As a trusted partner in the metal stamping & laser cutting business for over 75 years, Dovee Manufacturing has built a reputation of integrity through diligent service and high quality standards. They are committed to customer service requirements, from concept to completed parts and are dedicated to fast answers and solutions for their customers.

Part 2 of "The New Supply Chain" blog series by Mike Loquercio, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management Expert.

The first reaction to a severe supply chain disruption is “organized chaos” and then you attempt to rebalance and update all your purchasing, replenishment, planning, distribution, and warehouse parameters.

IMEC and our partners are ready to serve you! The experts at IMEC have packaged the tools and resources you will need to survive current disruptions, while strengthening your business continuity plan:

Written by Andrea Belk Olsen, MSC and CEO of Pragmadik.

The coronavirus has transformed our world virtually overnight. Companies have had to change on a dime how they operate and communicate. While this is an incredibly serious situation, it's an opportunity for businesses to re-evaluate their approach to managing change going forward.

It’s nearly April, and April is the usual time for spring cleaning at my house. Since the word “clean” has taken on a whole new meaning for all of us, I decided to really dig deeply into old dark corners to tidy up and truly sanitize. When moving some old picture frames and clay pots aside, I found a resource that I’d forgotten about. Published in 1992 and written by Donald T. Phillips, the little paperback Lincoln on Leadership is a profound, timeless reminder of the simple yet effective things we can do, not only in times of trouble, but every day to build confidence and loyalty among our employees. (And I found it on Amazon for as little as a quarter! Now that’s a bargain.)

Regardless of what is going on in the world and within our community, company leaders must be able to effectively communicate when a quick response is needed. Here are three methods for communicating with your workforce in a timely and reliable manner:

The Department of Labor has issued a new poster for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Employers must post this in their workplace. You can find the poster at this link: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf

Part 3 of the Remote Work Best Practices series addresses concerns around creating  telecommuting policies. Thank you to our partners, Greensfelder Attorneys at Law for their guidance.

Every organization has some level of risk that can impact the organization. Regardless of whether you have a formal quality management system or must meet regimented regulations, leadership, as well as additional stakeholders, have a particularly vested interest in identifying and planning for all potential risks to an organization. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created a guide for conducting risk assessments. Regardless of the technology, the establishment of a standard approach is key.

Are your employees wearing N95 filtering facepiece respirators to protect themselves? Please Note: the information in this blog pertains only to N95 filtering facepiece respirators. Other respirator types may follow different requirements.

During these days of rapid change and long isolation, it is easy to lose sight of the organization's longer-term needs.  Now is a good time to slow down and assess your organization’s strengths and challenges so that when we do return to a new normal, you’ll be able to upscale quickly with employees who are clear about and committed to your mission and vision.

For the next few days, we will be sharing Legal best practices around the ever-changing workforce challenges that Illinois Manufacturers are facing.

New unemployment laws and the switch to remote work environments can be tricky. Thank you to our partners, Greensfelder Attorneys at Law for their guidance.

Short term disruption not only disrupts and interrupts business, but also our thinking in how we do business.  Disruption forces us to learn and grow.  It’s uncomfortable, even painful to endure, as we wish our circumstance was that of even one week ago, when our work was more comfortable and uneventful.

IT / OT Infrastructure, Digital Information and IoT devices

With the spread of COVID-19, new challenges and opportunities will arise for keeping your business safe from cybersecurity threats. As the government and businesses work on mitigating the impact of the ongoing outbreak, social distancing measures are leading to an increase in remote working across all sectors. The immediate challenge is “how can I protect my digital assets from a cyber-attack?” Some key vulnerabilities to a cyberattack are Information Technology / Operational Technology (IT / OT) infrastructure, digital information and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Yesterday we wrote about companies being essential businesses and staying open during the "Stay at Home" order. If you do remain open, here are some recommendations to help keep employees safe while they are at work:

Use the following checklist to help you withstand the impacts of COVID-19 and be better prepared for further disruptions.

As the Illinois MEP, IMEC’s role is to be a resource for Illinois manufacturers and advocate best practices. Helping with strategy and creating systems to solve the challenges that these businesses face is our mission.

It remains our goal with today’s challenges. To that point IMEC, has created the Illinois Manufacturing Helpline and has been accepting questions 24/7 for the past week. It is our hope that some of these answers will save you precious time and assist with the challenges that you are facing.

As the world weathers the COVID-19 virus pandemic, we are faced with posturing for such and protecting / helping ourselves, family, friends, co-workers and members of our greater communities; but a procrastination of sorts -- coupled with a distrust / disbelief that this will impact me (downplaying the magnitude of such) and not knowing what we don’t know, exponentially raises the risk of infection and serious health consequences coming to bear.

Many companies have been asking whether their business is essential and, if they are essential, do they have to require employees to come to work. The Illinois Executive Order issued this past Friday caused much concern and confusion.

Part 1 of "The New Supply Chain" blog series Mike Loquercio, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management Expert

For those of us in the supply chain field, we may or may not have sophisticated systems that provide big data relative to sales, markets, items, transit times, on-time delivery, shipped in full, and all the other metrics that help assess the health of the supply chain.

Depending upon your products, customers, and your manufacturing footprint, the most recent crisis may have taxed your supply chain to its limits or maybe you have a business continuity plan (BCP) that encompasses all the challenges.

"The times they are a changin’”-Bob Dylan 1964

No doubt all our work schedules and routines have been altered in the last few weeks. If we still report to a station in our workplace, procedures and social distances have changed. This impacts our communication style and frequency. If we are now remote, more drastic changes have occurred. Conversations with colleagues and customers may have most likely decreased from our normal rate and volume. Communication styles and tools have also changed, particularly for the remote worker.

How to market to new customers when orders are slow:

Established in 2011, ASMC Industrial is your go-to-supplier for everything fastener related. With a large selection of products made in the USA, competitive pricing, quantity discounts, unparalleled customer service and fast shipping capabilities, we hope you’ll consider ASMC for your next fastener need.

Our selection and product quality are vastly superior to what you’ll find in any of the big box retailers or hardware stores. Located in Libertyville, IL with an inventory of over 60,000 SKUs, if we do not have what you are looking for, we can find and/or have it made.  We can even do custom rework/plating.

Please feel free to reach out and speak with one of our sales representatives directly via phone (888-660-0334) or email (sales@asmc.net)

This is an original NIST Cybersecurity Insights blog post, written by Jeff Greene.

Your employer has unexpectedly directed you to telework—and you are feeling overwhelmed. With many changes happening at once, telework security could be an afterthought or completely overlooked. This could put you and your organization at increased risk from attackers, who are always looking for opportunities to take advantage of disruption generally and weak security practices specifically. But it’s more than your organization at risk—if your telework device is compromised, anything else connected to your home network could be at risk too.

This is an original NIST Cybersecurity Insights blog post, written by Jeff Greene.

Conference calls and web meetings—virtual meetings—are a constant of modern work. And while many of us have become security-conscious in our online interactions, virtual meeting security is often an afterthought, at most. Who hasn’t been finishing one call when attendees of the next call start joining – because the access code is the same? In the moment it may be annoying, or even humorous, but imagine if you were discussing sensitive corporate (or personal) information. Unfortunately, if virtual meetings are not set up correctly, former coworkers, disgruntled employees, or hackers might be able to eavesdrop. Using some basic precautions can help ensure that your meetings are an opportunity to collaborate and work effectively – and not the genesis of a data breach or other embarrassing and costly security or privacy incident.

Since 1996, RAND Manufacturing has been solving clients’ unique manufacturing needs through its wide range of machining and milling services. RAND’s flexible manufacturing capabilities provide their clients with quality components. RAND Manufacturing offers non-metallic die cutting and precision machined components including plastics, stainless steel, brass, and more.

Special capabilities include: high-volume die cutting in non-metallic and cellular foam washers, short runs with CNC cutting and router equipment, pressure sensitive tapes, and lamination.

An original article by Nico Thomas, Performance Analyst for the Program Evaluation and Economic Research  group of NIST MEP.

Technology is the single greatest challenge (and opportunity) for the manufacturing industry … or is it? It’s true that technology has evolved and changed how manufacturers—especially small and medium-sized manufacturers—operate their businesses, in ways that even a few years ago didn’t seem possible.

This is an original article from NIST Manufacturing Innovation Blog.

Cybersecurity threats are a huge business risk for all companies. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) — including manufacturers — are especially vulnerable to attacks. Small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) are often seen as an easy entry point — a “soft” target — into larger businesses and government agencies. One of the first steps when prioritizing how to manage your business risk is to gather information about the threat environment. The 20 important (and shocking) cybersecurity statistics listed below focus on what manufacturers need to know about the “what” and “so what” of cybersecurity, so they can start planning their “now what” actions.

The Coronavirus continues to make its way across the globe.  As many of us are trying to keep an eye on the impact,  it is a good time to think through potential risks for you and your organization. We owe it to our customers, employees, and communities to ensure health and safety in our business practices.