Written by Andrea Olson, MSC and CEO of Prag’madik

We all know change is inevitable. There's also been a lot of talk, especially in the manufacturing sector, about impending disruptions, or creating disruption to transform the industry. No one wants to be disrupted, or caught off guard when something new comes along and upends your business. You can't predict the future, but you can protect your organization from disruption through change.

What do we mean by change? Change doesn't have to be massive. Change can be small. Incremental. Change is the basis for which every successful business operates. Finding new ways to do things simpler, faster, and easier. Identifying and acting upon new customer and market needs. Modernizing the way you do business. Staying open to new ideas.

Aneesa Muthana is a hands-on leader with experience in almost every aspect of manufacturing in a production machining and grinding environment. In 1993, Aneesa took the helm of a small struggling motor-shaft manufacturing company and grew a stable business employing up to 50 people full-time. Her determination and passion drove her to learn and provide the leadership necessary to grow the company substantially over the next twenty years. In 2013, understanding a change in the economic landscape due to off-shoring, she began the process of transforming her company from the business of making motor-shafts to the business of making complex Swiss CNC machined parts for automotive, medical,  motion control and other industries. To generate this transformation, she tackled improvements in the organization’s manufacturing information system (ERP), marketing and extensive employee re-training and hiring of diverse talent, taking full advantage of federal, state and local programs to help finance the changes.

So you think you are ready to pursue a Baldrige award?

Your organization leaders may start reviewing the criteria for achieving an award and see that it is quite overwhelming. This article is written to give you some insight into one very important piece of the criteria – Leadership and creating a successful organization.

July 11th - Chicago Region/Germany Convening
Best Practices and Trends in Metalworking

Together with our partner,
German-American Chamber of Commerce - Midwest,
CMMC and IMEC invite you to our Transatlantic Cluster Conference on Metalworking on July 11, 2016 in Chicago, IL.

German and American cluster organizations will share their best-practices and provide insight into technological trends, skilled workforce developments, and international collaboration opportunities in the metalworking industry.

Forge new connections and explore partnership options in metal manufacturing.

Written by Rob Newbold, IMEC Manufacturing Specialist

It started for me when my dad asked me to program the VCR as a teenager.  For the first time, I could see that my knowledge set, experience at electronics, and willingness to test ideas was greater than his.  Now that I’m a dad, I realize it may have been that he was just too tired to get behind the TV to make all the connections and wanted to give me a sense of accomplishment.  Depending on which eyes you see a situation from can provide a very different set of outcomes.