidents is a core concern from the perspective of protecting workers,…
Mike Figliuolo
Stupid stuff is going to happen. Expect it. It’s part of our complex and highly interdependent world. People will make mistakes. A lot of them. Layer on top of that some incredibly politically charged cultures (for more on that subject see “Hot Heads and Karma”), and there’s an abundance of…
Jones Loflin
I’ve been dabbling in AI (or ChatGPT as some of you may call it) for about eight months. I’ve used it to strengthen blog titles, make content “punchier,” and help me get some creative juices flowing.
However, by far my favorite thing to do with it is to ask it to explain a complex topic to a 5-…
NIST
Manufacturing Day, or MFG Day, has grown to mean many things since it was officially proclaimed in 2012. Some celebrate on the first Friday in October with an event at a manufacturing facility or a school. Others participate in a regional celebration at an events center. Some areas have a…
William A. Levinson
The difference between common (or random) cause and special (or assignable) cause variation is the foundation of statistical process control (SPC). An SPC chart prevents tampering or overadjustment by assuming that the process is in control, i.e., special or assignable causes are absent unless a…
Gleb Tsipursky
Many employees are asking, “Do we really need to go to the office?” as the leadership at major companies like Amazon, Apple, Disney, Starbucks, and JP Morgan mandate three or more days a week of office-based work. Employees are adamant that they are doing their jobs effectively at home, and data…
Chandrakant Isi
Apple’s Vision Pro announcement has sparked a renewed interest in the world of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Looking through the lens of industrial environments, these technologies have already made significant contributions in manufacturing, maintenance, and training processes.…
Gleb Tsipursky
Have you wondered how to foster remote and hybrid diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace? Many companies have consulted with me about developing and implementing their strategies for returning to the office and establishing permanent work arrangements. During my interviews with…
