IMEC is committed to helping companies provide structured training to their employees through registered apprenticeship programs. As of last month, IMEC has been approved to sponsor 13 registered apprenticeship programs validated by the U.S. Department of Labor.  

The Role of Apprenticeships in Manufacturing 
Apprenticeships are an important part of many companies’ training landscapes. Improving recruitment, developing a highly skilled workforce that leads to improved productivity, reducing turnover costs, and improving employee retention are all benefits of a strong training program that includes apprenticeships. 

We can hire some employees with credentials in hand. You hire engineers with an engineering degree or an accountant with an accounting degree. The degrees these employees hold give you the evidence that these people have followed a specific training protocol and have achieved a certain level of proficiency. Unfortunately, not all people are ready or able to pursue a degree or formal education program. Many of these people are on your shop floor or in your office. However, just because they don’t have a degree doesn’t mean they don’t want a career with your company. By providing an opportunity for everyone in your company to build a career, you are addressing some of the inequity which resides in the workplace, while improving engagement and retention of your valued employees.

I think dashboard is an overused, ill-defined word in many enterprises. As I was trying to create visibility into the success and challenges in our operations, I decided that I needed a dashboard (see blog on data). It sounds very simple. Everybody uses dashboards in business these days. Then I started to think about the origin of the dashboard and how that might help me create my own.

I had an AHA moment the other day. I shouldn’t have, really. What I’m about to reveal should have been painfully obvious. But, as the old saying goes, sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees. I had been blinded by all the trees standing right in front of me and didn’t realize I was in the middle of a very large forest.

We are seeing large surges in COVID cases around the country and we are heading into winter when we tend to remain indoors for longer periods of time. It's important to consider optimizing your workplace ventilation to continue to provide a healthy workplace for your employees. Here is some guidance from OSHA on things you can do to optimize air flow and air turnover in your facility.

Have you had a chance to sit back and think about how the pandemic has changed your long term business goals? Although we are still not out of the woods yet, now may be a good time to think about revising your strategic plan to account for the recent disruption.

If you could do one thing to prevent someone from contracting COVID-19, would you? If you could do one thing to help put the economy back on the path to recovery, would you? Well, you can! And, it’s a simple thing to do. Anyone can do it. But a lot of people aren’t.

If it is that easy, why isn’t everyone doing it? Good question. But here is all you have to do – wear a mask. It’s that simple. It doesn’t have to be fancy – a simple cloth face covering can make a big difference.

Some of you may have taken advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Borrowers who took loans under the PPP and would like to request forgiveness of their loan must complete an application. On Friday, May 15 the US Treasury released the Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness application.

I am receiving many questions on the Illinois Manufacturing Helpline about face covering and face mask use in manufacturing facilities. Some governing bodies are requiring face coverings and not providing clear definitions or specifications on what is considered a “face covering.” Add to this the fact that manufacturers must put in place a respiratory protection program if they require fitted respiratory protection such as N95s or half face or full face respirators (take a look at OSHA regulations around respiratory protection). So, what seems simple to do becomes a multi-layered set of decisions.

Although hard to do, now is the time to start looking toward your company’s future. It is not likely we will go back to the way things were a few months ago. We may not have a clear vision of what the future holds; however, we still need to be proactive in shaping our destiny.