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.

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.

IMEC is helping to bridge the manufacturing skills gap through an innovative new approach. The recently launched Skills Gap Analysis project is expected to help participating manufacturers plan their future workforce requirements and strengthen their communities. Recognizing the urgent need for a project like this in many Illinois manufacturers, IMEC’s president, Dr. David Boulay explains: “One of the biggest issues for managers in the manufacturing sector today is knowing what knowledge and skills workers will need beyond today’s work.  We’ve seen the same series of events occur across many of our client companies: changing customer preferences lead to new products, which then leads to changing the way the work is done.”

It is awe-inspiring to walk into today’s manufacturers and see the efficient and productive way things are made. Yet, even though the United States remains one of the most productive countries, manufacturing productivity has remained flat over the past decade. This should be a major concern. Productivity is a vital foundation for stronger companies, rising standards of living, and vibrant communities.

This is an original article written by Stephanie Neal, Director of DDI's Center for Analytics and Behaviorial Research.

As we kick off 2020, expectations are high for the changes the decade ahead will bring. According to top HR and leadership influencers, this year will challenge leaders to face a new level of workplace transformation. Hot leadership topics for 2020 will continue to be shaped by accelerating technology change, increasing consumer expectations, and hyper-connectivity.

IMEC partnered with Fusion to host the Cobots: Solving the Manufacturing Labor Challenge event. The fun and informative afternoon featured educational sessions led by cobot vendors and experts, all in the name of helping manufacturers understand the benefits of implementing cobots at their facility: improved productivity, safer working environment, and more efficient installation than traditional automation.

This is an original article written by Tim Crosby, Communication and Marketing Strategist. 

The latest batch of incoming students, along with the upper classmen, will again demonstrate this approach next week when they help a company reorganize part of its Chicago-area facility to improve efficiency and profitability.

Written by Randy Slechta, CEO and contributed by Jeff Johnson, President - Leadership Management International, Inc.

Question #1: Did you accomplish your most important goals in 2017?

Research shows that only about 8% of people achieve their New Year’s Resolutions.

Question #2: Have you set your goal(s) for 2018?

If so, do you really, really, really want to achieve your 2018 goal(s)?

If your answer is absolutely, then you have to be willing to make some changes to ensure this happens. I find that almost everyone has good intentions to achieve the goals they have set. Most people start the new year optimistic that this will be a good year, this will be the year they finally achieve those important goals. 

Yet 92% fall short. Why? There are of course many reasons, but I find there are a few big stumbling blocks that trip up most people. If you can overcome these obstacles, you can almost guarantee yourself success.

Written by Roger Shrum, IMEC Regional Manager

In my work with manufacturers, I’ll encounter leaders who are frustrated with the slow pace of implementation of their continuous improvement programs.  They are concerned that they are not seeing the payback they were hoping for.  What I share with them is sometimes unsettling: Many enterprise-wide lean deployment programs become stalled because the top manager in the company has not clearly articulated his/her personal vision and committed to making it successful.

In one example, a company I was advising faced chronic late delivery problems, which jeopardized its reputation with longstanding customers and opened the door for its competitors to take business away.  The company was forced to work significant overtime and expedite production just to stay in the game. This company had a history of waiting for a downturn in business to shore up its delivery performance. Along the way, they “dabbled” in implementing lean methods, but as orders increased, a full lean implementation was shelved.  In retrospect, these well-meaning, busy leaders now realize that they may have missed an opportunity for significant growth by not positioning the company to adequately meet customer needs during the upside of the cycle.